ISTD Brief - 1 / 10 - tu, Brute? Shakespeare Typographic Publication 2007

tu, Brute?

Print project

Take a look at the ampersand in the title above. What do you see? The quote, of course, comes from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar . . . ‘Et tu, Brute?’ The ampersand is an adaptation of the Latin word et (meaning and), the transformation of which can be seen where the ‘e’ and the cross of the ‘t’ are ligatured. Further research reveals that the ampersand character is sometimes called the Tironian sign, named after Marcus Tullius Tiro (a Roman slave and later freedman of Cicero) who invented an early form of shorthand. Asterisk, ellipsis, diphthong, double-daggers, etc are other typographic characters with equally interesting backgrounds.

Research into the derivation of words in contemporary language makes for fascinating study, revealing streams of information that link, sometimes disparate, seemingly unconnected, treasures of information. The world of typography is full of fascinating, mysterious words and phrases, traditions, histories and characters (both human and typographic) that populate nearly six hundred years of practice.

The investigation of the history of ‘printing types’, for example, leads us to a series of inter- connecting facts, ie The Great Fire of Chicago 1871 – destruction of Marder Luse & Co type foundry – Nelson Hawks – establishment of Anglo-American point system. Another example might be ‘Gill Sans’ – Eric Gill – Edward Johnston – Johnston Typeface – London Underground – Harry Beck and his famous map.

Any one or a combination of the examples above could form the basis for an informative typographic treatment in a publication.

The Brief

Design a ‘collectable’ publication, a light-hearted reference work which takes cognizance of the world of typographic practice, both historical and contemporary. An encyclopedia/almanac/ lexicon – a compendium of typographic miscellany? Call it what you will and surprise us with what you can unearth!

Target Market

Those with a discerning eye for good typographic practice – professional graphic designers, typographers, educators, design students, etc.

Requirements • Name – Create a title for the publication. • Dummy – Provide a client-quality, bound, sixteen page dummy of your proposal.

Cover and end-papers, if proposed, will be in addition. Size, format, materials and

production factors are open to your choice but should be demonstrated in the dummy. • Poster – Design a collectable poster to accompany the publication. Size/format at your

discretion, but the final submission should be within the confines of an A1 sheet – you may

wish to consider long and thin, portrait/landscape, square, etc • Research and Development/Grids – Refer to Assessment Criteria • Specifications – Refer to Assessment Criteria. • Strategy – Refer to Assessment Criteria  • Presentation – Refer to Assessment Criteria

To summarise:

Design a collectable publication focusing on the history of type

Light hearted to typographic Practise

Historical and contemporary

Target Market : professional graphic designers, typographers, educators, design students, etc.

Create a name for publication

!6 page, bound dummy for client covers and end papers

Poster - Collectable poster to accompany publication - A1 largest

MEDIUM