An interview with designer Hasan Abu Afash
(Hiba Studio)

Arabic is an extraordinary script not much understood by the majority of us in the western world. Strange as may sound, the world’s second most widespread writing system relied till about recently on an unsatisfactory small number of quality fonts, compared to the abundance of Latin typefaces in existence today. But as the markets tend to merge, this process is slowly reversed. Definitely there are still not many designers working exclusively on Arab alphabets but the progress is tremendous. Last week we had the chance to chat with designer Hasan Abu Afash about his work and the current state of Arabic typography. Hasan, who runs Hiba Studio specializes in Arabic type design and programming. He has been involved, as a specialist, in the development stage of several international projects.

How many languages use the Arabic script?
The Arabic script is used for writing several languages in Asia and Africa, such as Arabic, Persian and Urdu. The alphabet was initially used to write texts in Arabic, mainly the Quran. With the spread of Islam, it came to be used in writing many languages including, at various times, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Baloch, Malay, Panjabi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Uyghur, Kazakh, Uzbek, Kurdish, Belarusian, etc. The Arabic alphabet has 28 basic letters. To accommodate the needs of these different languages, new letters and other symbols were added to the original alphabet. For examples: The Persian script consists of 32 letters the Urdu alphabet has 35 letters, the Pashto alphabet has 44 letters.

Are there different calligraphic styles for Arabic and how are they used respectively?
The Arabic script is written in horizontal lines from right to left (numerals are written from left to right) in a cursive style. Because the script is cursive, the shapes of the letters change and depend on their positions: Isolated, initial (joined on the left), medial (joined on both sides) and final (joined on the right).

The Arabic script has a number of different styles of calligraphy including: Naskh, Thuluth, Ruq’ah, Kufi, Nastaliq, Diwany and Tughra. The Naskh style was used in writing the Quran or Hadith and was adapted as the preferred style for typesetting and printing. Thuluth style was used in writing subject headings, as well as address books. Ruq’ah style for daily correspondence and Kufi for calligraphic writing on buildings. Nastaliq style was used extensively in writing poems and cards. Diwany for writing the orders and Tughra was used as the calligraphic seal of the Sultan and affixed to all official documents and correspondence.

What is the current state of publishing and advertising industry in the Arab world. Is there an increased demand for Arabic typefaces that can accommodate the design needs of contemporary arabic design?
Newspapers in the Arab world are considering now more than ever a redesign of their publications which incorporates new contemporary typefaces and some of them leave the traditional Naskh font style to modern Kufi style. In the Arabian Gulf, when branding agencies create new identities for their customers, they rely primarily on new and modern fonts. The style of these fonts or lettering is influenced in many cases by the style of contemporary Latin fonts. This may have to do with the fact that the market relies heavily on western products. Likewise, advertising agencies base their campaigns on type which carries the style and visual identity of the fonts used for the western products they are called to advertise. Along this line, a recent project by the Khatt Foundation, is indicative of the trends as they develop, when they brought together Arab designers with Dutch designers to produce matching typefaces.

Which rules you have to observe when matchmaking Arabic to Latin?
First of all I make a thorough study and analysis of the Latin type and understand its characteristics. Then I decide which Arabic calligraphic style will be best suited to the specific Latin type. For example: sans serif types work best with Kufi scripts, where more geometric and uniform shapes can be found and can relate easily to Latin letters and their simple forms. Serif types work best with cursive Thuluth, Naskh, and Diwani.

