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Alphabetical — Dan Tobin Smith

Blair Thomson — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:30:07 +0000

Dan Tobin Smith’s ‘Alphabetical’ is an experimental project in more than one way: it is an exploration of typography using different materials but also one of perspective, where two-dimensional structures are recreated in three-dimensional settings. Dan plays with scale, colour, space, light and perspective, combining these elements to create the visual illusion of a flat letter when viewed from a certain angle.

Smith explains:“The project makes use of anamorphosis, or distorted projection to create the forms. This is a technique which dates back to the Renaissance and found one of its first uses in photography with an image called ‘The Human U.S. Shield’ made in 1913, which shows a staggering 30,000 officers and men of Camp Cluster forming an enormous U.S. Shield.”

If the final images themselves aren’t impressive enough, seeing photographs of the work in progress — from a variety of angles and at a number of stages throughout — emphasises the sheer amount of effort that has gone into this expanding project. Beginning as a commission for the letter A by Creative Review for their Annual, Smith continued to create letters of the alphabet using different methods and materials — all unified through the use of Helvetica as their basis. Thus, despite such a range of approaches, the series (still ongoing).

Thank you to Dan and his team for helping with this post.

Keep an eye out for ongoing updates.
The alphabetical website can be found here:
www.alphabetical.org

Dan Tobin Smith’s main site is here:
www.dantobinsmith.com

James Edmondson

Francis O Donnell Smith — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:19:52 +0000

James Edmondson is a student Type Designer and Letterer with a skill well beyond his years. Currently studying at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, his work is intricate and the application is such that each line, stroke and form seem so simple, relaxed and natural. No easy task.

With a recently new site published, he also keeps a blog which is well worth a look through too.

Alex Trochut — More Is More

Emmanuel Christiny — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 04:31:03 +0000

Forthcoming book titled “More is More”. Published by Index Book — You can see Alex’s works here — Stay tuned for the release date.

Author, Concept and Design — Dani Navarro // Texts — Albert Martínez Lopez-Amor // Printer — Gràfiques Orient

Niels Shoe Meulman

Paul Hutchison — Wed, 11 May 2011 21:28:37 +0000

Niels Shoe Meulman is an internationally known artist, graphic designer, and art director. He is born, raised and based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Meulman began tagging Shoe in 1979 and became a graffiti legend by the time he was 18. In the eighties he met New York artists like Dondi, Rammellzee, Haze, Quik and Keith Haring. He then formed the Crime Time Kings with Bando from Paris and Mode2 from London. Together they gave graffiti in Europe its own distinctive style.

In the Nineties he furthered his technique by apprenticing under the Dutch graphic design master Anthon Beeke. Shoe ran his own design company, Caulfield & Tensing and was partner in ad agency Unruly, which he later turned into brand for silk scarves.

Shoe revolutionized the art of writing with Calligraffiti, an art form that fuses calligraphy and graffiti. He launched this movement in 2007 with a successful solo exhibition in Amsterdam. Since then, his Calligraffiti pieces (signed NSM) can be seen in various international exhibitions.