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LUBALIN

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DAVIDAIREY

ANDREYKOROTICH

THEPEO

PLE’SSUPERMARKET

Herb

2 Herb Lubalin was two years old when the AIGA awarded its first medal to the individual who, in the judgement of its bo-ard of directors and its membership, had distin-guished himself in, and contributed significantly to, the field of graphic arts. There has been a lot of history between that moment and the evening in January 1981, when members, directors, friends and admirers gathered in the Great Hall of the New York Chamber of Commerce building to be with Lubalin as he accepted the 62nd AIGA medal.

A lot of that history, at least in the graphic arts, had been written—and designed—by Herb Lubalin. And Lubalin has been recognized, awarded, written about, imitated and emulated for it. There’s hardly anyone better known and more highly regarded in the business.

Lubalin’s receipt of AIGA’s highest honor was never a matter of “if,” only “when.”

Coming to terms with Herb Lubalin’s work takes you quickly to the heart of a very big subject: the theory of meaning and how meaning is communicated—how an idea is moved, full and resonant, from one mind to another. Not many have

been able to do that better than Lubalin.

Typography is the key. It is where you start with Lubalin and what you eventually come back to. Howe-ver, “typography” is not a word Lubalin thought should be applied to his work. “What I do is not really

typography, which I think of as an essentially mechanical means of putting characters down on a page. It’s designing with letters. Aaron Burns called it, ‘typographics,’ and since you’ve got to

put a name on things to make them memorable, ‘typographics’ is as good a name for what I do as any.”

Lubalin was a brilliant, iconoclastic advertising art director—in the 1940s with Reiss Advertising and then for twenty years with Sudler and Hennessey. Re-

cipient of medal after medal, award after award, and in 1962 named Art Director of the Year by the National Society of Art Directors, he has

also been a publication designer of great originality and distin-ction. He designed startling Eros in the early 60s, intellec-

tually and visually astringent Fact in the mid-60s, lush and luscious Avant Garde late in the same decade,

and founded U & lc in 1973 and saw it flourish into the 80s.

But it is Lubalin and his typographics—words, letters, pieces of letters, ad-

ditions to letters, connections and combinations, and vir-

tuoso manipulation of letters—to which all

must return. The “typographic

impresario o f

Lubalin

\BIO

\

Written by David R. BrownLubalin

our time,”

Dorfsman called him, a man who “pro-foundly influenced and changed our vi-sion and perception of letter forms, words and language.”

Lubalin at his best delivers the shock of meaning through his typography-based design. Avant Garde literally moves ahead. The Sarah Vaughn Sings poster does just that. Ice Ca-pades skates. There is a child in Mother & Child, and a family in Families. If words are a way of making meaning, then the shapes of their letters give voice, color, character and individuality to that meaning.

The shock of meaning, in Lubalin’s artful hands, delivers delight, as well, delight that flows from sight and insight. “Lubalin,” praises Dorfsman, “used his extraordinary talent and taste to transform words and meaning from a me-dium to an inextricable part of the message? and in so doing, raised typography from the level of craft to art.” And it is in his paper U & lc that a lot of threads in Lubalin’s life and career get pulled together. It is publication dedicated to the joyful, riotous explo-ration of the complex relationships between words, letters, type and meaning—an ebullient advertisement for himself as art director, editor, publisher and purveyor of the shock and delight of meaning through typography and design. “Right now,” he said, “I have what every designer wants and few have the good fortune to achieve. I’m my own client. Nobody tells me what to do.” And 170,000 subscribers which, with a conservative pass-along estimate, yields 400,000 readers, benefit.

Herb Lubalin’s unique contribution to our times goes well beyond design in much the same way that his typo-graphic innovations go beyond the twenty-six letters, ten numerals and the handful of punctuation marks that compri-se our visual, literal vocabulary. Lubalin’s imagination, sight and insight have erased boundaries and pushed back frontiers.

As an agency art director, he pushed beyond the established norm of copy-driven advertising and added a new dimension. As a publication designer, he pushed beyond the boundaries that constrained existing magazines—both in form and content. In fact, some said he had pushed beyond the boundaries of “good taste,” though in retrospect that work is more notable today

for its graphic excellence than for its purported prurience. Lubalin helped push back the boundaries of the impact and perception of design—from an ill-defined, narrowly recognized craft to a powerful communication

medium that could put big, important ideas smack in the public eye.

And finally, he pushed back what were believed to be the boundaries of design for entire generations of designers who were to follow. For such a quiet, gen-

tle person to have accomplished so much is testimony indeed to the power of ideas in the hands of a master.

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4 \BRAND IDENTITY\For the people, by the peopleSet up in Spring 2010 by chef Arthur Potts-Dawson, retailer Kate Wickes-Bull and an army of others, The People’s Supermarket is a community-based shop that’s managed and owned by members and open to all. It’s based just around the corner from Unreal’s studio, on Lamb’s Conduit St, London WC1 and takes its format from the popular co-operative ‘Park Slope’ in Brooklyn, NYC.In addition to the membership scheme, much of the produce in the shop is locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable, meaning they stock the best food at the lowest possible prices. The story of the supermarket will be broadcast in its own Channel 4 documentary, due to air in early 2011.