One general rule that should be observed is that we should not distort the construction of the Arabic letters in favor of matching the Latin type. Another important consideration is that the angle of the contrast must be inverted. What was the thickest horizontal in Latin becomes the thickest vertical in Arabic. Of course the same is true of the thinnest strokes. In Latin characters the vertical strokes are heavier than horizontal ones, even in monoline fonts where all strokes appear to have the same weight. In Arabic the opposite is true and fonts based on heavier vertical strokes will appear strange to Arabs. Don’t try to match the vertical proportions of the Latin unless the individual Arabic style makes this possible. Typographic guidelines are also very important. A decision has to be made on the ideal loop and tooth heights for the letters. I can then establish the “meem-height” as an equivalent to the x-height and use that as a guide to streamline the proportions of other characters. But then we should have the Arabic meem’s height slightly smaller than the equivalent x-height of a Latin one. And on the other hand, we often need to make Arabic ascenders and descenders slightly taller than Latin ones. Finally, in order to achieve compatibility it is necessary to apply certain modifications by transferring the stroke weight, contrast and ending shapes from the Latin type to the Arabic type. This should be carried out in a most cautious manner as to maintain adequate connections with established cultural norms. (On many of these issues relating to compatibility between Arabic and Latin scripts, I agree with Mamoun Sakkal’s ideas expressed in a paper delivered to the second Conference on Bilingual Computing in Arabic and English, University of Cambridge, England in 1990).

When you design a typeface do you use certain words or a pangram in Arabic to test its balance and harmony?
I spend a lot of time testing several different words to achieve the right balance. As a pangram I use one which John Hudson sent me one day, containing all basic letters. In English it translates to ‘a wise text which has an absolute secret and great importance, written on a green tissue and covered with blue leather’.

Which software is best for designing Arabic type?
There are many programs that can serve the designers of Arabic types and choosing which works best is best left to the designer himself. For drawing vectors I prefer Illustrator for ease of exporting outlines to FontLab directly. As font editor I use FontLab which is easy to work with and powerful in drawing outlines, adjusting side bearings, metrics, points, etc. It is worth mentioning that designers sometimes prefer to design directly on FontLab without going through any vector programs.

Are there major difficulties programming an Arabic opentype font?
There are many OpenType features that are still not supported by FontLab for the Arabic language, such as Mark Positioning and Cursive Positioning, so we resort to Microsoft VOLT to resolve such problems. Volt allows to see what you are doing because it depends on a Visual Environment. Programming in Volt does not come easy as there are several missing operations which slow down the process considerably. A major time consuming operation is also the process of putting marks in the right place above and below the letter.

Of all the typefaces you designed which one is your favorite and why?
All my fonts are dear to my heart, but most of all I like Hasan Alquds. It has been my first fully successful experience, when I started it from scratch back in 2002 and when it emerged into the light I showed it to Mamoun Sakkal. He asked me to apply several modifications which I revised and sent back to him. He continued to send me his comments and amendments, until the design reached its final and refined state. In every modification I gained additional information which I desperately needed to develop my typographic skills early on in my career. Also, let’s not forget Hasan Hiba which was established on the basis of a careful study of the Fatimid Kufi calligraphy. In 2005, it was submitted to Linotype’s first Arabic Type Design Competition in Germany and won the 5th place award. I like this type because I had the chance to realize one of my dreams, that of making a genuine Fatimid Kufi font.

You have collaborated with several designers and companies around the world. Tell us a little bit about these projects.
In 2008, two of my fonts Hasan Hiba and Hasan Noor were upgraded to the DecoType font format for use in WinSoft Tasmeem which is now bundled with InDesign CS4, by working with Mirjam Somers an award-winning Arabic type designer. Tasmeem is a user interface based on the Arabic Calligraphic Engine (ACE) technology which has won the prestigious Dr Peter Karow Award. I have also upgraded the Basim Marah font for Tasmeem with Mirjam Somers’ assistance. Basim Marah was drawn by Basim Salem Al Mahdi from Iraq and then digitized by myself. The same year, I developed the OpenType project for Alinma TheSans fonts which is based on TheMix Arabic, designed by Luc(as) de Groot and Mouneer ElShaarani for Al Inma Bank, Saudi Arabia. Later I developed the OpenType features for Jumeirah Arabic which was designed by Pascal Zoghbi (29letters) and Huda AbiFares (Khatt) for Jumeirah International, UAE.
Other projects I participated include the development of the OpenType layout features needed for the Arabic script system in Seria Arabic fonts family which was designed by Pascal Zoghbi for FontShop International, as well as the Chams fonts family which was designed by Al Mohtaraf Assaudi for the redesign of the Shams Newspaper in Saudi Arabia and the Arajhi fonts for Alrajhi Bank.
Finally, ever since 2002 I have worked and collaborated with Mamoun Sakkal in several projects more notably the Burj Dubai Shilia project, Sakkal Baseet and the Microsoft project which included the updating of the OpenType instructions for fonts such as Tahoma, Microsoft Sans Serif, Arial, Times New Roman, Segoe, Courier, Time New Roman, Ms Uighur and Majalla UI.

