by Ian West | Jul 3, 2012 | Typography
The first whiffs of new technology were blowing through the world of typographic design. Display fonts were the typefaces that were available in large sizes to create headlines in designs and advertisements – such faces as Grotesque No.9, Gill Sans Ultra or...
by Ian West | Jul 2, 2012 | Working designer
Student life cannot go on for ever and work experience seemed a logical stepping stone. I had played around local folk clubs and found that people from the Manchester advertising scene were very well represented in that particular community. I approached a few people,...
by Ian West | Apr 20, 2012 | Working designer
A first taste of the real world of work can be a a bit of a reality check for the aspiring creative. One of my hobbies throughout college, and one that had also supplemented my student income, was music. I had played around local folk clubs, both solo and in various...
by Ian West | Apr 8, 2012 | Design education
Design education – the delights and tribulations of typography A key subject in the curriculum, and one that was to become particularly important to me, was typography. In the days before computers and desktop publishing, all text had to be set in type – either...
by Ian West | Mar 14, 2012 | Uncategorized
It is hard to believe today, but there was a time when Helvetica was a rare and costly resource. In my early graphic design studies, I was impressed by the work of Swiss and German typographers and one thing that seemed to characterise them was a cool and distinctive...