If you are in Melbourne and you enjoy letterpress printing, bookbinding, hand lettering or zine-making then this is for you.
Back2basics 2009 is two days of workshops for creative professionals and students. Taking you back to the roots and heart of graphic design, these workshops will inspire you to discover a new future.
Some highlights:
Type & Drawing Tour
For the lovers of type and design, Andrew Ashton of Studio Pip and Co. has developed a walking tour to take in the sights and sketch type samples while burning a few calories. Starting at Wimbledon Ave and Brighton Rd Elwood, the tour will take in the astounding variety of anonymously developed type design just waiting for those prepared to hunt it out and develop the raw material for their next type odyssey. (I can’t believe I am not going to this…)
Type Workshop
With the the recent resurgence in the interest and practice of “hand-lettering”, this workshop will focus on the variety of contemporary examples of handdrawn graphics and type. From Dwiggins through to Ed Fella, an informal presentation will be followed by discussion. The second part of this workshop will be more practical, with various projects, both individual and in collaboration.
Letterpress Printing Introduction
Workshop participants will learn about the capabilities of letterpress, receive their name set in a linotype and learn how to make a photopolymer plate to print on an original Heidelberg Platen Letterpress.
+ zine-making, bookbinding and more.
I am devastated that I cannot participate because I have a wedding on one week, and am in Sydney the following. But if you are free, you must go! It will be spectacular. I am clearing my July diary for 2010, I think.
Location: RMIT Brunswick, 25 Dawson Street, Brunswick & Melbourne Museum of Printing, 36 Moreland street, Footscray
Phone: +61 3 9380 4440
Cost: $70 for AGDA members, $120 for non-members.
When I was busy spending more money than I had in MagNation the other week, this copy of Voiceworks caught my eye—not least because of its use of my favourite colour.
The design is striking, the typography is inventive. It was glossy and neat and flat. I immediately had to have it, though I had no idea what the magazine was or what it contained. Further inspection revealed that it contained new writing (laid out wonderfully) by young Australians — fantastic.
- Cover of Voiceworks, Designed by Aaron Moodie
The inside cover revealed Aaron Moodie was responsible for the design and so off I went on a tiny key-tapping research mission.
His website reveals that he is a Graphic Designer with 8 years’ experience but has “an interest in pretty much anything that involves making things”. He has worked on everything from magazines to typefaces, books to logos, websites to interfaces.
- Page from Sneaker Freaker, designed by Aaron
- Aaron’s Walrus Typeface
He has also worked on quite a few websites, including one for The Pond, a summer pop-up bar from Pure Blonde beer. Sadly it appears that I missed his first exhibition of artworks by the Platform Artists Group in the Majorca Cases last month (Centre Place, Melbourne).
- PSP Rhythm logo
- PSP Rhythm
Aaron has a diverse and impressive body of work. He’s prolific and consistently inventive in his approach, especially when it comes to web design. Check out aaronmoodie.com, and you can also follow Aaron on twitter and check out his Flickr page.
All images © Aaron Moodie.
Hofstede design were established in 1996, and their office is located in leafy Prahran in Melbourne. They specialise in environmental, publication and identity design.
Their Talking & Teaching Type poster (below) for Tobias Frere-Jones’ Melbourne visit caught my eye this morning as I browsed through TypeNeu.
I particularly enjoy the way a collection of artifacts that use Hoefler & Frere-Jones Typefaces are laid out and photographed for the reverse of the poster:
Front of poster
They also developed a nice environmental design strategy and rebranding of an outer suburban Melbourne shopping centre.. though I am not too sure about the strong presence of black on the exterior and then the use of navy + yellow.
They have also produced some impressively designed publications and books.
For Design Students
Hofstede offer an internship program with a minimum 4 week placement and a ‘modest stipend’ is provided. See details here.
Catherine Campbell runs herself a little Etsy store filled with treasures like these little gems:
From Diamond Pullovers set
‘Curious Adventures on the High Seas’ 2007 - Print Set
Searching for Romantic Icecream Moments & detail
Visit her blog at myfolklover.typepad.com and Etsy store called myfolklover.