The People’s ColourThe completed project is friendly in its look and utilitarian in approach, being applied in a bold, straightforward manner and always appearing in two colour. The strong use of yellow represents the colour of t-shirts which members are given when they join.

The People’s ProduceThe supermarket has its own range of products made by sourced suppliers, such as The People’s Loaf and The People’s Wine. These items needed consistent labelling and the Euroslot device allowed this to happen easily.

The People’s ProduceLabels printed in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Colorplan Pristine White, 120gsm.

The People’s KitchenFinally, in recent weeks the supermar-ket has also opened its own in-store kitchen — The People’s Kitchen. This serves up food cooked by chef Potts-Dawson, using ingredients from the supermarket itself. Unreal were tasked with creating a sub-brand identity for this, whilst retaining much of the fe-atures of the original logo. A range of kitchen utensils was added along the lower bar, and the fonts tweaked to form the mark seen below.

The People’s KitchenWindow decal printed digitally on clear self-adhesive vinyl, by c3imaging.

The help of a hole-punchIn researching and developing ideas for the branding, we stumbled upon a potential icon that we felt was in-stantly recognisable, basic, honest and utilitarian. The ‘Euroslot’ is the hole punched at the top of nume-rous packaged products around the world. This handy little device goes un-noticed in day-to-day life despi-te being synonymous with retail. We decided it was time for the slot to have its day and purchased the hole-punch below.

Euroslot hole-punchPurchased from eBay for £12.50.The slot can be easily cut through anything from letterheads to in-store packaging, creating a simple, clever and cost-effective branding device that can be consistently applied across all communications. It has the ability to evolve from a decorative feature on letterheads and business cards throu-gh to forming the handle of bags, or a tab device in in-store signage.

Stationery suiteShort run, laser printed in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Colorplan Pristine White.

Brand guidelinesPrinted in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Colorplan Pristine White 120gsm. Packaged in brown paper bags hand-made at Unreal.

Basic in-store signagePrinted in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Pristine White, 120gsm.

The People’s BrandAfter approaching the Supermarket to design some launch posters, we were tasked with developing the brand, which needed to reflect the co-op’s core values of being communal, affor-dable and democratic without appea-ring too virtuous or elitist. A full iden-tity programme was required including logo, stationery suite, advertising, packaging and brand guidelines.As the organisation is not-for-profit and production budgets are consistently low, the designs needed to be simple to implement. As a result, much of the packaging and print material needed to be produced in-house.

All photography shot on location at The People’s Supermarket by supermarket members Liz and Max of Haarala Hamilton photography.

5\BRAND IDENTITY\Unreal, a London based branding and

advertising agency have recently completed the identity for a brand new co-operative

supermarket;

The People’s Supermarket.

David Airey\10 QUESTIONS WITH:\

Why have you chosen to specialize in logo design rather than some other aspect of

graphic design?Identity design projects are relatively short in time frame (i.e. one or two month\s,

sometimes longer). This means I’m working with a widely varied client base in order to stay busy, and as such, I learn an incredible amount about how different industries operate.

I don’t think I’d be anywhere near as motivated if I was always working with the same design limitations (i.e., as an in-house designer with strict brand guidelines).

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?I was born in 1979, in Bangor, Northern Ireland (a few miles outside the capital city, Belfast). I began studying graphic design in 1995, and finished my formal design

education in 2003, with a number of qualifications behind me, and an internship in Pittsburgh, USA.After extensive travel and a stint teaching English as a second language I landed a job in advertising sales for The Scotsman, Scotland’s national newspaper. Design

jobs weren’t readily available, and I considered the ad sales a temporary role until I found design-related employment. Working at The Scotsman put me in contact with an old friend who told me about a print management opening at a nearby cancer charity. I applied, and got the job. My responsibilities were for the

organization’s gamut of print design, print buying, and web management.Around May 2006 I chose to become self-employed, taking on my former employer as my first client. I worked with them for a couple of years on a part-time basis (two or three days per week), sending monthly invoices for the work completed. The rest of my time was spent building a web presence and attracting new clients.

What are some of the most common mistakes that you see being made in logo design?I see a lack of imagination. The most obvious solution can sometimes be the most effective, but obvious does not equate to dull.For instance, look at Landor’s 2009 identity design for the City of Melbourne. The solution is based upon the first letter of the city’s name, the ‘M’, and is probably the most obvious idea possible. But Landor took it, pushed boundaries, and created a stunning visual system to match any I’ve seen elsewhere.

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David Airey is a very talented graphic designer and logo designer and he recently published a book Logo Design Love that is “a guide to creating iconic brand identities.” I’ve followed David through his blog for a few years now and I’ve always had a great deal of respect for his work. I recently had a chance to take a look at his book (I haven’t had the chance to read the whole thing yet, but what I have read is very good), and I thought it would be interesting to interview David about his work and the process of writing the book.*

*David Airey is a very talented graphic designer and logo designer and he recently published a book Logo Design Love that is “a guide to creating iconic brand identities.” I’ve followed David through his blog for a few years now and I’ve always had a great deal of respect for his work. I recently had a chance to take a look at his book (I haven’t had the chance to read the whole thing yet, but what I have read is very good), and I thought it

would be interesting to interview David about his work and the process of writing the book.