The apparent association of the Arabic script to religion, has been considered by many as a hindrance for the flourishing of Arabic typography. But as the world comes together products and services transcend religious and cultural barriers. Different alphabets are more closely mixed and a trend has emerged towards modernizing Arabic typography and harmonizing the Arabic script with Latin. Is the market ready for this, what is your view in such an undertaking?
There is no such association of the Arabic script to religion. The Arabic script existed and was heavily used centuries before Islam. Although it is the official script of Quran, there is no provision in Islam which restricts the form of writing and calligraphy. Script development was subject to the discretion of the creators and calligraphers throughout history. Muslim leaders did not interfere in the affairs or developments of the calligraphy types. They worked on the advancement of Arabic calligraphy. They added dots above or below the letters to help readers of the Arabic language in all countries of the Islamic states. Islam did not oppose the development of typography either. If we look at what is preserved in museums, we find that the first calligraphy of the Quran has evolved continuously and is different with time.
The Kufic script of the Quran lasted for about four centuries with constantly renewed forms, but had an architectural heavy body. In the tenth century in Baghdad there was a need for calligraphy to commensurate with the civilization of cities and gardens, so thin calligraphy was born, such as Thulth calligraphy. Finally the Ottomans excelled in calligraphy which is evident in the elegant Qurans they produced in Naskh style. During all these centuries in the Muslim cities, there were innovative calligraphy for architecture and objects which were used in daily life such as utensils, glass and others.

It is true that the introduction of printing in the Islamic world was delayed, not so much of certain beliefs that the Arabic character was sacred as due to economic obstacles imposed on islamic countries which were under the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, for years the typographic mechanical technology lacked the proper tools to fully portray the dynamics of Arabic calligraphy.
Now, faster that ever, the world comes together in a way that makes it absolutely imperative that Arabic and all other scripts adapt to this trend in order to survive, but only in a way that respects and safeguards their cultural integrity. There is a trend lately towards modernizing Arabic typography. However, I do not agree that there is a need to totally harmonize Arabic with Latin or any other script. Arabic must retain its main visual characteristics. Harmonization can only serve the demands of specific applications and should not be seen as a general rule to bring scripts together.

Which books or other sources would you recommend to someone who wants to become familiar with arabic typeface design?
The Arab library lacks such references. There are no books that I know on how to design Arabic fonts. Internet may be the best alternative as you may be able to find a few significant articles by several designers but don’t expect a complete solution. Personally, I relied in many instances on advice and information I received from prominent designers such as Mamoun Sakkal who has been a real mentor for me. I’m also grateful to John Hudson who tirelessly advised and answered all my posted queries.

Hiba Studio

arabic product imagery by Graphicology
printing press image by marta.B

Recently we had an interesting chat with the award-winning designer Jordan Jelev – Epixs, the Labelmaker of Factor R studio, based in Bulgaria. Jordan received the First Prize at the National Vine and Wine Chamber Contest for Graphic Design of Wine Labels. Jordan has many years of experience in the field of creating ultra-modern wine packaging and exquisite custom calligraphy.

• When and how did you get involved with calligraphy?
I think it was 10 or 12 years ago - I don’t remember well - my father surprised me with a simple set of automatic pens and I started almost instantly with them. Then my wife gave me another set of automatic pens as a birthday present - more complicated ones with double stroke nibs. I spent hours and hours (mostly night time) doing different calligraphic tests - I call them tests because I did not know where to start from and since then I continued experimenting. Then something like an inner calling made me start doing custom lettering and from this moment on everything I knew just “burst out” of my hands.

