Hey ya'll -
not sure what ya'll think about this, but I was interested in this idea of a typeface that is "Minnesotan" or a typeface that could be associated with the midwest. I have a small list that I feel that may work (I will post them when I get outta work here), but hoping that maybe the class offer up some ideas on this. It would be really badass if we made our own, the research could also be really fun!
I am definitely interested in this idea, I think it also lends to some of the other projects we have talked about including the flags and us + them. There was a project back in 2003 that was working with this same concept, some info can be found HERE
ReplyDeleteIt seems from what I have read that the project was more about the process between all the designers, which was recorded in this publication.
Making our own would be really great. I agree that the process would be fun and to see where the typeface ends up or what it is used for is pretty exciting as well. I'm down!
Love it ALL
ReplyDeleteUS+THEM
FLAGS FOR COMMUNITY
FONT FOR MINNESOTA
Don't select existing fonts make your own
ROCK ON
Did they ever produce a font or was it more about process?
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of creating type for this class although I have to say, that Process Type Foundry has already accomplished defining minneapolis, through their type creations…to an extent, but I understand what you mean by clearly having a typeface that identifiably Minneapolis. Looking forward to seeing your list of ideas.
ReplyDeleteCreating a font in what remains of the time we have this semester is a tall order indeed. So, let us think of structure, and make good use of time remaining. Could you start by creating a logotype for Minneapolis in the font that is Minneapolis? That means that you only have to create nine letterforms. This could be the basis for some [all] of you to spend the next semester or the rest of your semester [lives] developing the font.
ReplyDeleteThat said, if a font is already produced that represents Minneapolis then we should use it-but again, yours can be much better than theirs.
An US + THEM proposition if ever I heard one
Perhaps this is just me, but I feel like Minneapolis has a steeped design / type related identity, stemming from the mid-century aesthetic. Most of the major branding houses, screenprinting outposts and small design studios in Minneapolis utilize this work and flourish with it.
ReplyDeleteNow, does that translate to the greater public? Does the design made within the confines of the city dictate how the city is seen? Is this more a mid-west thing than a Minnesotan thing? Did Charles Anderson accidentally brand the the city / state? These are questions I have rolled over in my head quite a few times.
There is also, some could argue, something more "everyman" and "blue collar" to this design, which could be indicative of the Minnesotan spirit. Just look at all of the liquor store signs! The type at those locations is so purely Twin Cities; mid-century throwback, all caps, utilitarian, and not overtly "showy".
That said, I don't know if anyone has created THE Minneapolis typeface (I could argue for some, that's for sure) but I feel as though there is something of a skeleton here for type exploration.
Dylan, just wondering if you could direct to the Charles Anderson project you were referring to. But I am really interested in this Idea of the "blue collar" or "everyman" notion too.
ReplyDeletethanks for the feed back btw.
I don't think I was singling out a specific project, more the notion that he kind of swooped in and played to all these points of midwestern design at the right time, and almost on cue Minneapolis design fell right in line with him. The crazy thing is knowing that this all happened pre-internet BOOM, when we could see everything all at once. Granted, taste went from local to global upon that shift, but CSA was kind of brandishing this whole steez that I think is still felt in Minneapolis to this day. If you just look through his work, and then look at work (from the top down) of other Minneapolis design boutiques, it's hard not to see how influential he was.
ReplyDeleteReally, you have a great source to talk to right under your nose at MCAD, because I think a few people on the design staff (though not reflective of CSA design, per se) have a certain Minneapolis-centric flair to their work, that marries with this idea of "everyman design". Industrial, bold, iconic and bordering on retro at times.