the mehallo blog. beta.

When I want to design something that calls for sophistication, I thumb thru the work of Jan Tschichold (1902-1974).

Modernist and  . . .  Classicist. This contrast leads to some interesting thinking that informs my own ability to design for different industries.

Tschichold put The New Typography on the map by publishing the book on the subject and helped spread the idea of the bauhaus – and modernism – worldwide.

The largest project of his career took place in the late 1940s – the redesign of Penguin’s line of paperbacks (below). As a whole, Penguin’s quality hasn’t wavered since.

Here’s an overview of the work of Tschichold at retinart – with some good links for additional info.

And I’m still looking for a decent (inexpensive) replacement text for my beginning type courses since Tschichold’s Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering is now out of print. Nothing I’ve found so far comes close to showing well-drawn – and well selected – metal specimens.

Penguin redesign, an exercise in subtlety: before (1941) and after (1947)

tags: cool finds, design, design history, education, thoughts // 4 comments  . . .