• Does calligraphy have rules? If yes, which rules do you prefer to ignore?
Certainly it does have many rules - from composition to simple mechanical skills and movements - everything in between. It took me several years to learn most of them and at least to understand what and how to do it…  I’m still learning and discovering new methods. My major strategy though, not only in Calligraphy or Wine labels Design is to try to learn how everything works, to feel the sense of every rule, to keep all the rules and finally, when I feel ready, to break the rules. Breaking the rules does not necessarily make you a visual outlaw, breaking rules means going beyond and creating your own ones. It is a creative process, not a destructive one:-)

• What kind of materials do you use? (do you create your own brushes?)
I have a wide range of tools that I use, but to be honest I’m a great fan of copperplate nibs and extra wide nibs. For example my Arabic-style calligraphy is created with thick paper card or with wood nibs - both home made:-)

• What style of calligraphy is your favorite?
I’m dedicated to blacklettering which, to my opinion, has been completely influenced by oriental culture. If there was an empty room with a white sheet of paper and an automatic pen, I would immediately start doing blackletter calligraphy - this is what comes from deep within.

• What is your favorite part of doing calligraphy?
The whole process, understanding the whole process, planning every step, making a preview of my artwork in my mind - that is my favorite part. As a digital artist I’m addicted to unlimited undo software levels, but when I do traditional artwork I have no right to err, it can’t be undone:-) So this makes me concentrate more, makes me think and feel the energy of the creative process. Definitely this is the part of my work I enjoy the most. I’m definitely happy with every swash I make, but my favorite part is to figure out how to create the whole picture.

• Where do you get inspired from?
I get my inspiration from almost everything that surrounds me in life - from a single magazine, to a leaf on the street or another person’s creative work - everything. My latest creations, for example, are influenced by Julien Breton and Hassan Massoudy - both are really inspiring calligraphers and artists who I admire and follow their steps.

• Is it easy to create your own style and how difficult is it to achieve it?
I do not think that your personal style can be created - for me it can be discovered , unveiled - everyone has his own style, but not everyone knows how to find it and how to use it.

• What is your main work?
My specialty is Wine Labels Design and Custom lettering and Calligraphy on Wine Labels. I believe that in the silicone-plastic-digital-copy/paste era we should return to hand crafted artwork if we want to produce something worthy. I don’t underestimate the power of digital technology (remember - I am 100% digital artist too), but I want my pencils, my nibs and inks back. . . . and I think people want them too.

• What is the difference between Artistic calligraphy and a marketing project?
Haha - the difference is in the word marketing:-) The only reason to do an artistic calligraphy to me is to get rid of custom lettering, dedicated to a marketing research - the truth is that I love them both. If I lied, my portfolio would not exist.

• What advise would you give to somebody who wants to become a good calligrapher?
I would probably tell him that everything in our life repeats. Every beginner should know well what happened before him, should know the history of his work, his process, his creativity. If he knows this lesson well, he could be anything he wants to be - calligrapher, artist, president - everything:-)

The labelmaker
Behance portfolio

An interview with Justin Knopp
(Typoretum Letterpress Studio, Essex UK)

The history of letterpress starts sometime around the 2nd century AD in China where carved wooden blocks were used for printing on textiles and paper. This was a very inefficient process as a different block was carved for each new page or printed material. In Europe, it was Johannes Gutenberg who revolutionized printing, with the invention of a printing press with moveable type around 1440 AD. Although there are several claims that the Dutchman Laurence Koster invented moveable type printing, Gutenberg is generally accepted as the father of modern printing.
Several different printing techniques have been developed over the centuries, but the one that stays true to its original form of press, is letterpress. In the UK, the letterpress tradition is kept alive nowadays with the work of several passionate professionals, who are also keen to pass their trade skills to the younger generation through several workshops in some colleges and universities.

Typoretum is a letterpress studio based in Essex UK, which keeps the art of letterpress alive. We spoke with Justin Knopp the owner of Typoretum, who presented his work and shared his passion for letterpress with us.

Justin, when did you first fall in love with letterpress?
Way back in 1992, whilst studying BA(hons) Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins in London, I gained my first practical experience of letterpress typesetting and printing. I enjoyed it so much that my typography tutor, Phil Baines, kindly arranged for me to attend a week-long course with Alan Kitching at his Typography Workshop and I’ve never looked back!