If you’re interested in logo design, I recommend that you check out David’s book Logo Design Love.**

**If you’re interested in logo design, I recommend that you check out David’s book Logo Design Love.\10 QUESTIONS WITH:\Why have you chosen to specialize in logo

design rather than some other aspect of graphic design?

Identity design projects are relatively short in time frame (i.e. one or two month\s, sometimes longer). This means I’m working with a widely varied client base in order to

stay busy, and as such, I learn an incredible amount about how different industries operate.I don’t think I’d be anywhere near as motivated if I was always working with the same

design limitations (i.e., as an in-house designer with strict brand guidelines).

How influential has your blog been to your own personal branding and the development of your career? Without my blog, you’d not be reading these answers. I doubt you’d want to interview me, and I doubt you’d know about my work. The Internet can open so many doors, and it’s up to each one of us to tread our own path. Seth Godin published a relevant post, Seven years gone.

What would you say are some of the

most important characteristics for

a successful logo or identity?

An effective logo should be distinctive, memorable, original, and

relevant to the industry within which the identified company operates. It’s the tip of the branding iceberg, and

should be consistent with the entire visual identity system.

What are some of the most common mistakes that you see being made in logo design?I see a lack of imagination. The most obvious solution can sometimes be the most effective, but obvious does not equate to dull.For instance, look at Landor’s 2009 identity design for the City of Melbourne. The solution is based upon the first letter of the city’s name, the ‘M’, and is probably the most obvious idea possible. But Landor took it, pushed boundaries, and created a stunning visual system to match any I’ve seen elsewhere.

Can you explain to us the typical process that you would take with a client for a logo design?The first step is choosing the client, and I’m sure many of your readers will agree that not all potential clients are a good fit.Over the years I’ve been able to pre-determine a healthy working relationship by asking the right questions before a project begins, and I outline these questions in my new book, Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities. In fact, the whole book is based upon the design process I carry out, and you can download a free chapter here.You’ll find a less-detailed, online overview of my identity design process here.

How long was the process to write the Logo Design Love book and to get it published?Almost one year to the day. I first chatted with my publisher, Peachpit, in December 2008, and it was December 2009 when I finally held a tangible copy of the book.

How did you go about finding a publisher for the book?Peachpit found me through my design blogs, which is another reason why I place so much emphasis on the importance of a strong online presence. I wasn’t planning to write a book last year, but when asked, I thought, “Why not?”

Publishing a book on a specific topic certainly goes a long way

towards demonstrating your expertise to potential clients.

Was this a factor in deciding to write the book?

It was. Another factor was how I find myself being asked more and more questions about the process of design, so I

think there’s a gap in the market for a book such as mine.

After your experience with the book, is it something that you would consider doing again in the future?My publisher asked me to think of another project for 2010, but I’m not sure I want to tackle one just yet. I’ll consider it in future, though. We’ll see how it goes.

David Airey is a very talented graphic designer and logo designer and he recently published a book Logo Design Love that is “a guide to creating iconic brand identities.” I’ve followed David through his blog for a few years now and I’ve always had a great deal of respect for his work. I recently had a chance to take a look at his book (I haven’t had the chance to read the whole thing yet, but what I have read is very good), and I thought it would be interesting to interview David about his work and the process of writing the book.*

Current Residence: KievFavourite movie: Last life in the universe, Tony Takitani, Lost in Translation, Oasis, Bin-Jip, Gattaca, Ploy, TetsuoFavourite band or musician: Die Form, Collide, Robert, MF, MM, Theatre of Tragedy, Hanzel und Grettyl, Akira Yamaoka, FleurFavourite genre of music: http://www.last.fm/user/psychiatriqueFavourite artist: BeksinskiFavourite poet or writer: H. MurakamiOperating System: 7MP3 player of choice: ipodFavourite game: Dreamfall, Silent Hill, Beyond Good & EvilTools of the Trade: Kiev-88cm, 80/2.8, Nikon D80, 50/1.8, Bamboo A5, PS CS5ICQ: 156053160Skype: andrew.korotych

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Website: http://www.andreykorotich.comEmail: eatownleg@gmail.com

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ANDREY KOROTICH

\PHOTOGRAPHER\

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clip

About this font family

Clip is a display typeface inspired by the shape of a paperclip, but it’s not designed with the usual minimalistic modular approach. Instead, Clip mimics the construction, proportions and contrast of classic bold text typefaces and has one unique characteristic: each of its characters is drawn with only one single line.

Clip family consists of 3 fonts, Hair, Light and Regular, each with 745 glyphs (supporting more than 70 latin based languages), 4 stylistic sets and advanced OpenType features. When Stylistic set 1 is activated, the overlapping loops contract, giving the text a whole new character. Moreover, every uppercase character is also available in an ornamental swash variant, which means most of the capitals have four different versions.Learn more about the OpenType features in Clip fonts at:

3 STYLE + 4 STYLISTIC VARIANTS

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