www.typophile.com

Also worth visiting: http://www.spiekermann.com/mten/index.html

Just a quick little post to alert any readers about the best design related blog currently existing on the internet. Design Observer is overseen by Michael Bierut, William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand. It consistently has extremely well written articles pertaining to design, not to mention several links on the blog to stories relating to design in the ‘Observed’ section. If you’re in need for a daily design fix, look no further. Many things found on Design Observer can not only be enthralling and useful to professional designers, but us young student designers as well. While you’re there, feel free to leave comments on postings and dive right into discussions. Other contributing writers to the blog are Andrew Blauvelt, Steven Heller, Rick Poynor, Adrian Shaughnessy, Dmitri Siegel, Alice Twemlow, Tom Vanderbilt and Lorraine Wild.

www.designobserver.com

Even as young designers, we’re taught, or should be taught to think before we do. Anyone can do, but what sets us apart is our ability to think, weigh options, research and eventually come up with what we feel and know is the best possible solution. As a non-designer, most people are accustom to simply doing, and throwing all kinds of thinking aside. They don’t question or ponder, they simply execute and move on, sacrificing quality for quantity and haste.

Thus, when one of these non-designers approach you to do something for them, they’ve already taken a whole five minutes to think through it, and they know what they want. The issue, is that they can’t do what they want in this case. They can conceptualize the idea, but there can be no execution due to lack of knowledge, training or understanding.

There is actually more underneath the surface than that. While it seems they’re able to think, withing doing, there is a good chance that most of the time they can not think either. For the same reasons they can not execute; lack of knowledge, training or understanding. I do not hold this against them, but what I do hold against them is how they often view designers as nothing more than a pawn. Someone to execute their plan that has not been well thought out, someone to act as nothing more than a mercenary.

They see something, and either know they could’ve done that, or that they could’ve thought of that. When in all actuality, neither of those thoughts are true. This is now where you, the young designer or student designer, must stand your ground.

Is it exciting to get work and to do things? Absolutely. But not when your brain has been taken out of the equation. It’s not fun at all to have someone tell you their idea and then do it, without having a say in how it should be done.

I am not saying ignore or dismiss anyone who comes to you with an idea and would like you to make something for them. However, I am saying do not feel afraid or uncomfortable to tell them, this is not going to work, and show them what you think will work. If they dismiss it, push again.

People should never come to you and ask you to do something for them. Instead, they should come to you and ask you to design something for them. When they simply want you to do, you’re no longer special, and you’re no more than a hired gun. None of us want to be that, and we can do something about it. It’s okay to say no, or say you don’t think that is the right thing to do, thus you don’t do it.

Just because someone wants us to do something for them, does not mean you should do it, especially if you feel it does not work and then can cast a negative shadow over what you really can do. The client or customer does not hold the power. The client and designer both need each other equally, and they also must know when to let the other do what they do best. We, the designers, design.

However, packaging is not what makes this book worth purchasing. Instead, it can help you take another vital step as a young designer. What this step is called, I do not know, but I’m certain it’s on the list that all great designers have conquered. In a nutshell, that step is this; type is not just a part of design, type is design.

Let me try and explain that a little more, so I do not confuse. As young designers, it can be far too easy to design something and then slap a typeface on the design, with no rhyme or reason, other than it looks good. On the other hand, it’s also very easy to think of a typeface, and completely design around that typeface. However, step back and ask yourself this question. What if the type was the design?

I’m not talking about dingbats, or some heinous free font that was download, which depicts vector images on the command of key strokes. So, lets vanquish that thought from our minds at this moment.

I’m talking about making type out of something besides our finger tips. Think about how many times in your life, even if it’s a young life, that you’ve designed something, and for whatever type you put on this design, you did not type it on a keyboard. I’m guessing you have never had that happen, it’s alright, I have not either.

However, had it not been for Sagmeister’s book, I would not be typing this now and would not have had the experience of realizing that all type I have used has been done by slamming my fingers into plastic squares, only then to see them appear on the screen. What is organic and real about that? Nothing, that is the answer you should think if you’re still searching for one.

I am not even coming close to saying that we should all throw our computers out the window. I am simply saying, there is more to type than most of us young designers think there is. There is more to making a message with words than what sits below our screen and until we learn that and accept it, we’re running in place.

After looking through Sagmeister’s book several times, I’ve come up with this to describe what it was like for me, a young, student of design; before coming across this book, I was the classic businessman going to work in the morning, only cleaner. I had not a speck dust or dirt on me, and I had not one wrinkle in my clothing. My hair was as neat as one could imagine, and the rest of my physical appearance the same. I went to wherever I was going, and was not noticed. People were oblivious to me, and would take no interest in me, because even if I had something to say, they would never know.

After coming across Sagmeister’s book, I was that same businessman, going to the same place as before. Walking the same, talking the same and even dressed the same, except for one thing. I was not wearing any pants.

Stefan Sagmeister stole my pants.

Stefan Sagmeister came up to me, someone who thought he was on the right track in terms of design and typography and told me to my face, I know nothing, but I can. He then proceeded to steal my pants. However, that was not it, he also kicked dirt on me, squirted me with mustard and messed up my hair.

After the assault, I finally arrived at my destination. I was no longer invisible, either. People were talking about my appearance, mumbling to each other, I had made them stop and think instead of looking and moving on. They could no longer take a glance, and realize what they’re looking at is what they’ve seen before and knew that it or I had nothing to say.

If you can do that with your type in a design, then you’re onto something.

Only after your world or perspective has been turned upside down do you see how it should truly be put together.