What makes letterpress so unique?
What fascinates me about traditional letterpress (printing from moveable type) is that the tools and methods involved have hardly changed in over 550 years and yet it is still possible to experiment and produce creative and fresh typographical work. I also feel very strongly that letterpress is an excellent teaching medium and can help to provide a good solid understanding of typography. It is a great pity that many art and design colleges have, over recent years, disposed of their letterpress collections but the tide appears to have turned and a number of college’s – most notably the London College of Communication – are reinstating the teaching of letterpress on graphic design courses.

When, why and how did you decide to start your business?
Typoretum arose from a desire to introduce my letterpress work to a wider audience, after many years spent printing for pleasure and exchanging work with fellow typographers & letterpress printers. It has been a pleasure to allow a new audience to experience and appreciate the unique qualities of a letterpress printed item.
I also needed to make my large collection of historic letterpress equipment pay for itself as it had outgrown my original workshop space and I had to place many items into storage. We had a new workshop custom built in late 2007 and I now have a wonderful warm, dry and light space in which to work.

What does your studio regularly produce?
Currently, our website only promotes our range of greeting cards but I have also been busy designing and printing personalised writing paper, visiting cards and wedding stationery, in addition to other bespoke items. Soon I hope to start printing a selection of self-initiated wood type posters, for sale through our website, although this will only be possible once I have restored my very rare 19th century Wharfedale cylinder press. I am happy for the work I produce to be as varied as possible and I enjoy the challenges that an entirely bespoke project brings. I have a number of very exciting, projects on the horizon…

Which one of your projects do you consider the most interesting or enjoyed working on the most?
I particularly enjoy experimental projects, for example, I used the technique of ‘hot printing’ (developed the Dutch artist, typographer and printer H.N. Werkman) to produce the illustrative print of my Wharfedale cylinder press.  I would love to produce similar prints for each of my seven printing presses but this is a most definitely a long-term project!
An interesting recent commission involved producing a small and delicate hand-set booklet for a London watch manufacturer, to compliment his limited edition range of jewellery. Before he discovered us, he had spent weeks trying to find someone who was willing and able to take on such a small project, in both physical size and quantity. We were delighted with the finished piece and it was hugely rewarding to see how our work fitted into the completed presentation box.

Why would you suggest to someone to print on letterpress rather than on offset?
Although I am deeply passionate about letterpress, I am realistic that it is only practical for specific projects and is immensely limited. It is after all, a 550 year-old process that had almost become extinct following the widespread introduction of offset-lithography throughout the mid to late 20th Century. Having said this, letterpress is particularly well suited to low-volume projects where quality is a primary consideration.

Do you have standard clients?
It still feels like early days for our business, although we have picked up some repeat clients. We are always delighted when a client comes back to us with positive feedback about our service and that must surely be the best indicator as to whether we are getting things right. We work extremely hard to ensure our clients are happy with our products and services and the benefit we have is that we are a family business and offer an old-fashioned honest and personal service.

Is letterpress printing nowadays a design trend or a classic value?
I feel that letterpress printing has become desirable for a number of reasons; primarily as a result of an increasing trend toward the honest and handmade, but also due to its’ long venerable history and unique tactile qualities.

Which is the most difficult part of the printing process and which is the most interesting?
Each stage of the printing stage has particular challenge and the utmost care and attention is required throughout printing. I strive to waste as little paper as possible and end up running the press pretty slowly, so that I can examine each impression during the run. The part I enjoy most is the setting up of the press (make-ready) but the printing stage can be quite arduous if I need to print a large quantity. Washing up the press is always the least enjoyable part but I’m usually feeling on a high, if the job has turned out well by this stage!

Which quality of papers do you prefer to work with?
I tend to only use the finest quality high-cotton papers such as Zerkall, Somerset, Bockingford, Saunders Waterford etc as the softness of high-cotton papers works especially well with letterpress and I like the fact that the cotton used to manufacture the paper is a by-product of the clothing industry and therefore very eco-friendly.

