Published Art.
A Book Review by S.B.
{4th of November 2005}
Typotastic: Issue #1 ‘Fakes and Fanatics’
Author: Justy Phillips & The University of Tasmania
Publisher: The University of Tasmania, 2005
Over the last decade, the teaching of graphic design at the Tasmanian School of Art in Hobart has developed a distinct focus on typography—firstly through the efforts of Anthony Cahalan and now with successor Justy Phillips we see the continuation of this heritage. The latest manifestation of this is the publishing of a new typographic magazine Typotastic.
Perhaps it’s an indication of the times but whenever I’m leafing through a new publication I ask myself what does this printed page offer me that an online environment does not. The preface to Typotastic states that it is about physical typography—‘if you love paper, and touching words, this may become a home for you’.
This exciting premise is certainly one that I, and many other graphic designers, are drawn to. Somehow the offset printed A-series proportioned Typotastic indicates a hesitance to depart from conventional production values and truly celebrate this physicality.
The greatest and most obvious flaws in Typotastic are the constant spelling errors and typographic inconsistencies. Regretfully acknowledged by its producers, these errors are diverting to the reader and emphasizes the need for an external editor. Within the context of a typographic publication, it furthermore highlights the need for both the micro and the macro to be simultaneously serviced.
Biography
Stephen Banham is an Australian graphic designer, writer, and founder of Letterbox, a typographic studio. In 2003 he completed a Master of Design in design research from RMIT. In 1991 he printed the first small issue of Qwerty, the first in a series of six experimental spiral-bound issues. His work on the Qwerty series (1991-95) was published in Eye magazine (no. 46, vol. 12, Winter 2002) along with an interview of Banham.
Banham has also been a contributor to, or featured in, countless design publications including 'Baseline magazine, Emigre, Adbusters, Face, Typo, Eye, Monument, Desktop, Grafik, Comma amongst many others. Perhaps more importantly, Banham has brought discussion of the cultural and social aspects of typography to a wider public, arguing these points in daily broadsheets such as the Age and The Australian newspapers.
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© Finn 2011
(The rest of this article appears, in print, in Open Manifesto #2)