What is special about your work?

My work is not, for example, Helvetica rendered in neon or steel etc, but instead a reaction to the limitations of new materials and processes that help form, or more often force, the outcome of the design. In most cases the materials have presented themselves after an initial idea has developed, and once a material has been chosen it fundamentally changes the shape of the letterforms.

Is your starting point the object and the material or the actual function of the typeface?

The move to a three-dimensional approach was born from a desire to move out of my »comfort-zone« and force myself to create/build letters from a new standpoint. I began using the conventions of typographic design in three dimensions, using unfamiliar applications, materials and processes as a way of forcing myself to find new forms. Not only must these three-dimensional designs adhere to typographic principles (uniformed x-height, structure etc), but they must also address architectural considerations including physical strength and structural integrity.

Often these designs are speculative; yielding no obvious outcome. At times the forms generated from these three dimensional experiments have found their way back into my more traditional two dimensional type designs. But on occasion my work has moved across disciplines into unexpected areas of furniture and product design. This experimental work has been honored with awards of excellence from the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Type Directors Club and featured in many design related publications.

Short Biography

Andrew Byrom was born in Liverpool, England in 1971. At the age of three his family moved to Barrow, a small ship-building town in the north of England. He left school at sixteen and began a four-year apprenticeship in the local shipyard. After serving his apprenticeship he decided to pursue a career in design and left his job to enroll at Cumbria Institute of Art and Design. In 1993 he moved to London to study at the University of East London. After graduating in 1996 Byrom worked briefly in the design department of Routledge, a leading academic book publisher. The following year he opened his own design studio in London and worked for various clients including Penguin Books, The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, The Industrial Design Centre, Time Out Online and The Guardian Newspaper. Around this time he also began teaching typography at The University of Luton and Central Saint Martins. Byrom moved to the states in 2000 to teach at Northern Illinois University. In 2006 he moved to Long Beach, where he is currently a Professor in the Art Department of California State University. He now divides his time between teaching, designing for various clients and playing with his sons. He has recently been commissioned to design typefaces and type treatments for The New York Times Magazine, Sagmeister Inc., UCLA Extension, and Du Magazine. His work has been exhibited in design venues across the US and has been recognized with awards from the AIGA and The Type Directors Club.

Credits:
www.andrewbyrom.com/

18. April 2012

Die „BikeType“ ist die gelaserte und gestanzte Schrift auf dem Umschlag des tyyp Kalenders 2012, designed von Christoph Andrews. Thematischer Hintergrund dieser Schrift ist, dass Typografie zum Erlebnis wird. Wie sieht es aus wenn Schriftzeichen zu dreidimensionalen Objekten werden und über ihre primäre Funktion, der Vermittlung von Informationen, hinaus agieren? Räumliche und gebaute Typografie steht mit seiner objekthaften Materialist zusätzlich im Spannungsfeld von Text, Raum und Umwelt. Die Typografie als Objekt wird zum interdisziplinären Gestaltungsansatz im Design.

BikeType

Die grundlegende Idee der Schrift "BikeType" ist die Konstruktion eines Fahrradständers, der mit Buchstaben seine Funktion ausdrückt, und gleichzeitig als nutzbares Objekt fungiert. Bei der Schrift "BikeType" sind Licht und Schatten ein zentrales Thema. Der Schriftzug wird frontal zur Sonnenlaufbahn ausgerichtet, sodass ein Schlagschatten entsteht, der das Wort „bike“ zweidimensional lesbar auf den Boden projiziert. Der Schriftzug ist von verschiedenen Seiten lesbar. In der Frontalansicht sind die Buchstaben am einfachsten zu erkennen. Durch unterschiedliche Entfernung, Augenhöhe und Blickwinkel des Betrachters verändert sich die Wahrnehmung von Form und Perspektive. Durch die Konturenführung der Alustangen auf zwei Ebenen in der z-Achse entstehen ständig neue Binnenräume (Punzen) sowie positive- und negative Formen. Jeder Buchstabe ist so gestaltet, dass er zu einem Fahrradständer gebogen werden kann.

Weitere Informationen und Veröffentlichungen:
www.christophandrews.com

Veröffentlichungen:
Zeixs, Typografie 2 http://www.zeixs.com/non-books/paper-co/12-months-planer-tyyp
Ab 2012: Victionary - Typoholic http://www.victionary.com/

30. November 2011

Es ist soweit! Seit heute ist unser neuer Web-Shop online. Mit im Programm die Neuauflage des Kalenders für 2012 und dem neuen Kalenderposter. Natürlich Handmade in Berlin!

24. Oktober 2011