Type Texture

Marian Bantjes

Marian Bantjes is one of the most creative designers I have heard about to this day. Bantjes is so creative that most of her colleagues don’t even see her as a designer, but more of an illustrator. Her first job was a typesetter for an illustration book company, after that she started working at Digitopolis where she felt restricted and couldn’t sell her creativity to clients. Later in her life she was able to build a house of her own in Bowen Island where she now lives. Her house is a workspace for her where she can use sleep as her creative process and is no longer “a waste of time” as she used to call it. Before Bantjes started to work on graphic designs, she would avidly post on her blog at the time called Speak Up! What she wrote in her articles was nothing compared to what others were writing, she wrote about deconstructing the alphabet, the difference between santa and a genome, and she would also have high level discussions with great designers of the time. Bantjes stressed how important it is for her to start her creative process by sketching with pencil and paper and not jumping directly to the computer because most of the time her end results would be considered garbage. It is very difficult to pour out ideas on a computer that has restrictions unlike pencil and paper where the pencil can move freely. Bantjes is obsessed with patterns and finds pleasure in creating them; she said that a good pattern works well because it integrates well with the pattern next to it. Bnatjes was always creating something different and was always ahead of her time, but when she turned forty she completely shifted style. She started working on Valentine’s Day cards with a new theme every year. Having watched this documentary allowed me to expand my creative process, work against what is expected, and resist the autopilot design.

Jessica Hische

Watching the small documentary on Jessica Hische really inspired me to continue to make letters and different forms of type. Hische has worked for many clients such as Samsung, Target, Victoria’s Secret, and Nike. When Hische started to talk about her project process she said she always starts with the letterform and then moves on to add all the ornamentation after. I think it’s good to focus first on the letter because the letterform will determine the ornamentation not the other way around. Hische also talked about how important it is to teach oneself how to look for letters in everyday life because it will expand your ability to create more letterforms. Hische furthermore talks about how important it is to be creative everyday, and she is able to achieve that with her website Daily Drop Cap where she creates a different letter everyday. It is also very important for your workplace to be an extension of yourself. Hische’s business partner Erik Manicovick stated that sometimes he uses tools he doesn’t know how to use and sometimes the work becomes the final product because the outcome is much more natural. An important topic that Hische brings up is that it is very important for projects to be born on paper and finalized on the computer because the result is much more organic and natural. Hische also talked about how a letterer is not the same as a typeface/type designer. A letterer focus more on a letter or a couple letters than as a typeface as a whole. The information that Hische provided in this documentary allowed me to visualize concepts differently and expand my creative process as well.

Scale, Depth, and Motion

Sean Adams

Sean Adams is a great modern day graphic designer that is very connected with the community. Adams is a teacher at Art Center College of Design, he is the current national president of AIGA, founder of the design firm AdamsMorioka, an online author for Lynda.com, and designs for Adobe as well. Becoming the president of AIGA allowed him to save many valuable projects and famous designs instead of using all the old artwork as a spray booth. Adams also made a very important argument that even though people nowadays have everything online that people cherish books they don’t cherish websites. Having a material object allows people to have a different reaction to the art, rather than looking at the art on a flat screen. Adams also talked about the techniques that he uses when designing or creating his art. I found it interesting when he said that one of his technique is sometimes you just have to do the wrong thing. Many people would not go down this route, but now it gives me an idea on what to do when I get stuck on a certain piece. Adams also states it is very important to be able to handle and deal with typography as a graphic designer. Towards the end of the documentary Adams acknowledged how important it is for students to network, have a tight knit community around them, and always be involved. Students should also work with their teachers because they have already established a title and could help further students in their field. Sean Adams gave a lot of great information in his interview and it has allowed me to have a better picture of graphic design as a profession or career.