— Swiss Legacy

Archive
February, 2007 Monthly archive

Third Summer Programme Basel

Between 1968 and 1999, the ‘Basel School of Design‘ had conducted an Advanced Class of Graphic Design which was attended by students from all over the world. When the school was transformed into University Level, this Advanced Class was unfortunately closed.
The educational concept on which the Advanced Class of Graphic Design was built was the firm conviction that an intensive study of basic design principles and a broad horizon in form-related design processes were necessary in order to solve complex design problems. Preceisely because of this standpoint, the Advanced Class of Graphic Design was, for over thirty years and with students from more than thirty-five nations, very attractive for designers who had studied for example at a university level, in the United States, but still felt something very basic was missing in their education.
During the past few years, as in other European countries, Switzerland has transformed the art and design schools into a university level. At the same time, the ‘Basel School of Design’ was given the mandate of developing types of classes which would lay a basic design foundation for further study in all professional design areas. The one year basic design course, the ‘Vorkurs’, well-known in international design circles throughout the world, belongs to this programme.
Now more than ever, the interest on basic design-oriented studies, with its emphasis on direct manual and visual perception, is very high. With its ‘Third Summer Programme in Basel 2007′, the ‘Basel School of Design’ would like to reopen a dialogue with the Advanced Class of Graphic Design
which has been interrupted since the closing of the class and offer professionals in all design fields the
opportunity to take part in solid foundation programme in the area of basic design studies for their further
education.

Download the complete program and form here

Other interesting links :
http://basics.sfgbasel.ch/home.htm
http://www.weingartarchive.com/

Alan Kitching at St Bride Library

Alan Kitching shows significant works and shares seminal influences from his fifty-year journey from printer to printmaker, apprentice to professor, Darlington to Kennington via experimental printing in Watford and letterpress in Clerkenwell to The Typography Workshop, Printroom & Studio in London SE11.

Talk, Tuesday 13 February 2007 at 7pm; exhibition preview 5.30pm
Exhibition, Wednesday 14 February to Thursday 8 March 2007

More infos here.

http://www.fontshop.com/fontfeed/images/helvetica-head.gif

Here is an article on Fontshop.com by Stephen Coles who explain how you can switch your lovely Helvetica font by others fonts.

Helvetica is a classic. Helvetica is played out. Each of these statements is true to an extent. The world’s most recognizable typeface will soon star in a new film that documents both its omnipresence and its timelessness.

There are many reasons why Helvetica is so widespread. The most obvious being that a few weights have been bundled with the Mac OS for years. It is arguably the most respectable of the “defaultâ€? fonts. But it’s also used because it’s a safe, neutral choice. For many purposes, typography is more about content than style. Fans of Beatrice Warde will tell you that typographers should communicate without distraction. Helvetica, with its simple, unadorned forms, is the perfect crystal goblet. Even its ubiquity contributes to its neutrality — letters so common they become invisible.

But invisibility isn’t always appropriate, particularly in advertising or branding where individuality is key. Here we recommend our favorite fonts from the grotesque genre that offer something different from Helvetica (or Arial) — whether it’s style, warmth, or extra features like small caps, figure alternates, and additional widths.

Learn more here

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Yesterday I was at the opening of the Wim Crouwel exhibition. Very crowded ! From old type designers to fresh graphic designers. I also could see many other great designers like Laurent Fetis, Hamish Muir (8vo) and Danny van den Dungen (Experimental Jetset).

You will find here all the pictures of the opening. I’ll take “clean” pictures in the next weeks.

Time Line, Design By Build

Famour designer Micheal C. Place will release very soon this poster. Everything is said.