What type of inks do you use?
I mainly use vegetable-based inks to which I add tints of colour from a large set of letterpress inks that I acquired from the Cambridge University Press. I mostly use very pale and subtle colours and mix all of my ink colours by eye. The majority of my ink stock is in non-standard colours, mixed for specific CUP projects and book work, and have wonderfully eclectic names like ‘Ignatus College purple’, ‘Hegel’s Philosophy pink’ and ‘Dr Peter Koslowski red’!

How difficult is it to find metal type nowadays?
Purchasing new metal type is becoming extremely difficult, with only a handful of individuals in the UK casting commercially on Monotype machines, although there are a few dedicated enthusiasts now setting up Monotype equipment. I dearly hope that new type will still be available for some time to come, as metal letterpress type has a finite life and can become irreparably worn after many impressions. There are a number of artisan typefoundries operating in the US and I am particularly fond of the Dale Guild Typefoundry. I recently purchased founts of 24pt Ratdolt Titling, 16pt Solemnis and two sets of their delightful Arrighi Ornaments from Dale Guild, to compliment the Centaur in my collection. The lead alloy that Dale Guild cast with is particularly hard and I cannot recommend their type highly enough.
It is virtually unknown for modern typefaces to be cast in metal, although The Rimmer Type Foundry recently released the typeface Stern, designed by Jim Rimmer, consecutively in both digital and cast metal versions. It is encouraging that the first ‘Subscription Casting’ sold out quickly and there is now a wait of at least two months of new orders. I dearly hope that this trend will continue and that more new typefaces will be released in metal in the future.

How do you apply the same pressure on the entire surface of the printed material?
Sometimes with great difficulty! It is essential that the typesetting and ‘locking-up’ of the type matter is undertaken with the greatest of care so as to reduce any imperfections when the printing stage is reached. Given the age of the materials that I use, some wear and tear is inevitable and occasionally I will need to replace letters that have been worn or damaged and are not printing correctly. If any areas of the printing surface (the ‘forme’) are printing lightly, I need to start applying pieces of very thin paper to the Tympan (waxed sheet covering the Platen of the press) or Cylinder. This technique is called overlaying and, although time-consuming, evens out any inconsistencies in the impression.

How do you manage to have a one-color background on your prints?
Printing large areas of solid colour by the letterpress process is extremely difficult as the pressures involved are immense. For the Christmas card that I designed and printed in 2007 for Wilkin & Sons Limited, I had the background colour litho-printed before overprinting it with wood type. This was a very exciting experiment and enabled me to escape the restrictions of paper colours for that project. Once my large Wharfedale cylinder press is restored and running I should, due to the size of the machine,  be able to print large solids myself and I look forward to further experimentation with this technique.

How demanding is the service of a letterpress machine compared to the new ones?
I have no experience whatsoever of operating any presses other than letterpress printing machines, although I would imagine that every printing process has its own particular challenges. The challenges are many when printing from moveable type but many obstacles can be overcome with common sense and copious amounts of patience! Each press has its own particular strengths, weaknesses and foibles so it is essential to select the correct press for the job in hand.

How expensive is it to run a letterpress studio?
That’s a difficult question to answer! The running costs of most letterpress machines should be quite low if they are cared for, as they are very heavily built. The most significant ongoing costs involved are for the high-quality papers and inks that are suited to letterpress printing and funding workshop space large enough to accommodate a collection of letterpress equipment. Since each size and type style of letterpress type needs to be stored in a separate typecase (often incorrectly referred to as a ’drawer’), even a modest selection of typefaces will take up an incredible amount of space! Another expense comes with moving machinery around and this is often best left to professional machine movers and this can be quite costly.

Has your work been accepted by the public? Do people recognize the value of letterpress?
I have received a very favourable response to my work and that encourages me to develop my range of letterpress printed items, as I sincerely feel that the unique and tactile nature of letterpress is widely appreciated and coveted. In contrast to modern printing methods, traditional letterpress imparts a subtle three-dimensional effect, especially when soft high-cotton papers are used. This is the beauty of letterpress.

