Baseline 26

This issue opens and closes within the macro-typographic area of signs. Arnold Schwartzman resents some of his personal photographic record, created partly as a bulwark against rapid erosion of the craft of signmaking, while Quentin Newark reviews pieces commissioned and manufactured by Wood and Wood, which prove that pockets of the skill of making still exist.

Otl Aicherâs significant contribution to graphic is ouotlined from the very personal perspective of ex-colleague Ian McLaren, and Abram Gamesâ powerful designs are given a fresh perspective by Tony Richards.

Blackletter moves us away from our typographic norm; its passing revival simultaneously mourned and celebrated by calligrapher Paul Shaw. And Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares presents her case for a more serious and energetic approach to the creation of new Arabic typefaces.

A stimulating balance of the old and the new, with our new dictionary of type designers adding to an unusually wide range for reference and, hopefully, enjoyable reading.

Hans Dieter Reichert & Mike Daines

over: Typographic illustration.
Design by HDR Visual Communication

Jacket: Typographic illustration.
Design by HDR Visual Communication

Contents

Happy Birthday Adrian Frutiger written by Prof. Friedrich Friedl
The Vanishing Art of the Sign written by Arnold Schwartzman OBE
Digital Blackletter written by Paul Shaw
Abraham Games written by Tony Richards
Arabic Type written by Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares
Otl Aicher a practical utopian written by Prof. Ian McLaren
Signs of Diversity (Experimental signing letterforms) written by Quentin Newark
A to Z of Type Designers written by Editorial team