I forgot!

This is an awesome book called Parallel Strokes by Ian Lynam about the relationship between typography and graffiti. Here's the summary for it:

Parallel Strokes is a collection of interviews with twenty-plus contemporary typeface designers, graffiti writers, and lettering artists around the world. The book is introduced with a comprehensive essay charting the history of graffiti, its relation to type design, and how the two practices relate in the wider context of lettering.

Interviews within include conversations with pan-European type design collecitve Underware, Japanese type designer Akira Kobayashi, American graffiti writer and fine artist Barry McGee/Twist, German graffiti writers Daim and Seak, American lettering artist, graphic designer and design eductor Ed Fella, among others. Parallel Strokes is an enquiry into the history, context, and development of lettering today, both culturally approved and illicit.

Tags, Bombs, and Pieces

When I think of downtown Minneapolis and the urban city life, one of the first things that comes to mind is graffiti. Graffiti has always been an art form that I have found interesting and, even though I know it's illegal to do on public property, I have a great deal of admiration for people that are talented enough to create these pieces of work.

Some see graffiti as a symbol of vandalism and a form of urban decay, while others believe some of this art should belong in museums. Modern day graffiti began in the early 60s in Philadelphia when artists like Cornbread and Cool Earl etched their names all over the city of brotherly love.
(nymag.com)

Different terminology indicates different types of graffiti. For example, a tag is a personal signature usually done with spraypaint:


A bomb is when the artist basically tries marking as many surfaces as possible. In the 70s, it was popular for graffiti artists in New York to travel to each of the 5 boroughs to leave their mark.

And, finally, a piece is a term used for graffiti that took a long time to create, is complex, and is often drawn in sketch books and practiced ahead of time.

(urbandictionary.com)

Several websites exist for downloading type faces that resemble graffiti as graphic designers try to get a more urban and youthful feel to some of their work. These sites include dafont.com and graffitifonts.net (two of my personal favorites).


Keep your eyes peeled! You never know when you'll see a tag or a piece just walking downtown! Some places of business are even allowing taggers to throw up their art work on their buildings. There's a great example of this on Hennepin Avenue where an artist has done a piece that says COMMUNITY.

Foshay Tower

The W Hotel in Minneapolis, better known to locals as Foshay Tower, is nicknamed "the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi". Although this nickname isn't exactly 100% true, the Foshay Tower did remain the tallest building in Minneapolis from 1929 until 1972 when the IDS Center was constructed.

This building was modeled after the Washington Monument and was the dream of Wilbur Foshay, an entrepreneur and art student. Foshay Tower was completed just before the stock market crash of 1929 and was constructed to house Foshay's business as well as his residence. This building was added to the NRHP (National Register of Historic Places) as an example of Art Deco architecture in 1978.

The 27th and 28th floor of the building was where Foshay intended his home to be. They carried a three bedroom, three bathroom suit with a library, fireplace, and Italian marble walls with glass ceilings. Although Foshay was never able to take residence in this new home, Minnesotans and guests from all over the world are able to visit the 28th floor where the W Hotel now has its sky-high Prohibition bar.

In my opinion, the most unique thing about the Foshay Tower is that even if you don't know where it is or what the building looks like, it is impossible to miss while looking at the Minneapolis skyline. The building has FOSHAY written in lighted letters that rise 10 feet in height on all four sides just below the top of the edifice.
(http://www.starwoodhotels.com)

Type the Sky

As I was doing my daily Google search to find the next interesting thing to occupy my mind, I came across this awesome piece of work:

This alphabet was created by Lisa Rienermann, a German student who attended the University of Duisburg-Essen, and is entitled "Type the Sky". (The original post for the following information was found on http://www.slanted.de/eintrag/type-sky, but that doesn't really help because it's all in German..sorry!). Rienermann was in a courtyard in Barcelona when she happened to look up and saw the shapes of the buildings forming the letter Q against the open sky. The more she began looking, the more she started to find letters hidden amongst the edifices and heavens until she had completed an entire alphabet.

The more difficult letters such as Q and K were the easiest to find, she says, but admits that PhotoShop helped here and there (translated from German on Slanted's website). While I personally think this is a great typographic design, the controversy lies in the artist's use of PhotoShop. Should this really be considered an original design if the artist used software to enhance, or even change, some of her work? Let me know what you think!

Introduction

During the first week of Typography 1, we had an assignment to complete an "inspiration board"--a poster for each of us to glue stick our motivations for aspiring to greatness or just getting out of bed in the morning.  Although I really loved doing this project--mostly because I like playing with glue sticks--I began to realize that inspiration wasn't just something I could limit to putting on a giant piece of paper.  Through this blog, I hope to be able to express the way the world inspires me.  I have entitled this blog "Urban Typography" because I want to show all of you how something that appears insignificant in the everyday hustle and bustle of city life could be the "next big thing" to me.  

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