![]() Its design is based on stencil typefaces used in architectural drawings in the 1950s and 1960s. Since this book revolves around different ideas around modernist design in Western Europe, it seemed fitting to choose a sans-serif based on that early radical period of modernist type design.įor the quotes I created a new display typeface. Early grotesk designs helped spawn the modernist design era, and they can be found on the Bauhaus books and magazines. The first sans-serifs that were designed in the early 1900s had a radical impact since the vast majority of communication was designed using serifs. Founders Grotesk is wider and is less rigid than later sans-serifs such as Helvetica (Max Miedinger, 1957) or Akkurat (Laurenz Brunner, 2004). As Klim explains on its blog, Founders Grotesk was inspired by the specimen of Grotesque by Miller & Richard from 1912, and influenced by designs such as Breite grotesk (1909) and Doric (1919). The text is typeset in Founders Grotesk text and regular, designed by Kris Sowersby and published by Klim foundry in 2013. The quotes functioned as a series of posters within the book. Since every quote was in the same typeface, and had no credit on the page (credits were placed on the back), the messages are meant to have impact beyond the author and the era they originated from. Typeset on a spread in horizontal orientation, the reader has to turn the page to read the quote, breaking act of reading. These quotes were typeset in a custom typeface in all capitals, and spread evenly across the book, breaking up chapters randomly. I collected the most powerful quotes from the book to function as they were from protest signs or a manifesto. ![]() The text accomodates many excellent quotes from designers from the past who were passionate about changing design for the better, like Victor Papanek, William Morris, Walter Gropius, and others. I decided to add a second layer to facilitate this message. This book is a radical call to action that takes its inspiration from the past. The author stresses the urgency of changing the design profession into a less polluting and exploitative discipline. Images were added not for aesthetic reasons but as academic references.Īlthough the book is an historical overview, it is not an objective record of design history. With the author and publisher it was decided small images and book covers of cited works were added to the margin. For easy reading and contrast with the large margins, the type was set at 14 points. This layout allowed readers to use the book to add notes and comments much like the Medieval manuscripts. Over time this resulted in a dialogue between authors in the margins of the page. ![]() These handdrawn texts had wide margins where other authors would comment or write notes. The layout was inspired by manuscripts from Medieval Europe. The book has an important additional function as a reference document, with many notes and references to other books and authors. The Responsible Object is a book about design without images, so the book design needed to accommodate a good reading experience, and easy navigation. A paradox still encountered today by designers who are looking for sustainable production methods. His printing press is an example of responsible design but this made production very expensive, and the books became luxury items to his own disappointment. Workers at the press were unionized and were paid good wages. His Kelmscott Press produced high quality books and magazines which were made to last, in response to the wasteful abundance of print production of that time. In response to the exploitation of labor in the 19 th century, he practiced design with socialist ideals. William Morris (1834-1896) was a designer from the U.K., as wel as a socialist, an activist, and author. To give insight into what the book has to offer, I will shortly introduce the chapter by Elizabeth Carolyn Miller on William Morris and his Kelmscott Press. The eleven chapters in the book are written by different authors, and treat topics like William Morris, the Bauhaus and its Russian counterpart VKhUTEMAS, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Utility design from the U.K., Buckminster Fuller, Victor Papanek, the Italian avant-garde, queer design, Fab Labs and DIY culture in Brazil, and speculative design. Theorist and designer Marjanne van Helvert collected ideas from the history of social and sustainable design in The Responsible Object: A History of Design Ideology for the Future. Design history is full of examples that can be very useful for today’s questions. The ideas of social and sustainable design are not new. Designers are developing ways of production that are less harmful or use waste materials more effectively. Social and sustainable design is gaining momentum.
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