Typography 4--> Designer Bio--> Marian Bantjes

The pieces that inspired me to experiment with legibility were the pieces that Marian Bantjes created for Sagmeister using sugar. I believe that she is exploring some of the same questions of legibility in hand generated type while using an alternative medium.

Marian Bantjes is a freelance graphic designer from Saskatchewan who now lives near Vancouver, British Columbia. She declares that her influences and inspiration come from everything: "conversations, things I read, things I see around me, books, magazines, old stuff, new stuff, art, design, craft, film, music, garbage." Bantjes does not have a formal education in art or design. She went to art school for only one year. In 1983 she began typesetting books, where she was trained in the traditional, classical style. In 1993 Bantjes founded and co-owned a design firm which she ran until 2003. At that point she became what she calls a "graphic artist" and has been doing this ever since. Most of Marian Bantjes' clients consist of other graphic designers and art directors. She doesn't seek them out, they come to her. Her motivation to design is "figuring things out" this is also her definition of design. She enjoys complexity and typically starts a project by giving herself a question that she has to answer through the solution of the project.

Typography 4--> Typographic Experiments

I am in the process of experimenting with the legibility of hand generated type using india ink.

Typography 4--> Questions about Hand-generated Type

1. How far can I push legibility in making typography out of unusual substances?

2. How might hand-generated typography give way to the progressive DIY movement?

3. What is the potential for hand-generated type to become more widely used than computer fonts?

4. Can I create a hand-generated typeface, put it into the computer and have it retain the same quality?

5. How many different tools can I use to hand generate type?

6. How many different surfaces can I place type on?

7. What kind of results will I get if I combine mediums that aren't normally put together?

8. Is there a pattern that a hand-generated typeface can be made from?

9. What combination of collage and traditional writing tools would make for unusual results?

Information Architecture--> Branding--> Layouts

The titles "The Case for Brands" and "Truth in Advertising" will be buttons that the user will be able to chick on and pull up the essay. The text in the left side bar will serve as a comment section where people can post their thoughts on the two essays.



This layout has a horizontal format that will scroll down to reveal other information.



In this layout the essay titles will again serve as links to the content. The links in the left column will lead to background information about Naomi Klein and The Economist.

Typography 4--> Experimental Type Trends

Hand-Generated Typography

The trend in hand-generated type is an attempt to break out of the traditional methods of typography, which have become highly digitized in the last 30 years. Ever since the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, people have become obsessed with the digital age and forgotten the roots of their craft. The hand-generated trend has begun as a way to bring back the fine arts in graphic design.

Hand drawn typography arguably began in Pre-historic times and has been evolving throughout the centuries. These characters have an aesthetic quality that can never be properly represented in computer fonts. It is a form of expression that becomes the personal mark of the artist or designer who creates it. No one else is able to produce that letter in the same way. In this aspect, hand drawn typography is similar to handwriting. No single person will be able to write the same as another.

In the past few years there has been great effort to expose the illustrative type trend. In the April 2008 issue of Print Magazine, they focused on one designer, Michael Perry, who has created an entire book dedicated to hand-drawn type. We find this method appearing everywhere from posters to product design and brand identities, including that of Urban Outfitters and others.

Information Architecture--> Branding--> Point of View

I chose the branding essays in part because I found they were the most interesting. I feel that branding is one of the most influential directors of our lives. People have been bought into brands in everything from dust mops to computers. One of the things that interests me the most is the relationship between the brand and the consumer and the extent at which the brand is able to manipulate its audience. As I said the outlines, one thing I disagree on with Naomi Klein is her statement that "This rise of anti-brand activism is a direct response to the dichotomy between the powerful claims brands place on truth and meaning, and the reality of what consumer products deliver and how they are manufactured. The branding economy is a series of broken promises, of unfulfilled desires. It feeds off of all that is truthful in our culture and then ritualistically betrays those truths by using them not for self-knowledge or social change, but as props." Even if they are utilizing our cultural truths as props, they seem to be extremely effective.


In the reading from Richard Wurman's Information Anxiety he talks a lot about perception and how this shapes people's view of the world. These ideas are critical aspects of the branding process. Since people are able to read messages in so many different ways their perceptions of brands are going to vary widely. Wurman mentions that based on our perceptions we are able to be selective about the things that influence us. Branding companies have to do everything in their power to get the consumer's attention because of how easy it is to loose them. Going back to the two essays on branding, the branding companies must identify themselves with something that the general public can relate to and build their brand around that.

Information Architecture--> Branding--> Outlines

Points from the reading are in black.
My responses are in green


Truth in Advertising, Naomi Klein

Naomi's view seems very one-sided. She provides a lot of criticism about advertising, but no facts to back up her claims.


Branding companies attempt to connect with consumers by creating lasting impression.

It is necessity for these companies to produce ads that people will remember. They are selling a product and if they are lacking the ability to connect with potential customers, the product won't sell.

They create an "identity" for the company that is suited solely for them.

Companies are constantly competing with one another for business. They must pinpoint what it is that makes them different from the others and bring out that quality in their ad campaigns.

Branders uncover what moves people (images, feelings, etc). They dig deeper into the philosophical underpinnings of the world.

If the branding companies have an understanding of what is is that makes people "tick" then they will be better at creating ads that people will respond to.

The company's image becomes not about their product, but about a larger philosophical concept: happiness, community, friendship, youth.

The identity that is created for the company is used to make their differences stand out. They need to exploit this idea in order to create a successful and positive image for the company.

Despite these attempts, we are not affected by brands the way they were intended.

I completely disagree with this statement that Naomi makes. People are influenced by brands almost to an excessive state. We are bombarded with branding everyday, and we respond to it vigorously. Branding companies are genius in this way because they have researched everything that gets people going and do everything in their power to exploit that in the brand.

The Case for Brands, Editors of The Economist

Consumers trust big name brands because they produce consistent quality. People want/need more of these products.

People consistently buy from the companies that are known for their quality products. Often these are big name companies that have to follow strict regulations to achieve a certain level of satisfactory inventory.

People will pay more for brands they know and trust.

Even if there is a product that may be less expensive and serve the same function, a consumer will purchase the more expensive one just because they have seen the brand and know that it stands for a certain level of quality. People will also pay more for something that will bring them greater social acceptance (shopping at Abercrombie, American Eagle, etc.)

Companies exploit people's emotional needs and consumers respond.

When people see ads for a certain brand that looks like it will bring them pleasure that they don't have, they immediately go and purchase the product. Many times consumers will buy something they don't even need just because it looked cool. We are all subject to that.

In pre-industrial times, people knew exactly what they were getting. A brand provided a certain guarantee of reliability and quality.

During the pre-industrial times, there were only a handful of companies that people could buy from. By the 21st century however, there are so many companies providing the same kind of service that there is a level of competition that wasn't there before. Companies are fighting for business trying to convince people that their product is better than the competitor's.