You can buy ‘Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far’ at the following link from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Things-have-learned-life-far/dp/0810995298/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218756970&sr=8-1

There will be at least two articles up in the coming week, one concerning designer Stefan Sagmeister and his book ‘Things I’ve Learned In My Life So Far’ and the other other dealing with design internships, more specifically how not getting paid is more than okay.

I also can’t go through this whole update without mentioning the new look to the site. New colors and layout, which I feel work much better than the previous one. Also, very shortly the $15 will be shelled out, thus allowing us to edit the CSS of the site, making it even better and getting rid of Arial, which is spread across the entire page. So, there is some excitement for that, and understandably so.

Hopefully if we finally get this thing going, it will then keep going. As of now, we’re still rolling the ball up the hill, but once we get it to the top, we’re off. That is all for now, but if there’s anybody out there, please check back soon, as I promise we’ll finally have more content.

If you go into this film with a strong view on the typeface of Helvetica, the you most likely did not feel this so called push and pull. However, going in as a student, it’s something I felt very heavily. In a way, I am very glad I didn’t already have my mind made up on this subject, that way I could let the film sway from one side to the other, flip flopping more than a politician.

As a student of design, this was actually my introduction to the font Helvetica. I had heard of it before, and used it before, but never had I learned so deeply about it before. It also had never come to my attention of it’s wide, almost unbelievable use. After viewing the film for the first time I immediately started to identify uses of the typeface, just around my house.

Following my second viewing of the film, which came not long after the first, I began to use Helvetica in side projects. Not long after that it became the only typeface I was using. It was more than a disease, it was an obsession. Now, it’s not as if this went on for months, but I often do small things outside of class work, and I found myself designing things with Helvetica in mind, dangerous as I’ve now come to realize.

Then, after viewing the film yet again, I had a completely different approach. I wanted nothing to do with Helvetica, nothing to do with Swiss type and certainly nothing to do with something that looked so damn pretty. What caused this sudden shift? It was most likely the words of Erik Spiekermann, Paula Scher, David Carson and Stefan Sagmeister, just to name a few. In previous viewings of the film, the words and dialogue spoken by these four was heard, and I laughed, but for some reason didn’t completely take in just what it was that they were saying. However, after the third viewing, I understood exactly what they were trying to tell me.

Spiekermann’s thoughts on the typeface reached out and slapped me across the face. He showed no mercy for the typeface, and made it clear what his thoughts on it were. Paula Scher then showed me that type is not meant to be so uniform and precise, let it live, let if have feeling. As Spiekermann stated, it needs to have rhythm, similar to someone’s handwriting.

Those two kicked if off, and then Carson continued on further. Carson comes off as brash, yet at the same time uses that brashness to scrub away all the clean thoughts you once had of Helvetica.

If the first three were not enough, along comes Stefan Sagmeister with a swift kick square in the mouth, most likely knocking out not only a few teeth, but the love you once had for the typeface, Helvetica.

After thinking about why I had this sudden transformation on my feelings towards the typeface, I came to the following conclusion; in the first or even second viewing, the intricacies of Helvetica were very new to me. I had never seen it used so beautifully and perfectly. So, I was taken back by this and really could only pay full attention to that aspect. The hatred and distain for Helvetica was put aside since I was far too wrapped up in it’s beauty, even it was only on the surface.

In the third viewing, there was no possible way I could love the typeface any further, so there was only one direction I could go, and that was the route of the post-modernist. I suddenly realized what Carson was trying to say and I suddenly grasped why there was such hate thrown at the typeface from Spiekermann, Scher and Sagmeister.

I couldn’t believe what was happening, just through the media of film, I had went from loving every single character of a typeface, to wanting it to be whipped off the face of the earth. This powerful push and pull and balance is what makes this film so well done. Especially for those who have not yet formulated their own opinion on the typeface, as many students may not have done yet.

If you are a student and have not yet watched this film, it should be on the top of your list, higher than paying your student loan bill. Your emotions for a type will be swayed and shifted, and when it’s all over you’ll have to stop and think what your position is. Hopefully you’ll end up where I have, that the typeface Helvetica has it’s place, but it also has places where it should not go.

This film can in some way be a introduction into you thinking this way about other typefaces, and looking deeper at them. Evaluating their current uses and how you would use them, along with forming your own thoughts on them.

As Neville Brody said in the film, “type is the primary, weapon, if you will” and make no mistake, that is an accurate statement. As young designers, we must learn not only what typeface to use, but how to use it. It’s far too easy to fall into a groove of doing something like using Helvetica almost exclusively. So, let this be a lesson, and the film be a teaching, know thy weapon of choice and know how to wield it.

Be sure to check back for the other installments just on the film Helvetica. To learn more about the film, you may visit www.helveticafilm.com or www.helveticafilm.com/shop to purchase the film.

It’s been over a month since Adam and I decided to start this little venture, and I can assure you it’s finally about to start moving along. We should have a article on the film Helvetica up very shortly, which will be the first in a series of articles on said film.

Other than that, we should slowly start having more and more articles up dealing with design and the world surrounding it, from the student perspective.

We hope to keep the posts and discussions focused on design and things associated with them, to films that include design as a topic, to books and even design based around music. All is being welcomed and if you have topics you would like to see posted about, please let us know.

This blog is being done with students in mind, but obviously not only for students. Whether you’re a professional or just interested, you’re more than welcome to participate in discussions or just read if you would like. We’ll try our best to post often on things relating to students, including internships, schools and general discussion about being a design student.

So, we encourage you to comment on posts and spread the word. Adam and I look forward to having this be a success, even if that means one devoted reader. Anything more than that will be fantastic, so here’s hoping to that.

If you’re interested in the slightest at becoming a contributor/author, let Adam or myself know and we’ll take the necessary steps from there.