TYPE TOUR OF LOWER MANHATTAN: DISCOVERING TYPOGRAPHIC TREASURES TO SPUR CREATIVE THINKING Tobias Frere-Jones, Principal, Director of Typography, Hoefler & Frere-Jones Meeting place: Southwest Corner of Center & Chambers Streets next to City Hall [Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall stop on 4, 5, 6 Subway line} More than fonts, it's lettering that contributes the dominant flavor to New York City's typography. More often than not, these one-off inscriptions and signs, handmade by artisans in a variety of media, were rendered in styles unconnected with the business of typography, which refers only to the practice of creating alphabets for printing. But the advent of digital type has made it easier than ever to use a mere font for architectural lettering as well. Combined with the building boom that's transforming the city faster than ever, the grand inscriptions and humble signboards that constitute our alphabetic inheritance are vanishing fast. In preparing the Gotham typeface, which celebrates just one of New York's unmistakable typographic themes, Tobias Frere-Jones assiduously photographed thousands of signs throughout the metropolis. Tobias will be leading a typographic walking tour for FUSE, which promises two and a half | hours of the city's most unexamined — and imperiled — typographic treasures. Space is limited to 20 people, so book early. Don't forget your camera, a snack, sunscreen, and comfortable walking shoes. The tour will end near some tasty lunch restaurants on the Lower East Side. About Tobias
Tobias Frere-Jones was born in 1970 in New York, and after receiving his BFA in 1992 from Rhode Island School of Design, joined Font Bureau, Inc. In seven years as Senior Designer, he created many of Font Bureau's best known typefaces, including Interstate and Poynter Oldstyle & Gothic. He joined the faculty of the Yale School of Art in 1996, where he continues to teach typeface design on the graduate level. In 1999, he left Font Bureau to begin work with Jonathan Hoefler. Under the name Hoefler & Frere- Jones, the two have collaborated on projects for GQ, Wired, Nike, Martha Stewart Living, The Wall Street Journal and many others. He has designed over five hundred typefaces for retail publication, custom clients, and experimental research. He has lectured to designers and students throughout North America, Europe and Australia. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. In 2006, he became the first American to receive the Gerrit Noordzij Award, presented by the Royal Academy in The Hague. |