What advice would you give to someone starting a letterpress studio?
Starting up a letterpress studio can be quite easy, with small table-top printing presses (such as the Adana) being freely available second-hand and fairly inexpensive to buy. It should be possible to set up a basic letterpress studio for under £200. Whilst Adana presses are quite limited, they are easy to get to grips with and a great way to develop ones skills. With letterpress equipment and type having become quite rare, it takes a lot of time and patience to find and collect items but I have found the experience of finding and preserving items of letterpress equipment hugely rewarding in itself. Good luck!

What keeps you motivated?
The seemingly unachievable ambition of reaching perfection! Seriously, the enjoyment I gain from experimenting with letterpress and the wonderful and inspiring craftspeople that it has led me to meet, makes all of the hard work and challenges worthwhile. I feel strongly that the skills involved in hand-typesetting and letterpress printing must not be lost in the mists of time, as so many traditional crafts have, and the responsibility of preserving the craft also keeps me going.

What is your main goal for the following years?
To spend as much time as possible preserving, teaching and promoting the craft of letterpress and building on the current resurgence of interest in the technique.

Links
typoretum.co.uk
blog.typoretum.co.uk
flickr

An Interview with Kostas Aggeletakis
(Creative Director of HARPER’S BAZAAR-Greek edition)

1. Which are your criteria for choosing a typeface for a publication?
Typography is an artistic expression and as such is very difficult to define these criteria. Choosing a typeface for a publication is a total different procedure from opening a recipe book which can advice you on what you can or cannot do with letters. I never follow certain rules but I always have in mind the following:
a. The content of the publication. Every typeface has a personality, so I want its personality to respect and communicate the content of the publication.
b. Legibility
c. The medium (screen or paper).
d. The audience. I’ll use a total different set of typefaces for a children’s book and a different one for the annual report of a big company.
e. The overall quality of the typeface. A high quality font with all the letters, ligatures, numbers, punctuation marks, currency and mathematical symbols available is the one that I’ll trust to do my work.

2. Do you prefer serif or sans-serif and why?
It’s difficult to answer this question. I can’t choose between two typefaces knowing only that the one is serif and the other one is san serif. There are many other factors for my choice beside this.

3. Which typeface you would never use for Harper’s Bazaar?
Harper’s Bazaar is a historic American fashion magazine with a very sophisticated perspective about fashion and beauty and with audience in the middle-upper and upper class. Harper’s Bazaar had been the home of many talents such as Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland , Richard Avedon, Man Ray, Andy Warhol and others. The visual identity of Harper’s Bazaar has the signature of his legendary art director, Alexey Brodovitch and his Bazaar’s iconic Didot logo carries a big part of the magazine’s history. Having all these in mind and since typefaces convey the social position of a magazine, determined by the reader’s upbringing and earlier influences, it’s hard to use any typeface which does not convey all the above. In recent past Harper’s Bazaar used DIN, but this is one font that I would never use in this magazine. DIN is not the only font that I would not use for Harper’s Bazaar (of course script and blackletter typefaces are out of the question) but I think this is a very good example for someone to understand which typefaces do not match with this publication.

4. Would you ever compromise legibility for aesthetics and when?
Legibility or readability isn’t the only task of a font. A typeface is not only the medium by which we convey to the reader the meaning of text, it is also shapes and forms. Graphic design is also shapes and forms. Therefore, letters may sometimes loose their legibility for the sake of aesthetics, but this does not necessarily mean that they loose their power.

5. Is economy of text a major concern when it comes to choosing a typeface for your magazine?
Not really. In a fashion magazine like Harper’s Bazaar long articles are not usual, so there is no need for a narrow typeface.

6. What do you see to be the next trend for magazine design?
Magazines and newspapers are no longer the only media we use for news, fashion, entertaiment, etc. Needs have changed, therefore the medium has to change as well. In this context, the new magazines must portray their character. The “new” magazines will be like coffee table books. Magazines with a strong concept, sophisticated images and illustrations, eye catching typography, high quality papers, in new formats and all sorts of different sizes. These are the magazines of the future.

7. Which motto describes best yourself and your work?
“Art is not a reflection of reality, it’s the reality of that reflection”
- Jean-Luc Godard