Vivez la Langue

Because I just like to make myself miserable, I am dedicating yet another post to my study abroad experience. It's just because EVERYTHING in Europe is so thoroughly amazing. I can't help it.

Though I was studying and traveling primarily in and around Italy, I did get the opportunity to go to Paris for a week. [Sighhh] I may, or may not, have actually cried when we landed at Charles du Gall (which we eventually learned to correctly pronounce "sha-doo-gull"). I was that excited. Paris is just such a majestic and romantic city from the wide tree-lined avenues to the breathtaking architecture. And the crepe stands at every corner. It's no wonder that Paris has inspired generations of artists. As part of Education First's Live the Language Campaign, they created absolutely beautiful videos for the cities Paris, London, Barcelona, and Beijing.  Each video features, what I am going to call "city-specific type" to illustrate various vocabulary words.

Vivez la Langue (Live the Language): Paris

And now I officially have the travel bug. Again.

The Daily Drop Cap "b". Brilliant.

When in Rome....

"Rome! By all means Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live."
-Audrey Hephern, Roman Holiday (1953)

Once upon a Sophmore year, I spent a semester studying abroad in Rome, Italy. To say that it was the single greatest experience of my life may be a little dramatic, and yet it is entirely true. Consequently, thinking about Rome makes me a little weepy (to say the least) so I will try to keep my composure as I write this post.

On one of my many shopping excursions walking down the lovely Via del Corso towards Piazza Venezia, I stopped into a book store and happened across this little gem. Travel Italia: L'eta D'oro del Manifesto Turistico, or 'The Golden Age of Italian Travel Posters', by Lorenzo Ottaviani, is a collection of vintage posters from the 1920s to the 1960s. Organized by region, the book features 170 vintage posters and designer bios. Even though it is 100% written in Italian, and let's just say that my Italian is not exactly 100%, this book is still a constant source of visual inspiration for me, from the beautiful colors to the typography. From the cover to cover, the book is beautifully and meticulously designed. And I'm not the only person to think so.....Mr. Milton Glaser himself said of the collection, "At last a book that documents the long overlooked history of Italian poster design with understanding and elegance. A beautiful piece of work.”

Not too shabby.

Romantic Daily Drop Cap "r".

Artist Profile: Laura Laine

One of my favorite contemporary illustrators is the Finnish-born Laura Laine. Her highly detailed and highly stylized fashion illustrations have been featured in numerous publications including Vogue, Elle, Telegraph, The New York Times T magazine. She has also illustrated the ad campaigns for the GAP, H&M, Zara,  and Tommy Hilfiger, among others.

I see many similarities between Laine's illustration style with that of the 20th century French artist and designer, Erté. Like Laine, Erté's work has been featured in magazines like Harper's Bazaar as well as fashion and travel ad campaigns in the 1920s and 30s. 

The Daily Drop Cap "O". Lovely.

Reading Rainbow

Book cover design has truly become an art form thanks to amazing designers who incorporate beautiful illustration and custom typography. I have noticed recently that many publishing houses have commissioned designers and illustrators to redesign new editions of classic novels. Of course, it helps that these are some of my favorite writers and novels, EVER. Among my favorites are the Penguin Classics Wuthering Heights, The Scarlet Letter, and Pride & Prejudice (obviously) designed by Cuban artist Ruben Toledo. Toledo incorporated his distinctive fashion illustration style to reinterpret modern versions of these book jackets.

Attention: Broken Record Allert! Guess who, in addition to being amazing at everything, has also redesigned covers for Barnes & Noble Classics? Yup, Jessica Hische. Seriously, I need to meet her. Hische referenced the look and feel of old fashioned leather-bound books (like those Ron Burgandy might have in his "rich mahogany"smelling apartment) with a modern twist with typography. I really love the details on the spines of the books, which include Huckleberry Fin, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Jane Eyre (Ahh), Wuthering Heights (Ahhhh), and Pride & Prejudice (Ahhhhhh). Like really? She is my long lost big sister.

Illustrator and cartoonist Jillian Tamaki also created a unique series of book jackets for the Penguin Classics The Secret Garden and Emma (quite possibly my favorite two books OF ALL TIME), as well as Black Beauty using embroidery. How amazing!

Not exactly reinventing the classics, Roberto de Viq is another designer whose work has graced the cover of many a novel. Classics in the making, in my opinion ;)

 

She does it again! Pretty "b" by Jessica Hische, Daily Drop Cap.

House Industries

Can I pinpoint for sure the exact moment I understood that type was super amazing and officially became a typoholic? Yes, in fact I can. It was back in the fall of 2009, when my Advanced Type class attended a Type Director's Club lecture at House Industries. It was like I had walked into a parallel universe; the walls were covered with magenta and orange type wallpaper. Every little detail of their space and presentation was meticulously considered; let's just say we left there with lots of S.W.A.G. (Stuff We All Get).

Founded in 1994, House Industries is known as a prolific type foundry, specializing in custom illustrated and retro-styled typefaces. "Their typography deftly melds cultural, musical and graphic elements. From early forays into distressed digital alphabets to sophisticated type and lettering systems, House Industries’ work transcends graphic conventions and reaches out to a broad audience. What ultimately shines in the House Industries oeuvre is what always conquers mediocrity: a genuine love for their subject matter."

Through collaborations with Alexander Girard, one of the big shots in the graphic and type design world, and others House has created a beautiful line of design objects to coincide with Girard's designed typefaces.

Artist Profile: Fifi Lapin

I recently came across another artist, Fifi Lapin, whose work I couldn't help but compare to Hilary Knight's, from the previous post. She has created a character, of the same name, who is a "socialite bunny", with a fabulous sense of style. In her bio, Fifi tells readers, "I'm an hare-ss to my fathers fortune which he made playing fast and loose with carrot and lettuce shares on the international stock market"; very Eloisian if you ask me. Lapin's stylish and mischievous bunny illustrations have just the right balance of charm and attitude and have manifested into a popular blog and even a  book, Fifi Lapin: What Should I Wear Today, as well as a product line at LeSportSac.

Have I said I LOVE Anthropologie?

More like thoroughly and completely OBSESSED with Anthropologie. They have such a wonderfully artistic team creating all of their installations and window displays. I have always loved Anthropolgie's displays because they are not only beautiful, but perpetually innovative as well. They are young, fun, clever, and have a wonderful sense humor, especially when incorporating found and recycled objects within the displays. Here are a few of my recent favorites....

Many of their installations using found objects remind me of the Russian Constructivist assembled sculptures of the early 20th century. Constructivism was an art movement founded by artists Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko as a reaction to the autonomous and 'impractical' art of Suprematism. Constructivists renounced “art for art’s sake” to devote themselves to industrial design, visual communications, and applied arts for social purposes. These sculptures have paved the way for contemporary art installations and, as in the case with Anthropologie's displays, have become part of mainstream culture and society. Below are two examples of these assembled sculptures, both created by Vladimir Tatlin in the 1910s. You can see similarities between Tatlin's and Anthropologie's work in terms of the materials used, such as wood, metal, string, paper, and fabric. Although the Russian avant garde community may not have envisioned a dress made of teapots, I still think they would appreciate the innovation ;)

 

Thanks Jessica Hische and The Daily Drop Cap for this cool jewel mosaic "M"