Designer Types

A beautiful old Heidelberg printing press, snapped at the...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:39:59 +0100

A beautiful old Heidelberg printing press, snapped at the Kingsbury Press, Doncaster, where Pete was on press pass yesterday.

White Cube Gallery, Bermondsey Street, London SE1

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:29:12 +0100

White Cube Gallery, Bermondsey Street, London SE1

Graphic Design Rules published by Frances Lincoln (available Aug...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:27:00 +0000

Graphic Design Rules published by Frances Lincoln (available Aug 2012). Last year I was invited to co-write a book with designer/writer Tony Seddon and James Evans of Quid Publishing along with eminent US designers Sean Adams and John Foster. The book is aimed at anyone who has even a passing interest in graphic design through to the more seasoned designer and contains 365 ‘rules-a-day’ on the subject. The title is grouped into six colour-coded chapters; typography, colour, layout, imagery, production and creative thinking and all the authors were not only asked to write 80–90 entries but also illustrate them where possible. I was also commissioned to design the UK edition’s cover and as the book is about ‘Dos & Don’ts’, I had a lot of fun with the design and created a traffic light motif to convey the yes/no, stop/start them of the book. Cover design: Peter Dawson.

Grade Design visit the New North Press, Hoxton, London to...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:56:00 +0000

Grade Design visit the New North Press, Hoxton, London to explore their collection of wood block typefaces for an up and coming book project.

Grade Design Christmas Card 2011 - Typographical Snowflake....

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:58:00 +0000

Grade Design Christmas Card 2011 - Typographical Snowflake. Design: Louise Evans.

"The grid is like the lines on a football field. You can play a great game in the grid or a lousy..."

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:26:00 +0000

“The grid is like the lines on a football field. You can play a great game in the grid or a lousy game. But the goal is to play a really fine game.”

- Wim Crouwel

Grade Design and myself have been working with specialist arts...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:34:00 +0000

Nano House by Phyllis Richardson

Nano House: Contents Page

Nano House: Chapter Opener Detail

Nano House: Spread Design

Nano House: Spread Design

Grade Design and myself have been working with specialist arts and architecture publisher Thames & Hudson, for nearly a decade now with well over 30 titles under our belt, designing for a range of subjects including architecture, design, philanthropy and travel. Our latest title for them, Nano House, has just been published. Written and researched by Phyllis Richardson, author of several books on contemporary architecture and design, Nano House presents the latest and most exciting solutions for houses where space is at a premium, nature must be preserved or accommodation created for those who need it most. The design and layouts were developed from the acclaimed XS range of architecture titles we had previously designed (also written by Phyllis). A constructed and regimented feel was created to organise the content and Foundry Gridnik as the core typeface was employed. Gridnik is a geometrical typeface created by the legendary Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel, and is based on a commission from typewriter manufacturer Olivetti for Crouwel to design a typeface for their new electric typewriters. This typeface was previously named Politene but later a digital version was created by London type foundry The Foundry). The images and layouts were all cropped at the corners to match the angles employed in Gridnik to create a set of interlocking layouts throughout the book. Project Editor: Elain McAlpine. Design: Peter Dawson.

Tooley Street, Bermondsey, London. A lovely work in neon.

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Tooley Street, Bermondsey, London. A lovely work in neon.

'Brighter Ideas' from Grade

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:23:00 +0000

We’ve just completed the new Grade brochure and recently mailed it out to clients and potential new contacts. It takes an unusual format in that the insert for the inner pages is A6 in size and thread-sewn into an A5 outer cover, trimmed flush at the bottom edge. The cover was printed 2 colours with a double-hit black on the outer face. The insert section presenting our work prints in four colour process on a high gloss white stock as a contrast to the uncoated cover material. Photography was very kindly done for us by John Freeman, a London-based photographer, who we have worked with on many projects over the last few years. John’s work ranges from classic portraiture to landscapes and more.

North Cross Road, East Dulwich, London at the Saturday market.

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

North Cross Road, East Dulwich, London at the Saturday market.

