Gerard Unger

Gerard Unger / Praxis typeface

Gerard Unger (b. Arnherm, Netherlands, in 1942)

Regarded by many as one of the greatest typographic innovators of the last 30 years, Unger has created practical, legible typefaces.

Unger studied graphic design, typography and type design from 1963-67 at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. His extensive career within both graphics and type design has led to him designing stamps, coins, magazines, newspapers, books, logos, corporate identities and annual reports, as well as many typefaces.

M.O.L / Road signage, Netherlands / Gulliver in USA Today / Signs

One of the first typefaces Unger designed was called M.O.L. (1974) and was used for signage on the Amsterdam metro. It is rounded in style, with larger counters, as a device to make the illuminated lettering more "even and legible".

The best-known typefaces Unger designed are said to be Swift (1985), Amerigo (1986), and Flora (1984). His typeface familiar to millions is Gulliver (1993), a newspaper typeface used in "USA Today" and several European newspapers.

Useful links
gerardunger.com
creativepro.com
artyears.com
wikipedia.org

Johanna Bilak

Website of Peter Bilak's wife |

http://www.johanna.sk/

I found these images on vi.sualize.us/ and think that they portray a similar style to that of Bilak. I like the use of mix media ... introducing old images with computerized type and colour.

Helvetica

If you search for Helvetica in Youtube loads comes up.

I'd been told this was good to research.

Catch Me if You Can Opening

I love this opening title sequence of Catch Me if You Can, think how the type and image work together is amazing.

Other interesting typography videos to get infulences form:

A quick lesson in typography

Interesting way of playing with type and portraying a concept. Great references!

Who's on First? Typography

After Effects Assignment

These video's haven't anything to do with Peter Bil'ak but they're inspirational.

Bilak Articles & White Cube

Articles by Peter Bilak:













A view of Latin Typography in Relationship to the world - 2008
http://www.typotheque.com/articles/a_view_of_latin_typography

Family planning, or how type families work - 2008
http://www.typotheque.com/articles/type_families

What is typography? - 2007
http://www.typotheque.com/articles/what_is_typography

Graphic design in the White Cube - 2006
http://www.typotheque.com/articles/graphic_design_in_the_white_cube









Graphic Design in a White Cube:

Exhibition curated by PB. To emphasise the idea that graphic design is the result of a process rather than focusing on a finished outcome, the exhibition material was presented on metal sheets, held in place by small removable magnets. All sketches produced by the designed during the project are presented next to the final posters.

Slovak Euro Stamp

Typotheque has designed the basic typographic template for the Slovak
Euro Stamp (23 Jan' 2009 - http://www.typotheque.com/)

Typography influencing dance?

Peter Bil'ak, together with a dancer Lukas Timulak, directed modern dance pieces inspired by typography.

These are earlier works he did in collaboration with Lukas Timulak
http://www.timulak.com/i-saw-i-was-i.html
http://www.timulak.com/bodily-writing.html

From an interview with 'The Typographic Times' (www.planet-typography.com/news/designer/bilak.html )

DIVERSITY

You're also a teacher and an editor (of the dot-dot-dot Magazine). Do you consider yourself as an educator in addition to your typeface design job?
I also work with contemporary dance, conceiving dance pieces; write for books + magazines; organize and curate exhibitions. These are seemingly very different activities, but I realized that as a designer I am not working with objects but I am able to ask questions. So I can work with various media, across disciplines, and my experience can be still relevant. I think the diversity of my work make each part stronger, I learned so much from the dancers and their approach to movement + tension that I can apply the experience while working on animation and even type design. But as the main thing: working in a medium - independent way, I can usually keep my eye on the larger picture and not to get involved in the tedious detail, which is a very welcome thing for a type designer.
I found this part of the interview very refreshing and I think I can understand this, this way he has a fresh point of view, understanding and experiencing many mediums must strengthen his creativity.

Masculine/Feminine by Peter Bil'ak/Johanna Bil'ak

Typotheque spent a considerable amount of time not only

creating typefaces but also using them in diverse projects.

These projects range from books, postage stamps, posters,

webpages, t-shirt designs and exhibition architecture/design

to more unexpected disciplines such as conceptual proposals for modern dance performances or even organisation.

This folder/poster presents a selection of 62 projects done by Johanna and Peter Bil'ak from 1998 to 2007. The two sides represent the two hemispheres, two methodologies, two different sensitivities, the masculine and the feminine. The combination of the two is Typotheque.

I think this sounds very interesting, we are not purely feminine and masculine beings, in a male in certain areas they may hold more feminine qualities than their feminine counterpart and vica versa.

I'm wondering if the combination of the male and female will give more of a satisfying consumer experience. All sensitivities are catered for, the dry, the emotional, the sharp and the softer look at things.

I really like the look of the pure white background contrasting with vivid colour's.

(Click pictures to enlarge them)

Transparency | Peter Bilak

Transparency|

A study on design and language. The book is not intended to romanticise graphic design; it is about provoking independent thinking. This piece of Bilaks is my favorite of his, I really like the method he has used with the colours being filtered out, an interesting approch to how we see type. 

http://www.peterb.sk/  | images can be found on Bilak's website under book - transparency

Bilak Typefaces

Websites:

http://www.planet-typography.com/news/designer/bilak.html

http://www.fontshop.com/fonts/designer/peter_bilak/

http://www.23ft.de/referenten/peter-bilak/

Peter Bilak

Peter Bilak |

Lisa Horner & Anna Knight

ATTILA |

Split Summer Festival

Peter Bilak was born in Czechoslovakia and now works in The Netherlands in the field of graphic, editorial and type designon a scope of cultural and commercial projects.

In 1999 he started his type foundry Typotheque. In 2000, together with Stuart Bailey, he co-founded DOT DOT DOT magazine. He teaches typography part-time at the postgraduate course Type & Media at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague.

Relevant typeface design |

FF Eureka | Fedra Sans | Fedra Serif | Greta Text | Fedra Mono

Good References |

Type Radio interview with Peter Bilak:

http://www.typeradio.org/loudblog/index.php?id=143

Link for DOT DOT DOT Magazine |

http://www.dot-dot-dot.us/index.html

Since its conception in 2000 DDD has immatured into a jocuserious fanzine-journal-orphanage based on true stories deeply concerned with art-design-music-language-literature-architecture and uptight optipessimistic stoppy/revelatory ghostwriting by friendly spirits mapping b-sides and out-takes pushing for a resolution in bleak midwinter through late summer with local and general aesthetics wound on an ever tightening coil. (Taken for DDD website)

Freda sack

Peter Bilak Lisa Horner/Anna Knight

I really like this imagery, I have a fondness of blurred pictures, the simplified
happy sad face, why is he holding a fish? The colours are lovely, a sort of acid green against a purpley brown.
















I think I'm attracted to the image rather than the type, but the dots that make up the image could just as easily be type.

I really like the way this poster has over-lays of
text, the contrast of black and pale yellow, the
cartoon style of words in a bubble and the image
which is shown in half-tone.
www.typotheque.com/authors/peter_bilak
www.peterb.sk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bilak
www.typotheque.com/about

Welcome

Hello and welcome to you all,

This is the space you will use as your Research Pool for the coming semester. I will explain the rest in class.

But for now it's over to you - use it wisely,

Paul