Loving low-tech type « Big Orange Slide

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Sunday, February 5th, 2012

Loving low-tech type

Design

April 6, 2010 by Patrick Robinson

From eco-friendly type to Kindle font rendering, seems like these days it’s technological innovation that drives all the hot type talk. But at least one prominent typographer is getting back to basics and thinking outside the Mac – and cheese, that is.

For graphic designer Marian Bantjes, playing with food is more than kids’ stuff – as evidenced by her growing collection of type made from everyday materials such as sand, sugar and pasta.

Earlier this year, Bantjes presented at the TED conference in Long Beach, California, where she shared what she referred to as a “transformational personal story to pursue a more personal approach to her work.”

“These days I call myself a graphic artist,” she said. “[But] where my work as a graphic designer was once to follow strategy, my work now follows my heart and my interests – with the guidance of my ego – to create work that is mutually beneficial to myself and the client.

“This is heresy in the design world. The ego is not supposed to be involved in graphic design. But I find that for myself, without exception, the more I deal with the work as something of my own, as something that is personal, the more successful it is as something that’s compelling, interesting and sustaining.”

Thanks to one like-minded designer, Stefan Sagmeister, many of us will have already seen Bantjes work in his book Things I’ve Learned In My Life So Far. He’s also on record saying that Bantjes is one of the most innovative typographers working today.

Many designers have been influenced and inspired by hand-drawn type dating as far back as Toulouse-Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge posters. Many more will likely find inspiration with the release of Bantjes upcoming book, I Wonder.

If you’d like to see Marian Bantjes speak, keep an eye on the TED.com site for the release of her talk. Or see her live at this year’s Design Thinkers conference in Toronto. She’s the first confirmed speaker.