When Grade met Delia

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:44:00 +0000

We are currently working on an exciting new title for Bloomsbury entitled Everybody Everyday written by award-winning cook, teacher and food writer Alex Mackay. This highly innovative cookery book is an accumulation of Alex’s many years experience in cooking and also managing the prestigious cookery schools of Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons and Delia Smith’s cookery workshops at Norwich City Football Club. Grade designer Louise and myself – along with Xa and Jude from Bloomsbury – were very privileged to be invited to a day with Alex and Delia for a Christmas cookery workshop and a seasonal luncheon with fellow guests.

Beatrice Warde Memorial Lecture 2011 Last night I had the...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:10:00 +0000

Beatrice Warde Memorial Lecture 2011

Last night I had the privilege to be in a sell-out audience at the St Bride Foundation to hear my friend and former ISTD colleague Freda Sack, give the The Beatrice Warde Memorial Lecture. Freda is an eminent type designer running her own studio Foundry Types, as well as a former Chair and President of ISTD. I have in my own work used a number of Freda’s typefaces so it was fascinating to hear the ideas behind their development. In addition, how specialist typeface families for organisations as varied as WWF, NatWest Bank, Lisbon Metro, Yellow Pages and Swiss Airlines were designed. The theme of the lecture was ‘Typography is our Common Language’ and how ‘there is an unbreakable bond between the arrangement of letterforms on a page and the intended communication’. I was very flattered when Freda featured one of my own pieces, shown here, featuring her typeface Foundry Flek/Plek.

"Type well used is invisible as type, just as the perfect talking voice is the unnoticed vehicle of..."

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:31:00 +0000

“Type well used is invisible as type, just as the perfect talking voice is the unnoticed vehicle of the transmission of words and ideas.”

- Beatrice Warde

Getting into the spirit of Halloween

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Getting into the spirit of Halloween

Grade wins international typography award

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:16:00 +0100

The ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers) Awards are unique, as the only international design awards that specifically recognise typographic excellence across a broad range of design disciplines. I’m very pleased to announce that myself and Grade have been awarded a ‘Certificate of Excellence’ in this year’s competition for the design of The Ivington Diaries by Monty Don (published by Bloomsbury). For the design, the cover was created and the texts of the book were set in Foundry Wilson. This font was created by The Foundry and it is an expertly crafted revival of a typeface originally cut in 1760 by the Scottish type founder Alexander Wilson. Its a really beautiful serif typeface to work with and features an elegant range of non-aligning numerals supplied in a range of weights.

During the 2011 Awards, 50 Awards represented design from 19 countries and 12 nationalities – 36 Certificates of Excellence, 14 Premier Awards, awarded the ISTD International Typographic Award for outstanding typographic achievement. This is my second and Grade’s third award from the ISTD having won twice previously in 2009. For more information on the awards and the Society visit the ISTD website.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs 1955–2011

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:00:00 +0100

R.I.P. Steve Jobs 1955–2011

ISTD Condensed 05

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:43:00 +0100

For the last 6 years (until November 2010) I’ve been an active member on the ISTD Board (International Society of Typographic Designers) and was Chair from 2010–2011. ISTD is a not-for-profit charitable organisation who ‘establishes, maintains and promotes typographic standards through the forum of debate and design practice’. One of my roles was to edit and design the members magazine Condensed and I’ve just completed my final issue #05 with David Quay. This is sent out to members only and contains news on their activities and news of the Society in both education and the design industry. Printed in 1 colour, offset litho on StarFine White, 100gsm supplied by Fenner Papers. Typeface: Foundry Sans and printed by Gavin Martin Colournet.

Fashion at Royal Ascot

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:00:00 +0100

In time for this year’s traditional June races at the Queen’s Royal Ascot meeting, Grade were commissioned by publisher Thames & Hudson to produce a 224-page illustrated book celebrating the rich history and innovation of Fashion at Royal Ascot. Written by author and broadcaster James Sherwood, the book contains 300 hundred years of thoroughbred style with fashion and millinery through the ages from the likes of Hardy Amies, Philip Treacy and Vivienne Westwood. Cover and book design: Peter Dawson