TypeOff.

How they do it there

Written by

Dr. Dan Reynolds

in

Berliner Mai 07 Typostammtisch 02.jpg

Berlin is large, alive, dirty, perhaps too big, often cold, rainy, or windy, and full of designers. All of which are reasons why I like the city so much. The Berlin Typostammtisch held in »Cum Laude« in Mitte last night was small, quiet, and formal, but also full of designers—some from far afield.

Ivo had invited me to speak at the event, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Anke and I sat in one of the corners next to Verena Gerlach. The attendance was so high that I wasn’t able to meet all of the people who attended, but there were several highlights for me none the less. Aside from a sad story that I got to hear from Karl-Heinz Lange, Alessio Leonardi instructed me in the proper Italian pronunciation of Eurostile (ae-oi-ro-steel-e?), and I discovered that I have one more reason to upgrade my computer (again).

My slides touched on the process I went through while designing Morris Sans. Some of them may be seen in miniature below. This talk was the first time that I’ve presented in German before a professional audience, more or less. I spoke a little quicker than I would have liked, but it was still a treat for me.

Bank Gothic. We all live in the shadow of this typeface.
DSC_0091.JPG
She is everywhere I go, even when I’m on vacation. I never would have noticed her this much three years ago.
Five people, one typeface.
At the beginning of the project, I solicited input from four other people, and even toyed with democratic tactics, like voting. Five people sitting around one typeface: don’t try this at home.

Warning: Don't try this at home

The discarded techno version.
How does Bank Gothic look with a lowercase? Some were of the opinion that it would become a techno-style typeface. This idea was discarded after a single test.
No one thought that this was funny.
No one in the audience seemed to find this very funny.
Even after I was passed my deadline, changes still needed to be made.
Bank Gothic, here staring on the hit sci-fi program Battlestar Galactica.

Comments

5 responses to “How they do it there”

  1. Ivo

    Es war uns eine große Ehre, dass du uns besucht hast, Dan. Vielen Dank für den wirklich spannenden Einblick in die Entstehung der »Bank Gothic Number 2«. Es hat uns allen sehr gefallen.

  2. Dan Reynolds

    Gern werde ich auch in der Zukunft zu die Berliner Typostammtische kommen, wenn möglich. Die Präsentation z.B. von Thomas fand ich sehr interessant, und ich habe sie in Lissabon verpasst. Auch die frühere Themen, die ihr bisher gehabt haben, klangen immer spannend. Ich bin mir sicher, dass die nächste Stammtische auch so bleiben werden.

  3. Fontwerk.Typografie.Design.Zeitgeist » Berliner Typostammtisch 05/07: Zusammenfassung

    […] der Schriftherstellung, Dan sprach das erste Mal einen Vortrag in deutscher Sprache vor einem – wie er sagt – professionellen Publikum. Thema war seine »Bank Gothic Number 2«, die allerdings Morris […]

  4. Jürgen Siebert

    Ich war beeindruckt und fasziniert von Deinem Vortrag und mein Wort gilt: Wenn es auf der TYPO eine Lücke gibt, darfst Du einspringen. Deine Präsentation hat noch viele hundert Besucher verdient …
    Ach so: Gratulation nach Offenbach zum DSDS-Sieg(er).

  5. Dan Reynolds

    Danke, Jürgen und Ivo. Natürlich freue ich mich riesig auf Mark Medlock, obwohl Max Buskohl wahrend der Staffel meinen Favorit war.

    Und auf der TYPO freue ich mich sowieso! Dies wird das 4. mal, dass ich diese Konferenz erleben darf.

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