As a continuation of my previous post, here another scan, this time of a 1725 document. Again, the use of the “catchphrase” is visible within these pages as well.
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This past week, while researching through Dr. Arturo Dávila’s personal library, I came across a stack of pamphlets, about 11 of them in total, sewn and bound in varied marbleized papers. Trim-wise, these are considerably small, ranging from 3×4.5 inches to 5.5×8 inches, and yet, they called my attention. Don Arturo, as wise as he is, felt as my eyes were drawn to the colorful spines. “Pick them up; take a look“. In the process, he explained that these reproductions were used by the Church to spread its message. Little did I know, my curiosity had brought me to a series of original 18th Century texts—printed versions of homilies recited by Catholic priests in Mexico.
To share these, I took the time to scan one of the leaflets in its entirety. Please note a curious type treatment that has been killing me since I became aware of it: at the end of every page the typesetter included the first few characters of the word that follows on the next page. I had never seen this kind of strategy employed, and it was used in almost all of the documents, printed in a range of many different years, which means it was not a one time thing.
In their time, these documents would have probably not attracted any aesthetic conversation, but today, I can’t help but see them with a clinical eye, and hold them in my hands with admiration. Right now, everything about them—texture, color, smell, sound—is just fantastic. More importantly, each and every one of them holds some kind of typographic lesson that I can learn from.
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Commemorative piece given to the 2009 recipients of Puerto Rico's Architecture Awards. Design and concept by Alberto Rigau. Fabrication by Roberto Pérez.
This past Thursday, Puerto Rico’s professional college of architects and landscape architects awarded the 2009 medals in architecture. These awards, named after Ricardo Alegría, are given to individuals and/or entities who are not directly related to the discipline of architecture but who have contributed to the field in a way that can be evidenced in a substantial body of work.
Previously, this prestigious recognition had been given four times, and to my knowledge, recipients were given only a certificate. This year I volunteered and gifted the College with a design of commemorative piece to be handed out in the naming ceremony.
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from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1915, No. 274
from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1915, No. 278
Before Sports Illustrated, Life and the image-based version of National Geographic (can you believe it began as a text-based academic publication?), Puerto Rico had it’s very own image-based weekly: Puerto Rico Ilustrado.
It was published from March 6th 1910 through December 27th 1952, a length of time during which it amassed a collection of 2227 issues. Content wise, the pages primarily chronicled life in the island, while it also included writings and images on international events of the time.1 On average, these were about 16 pages, with about 6 of them dedicated to advertisements (which are fabulous in their own right). It was printed on a kind of dull paper, originally in black and white, but slowly 2 color printing makes its way into the covers. In the later years, covers are then produced in full color (which in many ways diminished the visual impact of earlier compositions)
During the last few weeks I have been scanning directly from about 15 years worth of issues, and the more I look at it the more I marvel at the typography contained in the mastheads of the issues, particularly their visual exploration which shows a struggle between looking man-made and machine-made, with an observed preference on the former.
My study on this publication is only beginning, but I have scanned a series of typographic treatments from a few years’ worth of the publication to begin a process of sharing them.
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All photos by Gus Pantell.
The early part of the XXth century witnessed the construction of an extensive web of irrigation channels to distribute water to homes and farmlands in Puerto Rico along more than 35 kms. Still in operation to this day, throughout time different individuals and groups have acknowledged the scenic value of these channels; however, to most they remain unknown.
Conceived by the architectural firm, Jorge Rigau FAIA, Architects, the pilot project was designed to garner support from government officials, institutions, and the general public for the development of Isabela’s irrigation channels as a key ecotourism attraction in Puerto Rico. The “canales” travel across plains, mountains, and forests of varying microclimate, flora, fauna, and views. Maintenance paths that run continuously next to them could today be refashioned as nature trails accessible to the general public, children, senior citizens, and handicapped people alike. This pilot project set out to prove the feasibility of this initiative.
After public access to these facilities had been denied for eighty years, one kilometer of channels was opened up for two days, attracting an audience of over 3,000 registered people, including key decision-makers like the Island’s Interim Governor. Environmental leaders and university professors joined the long lines of visitors from all over the Island.Advocacy is often linked to demonstrations, more than often committed to stop something from happening. In our case, we chose to demonstrate otherwise: How something can, in fact, happen. Letters of support have started to come and decision makers – already engaged – have invited us to sit and dialogue. This is what we planned for.
At the end of last semester the graduate class came together to work on a calendar for 2009. The project, headed by Caroline Prietz, Liese Zahabi and Lauren Waugh, was hand letterpressed and distributed to our family and friends. Each of the months was divided among the participants.
To showcase the process to the faculty, I made this short video which pretty much tells the story of that one particular weekend when thinner became our therapist and biscuits were king.
Untitled (I shop therefore I am)
by Barbara Kruger
111″ by 113″
photographic silkscreen/vinyl
1987
I am one of those rare graduate students who still makes a bit of time to watch some television. I know… I know… Honestly though, I learn from a good show, story, or plot. Battlestar Galactica, the early Gray’s Anatomy, and the initial seasons of Prison Break, Lost, and 24, are some of the contemporary visual narratives that go beyond the mere entertainment they are meant to provide… and there’s plenty to gain from watching them if you are conscious of this. There are other not so good narratives out there, but it’s harder to admit and share what I see in them in a public manner… ;)
Recently, while watching some of these shows, I noted a change in the commercial advertising landscape: the automotive industry is trying to harness the power of typography and verbal communications to make its pitch to us.
Great. By Random House Mondadori.
Project
The best way to shape the future is to…
Created for
Option Shift Control Symposium
North Carolina State University
College of Design
Executed by
Gretchen Rinnert, Bryan Rinnert, Marty Lane, Alberto Rigau
November 30th 2007
Jaime Suárez and Joel Ramos keep working on the sculptural aspect of the Vieques Main Plaza Fountain designed by Jorge Rigau FAIA.
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[All of these images where drawn with light on a 30 second exposure photograph.]
It’s that time of year. We are half way through the semester and I’ve decided to refocus all of my research.
What drives in human beings the need to be remembered? Why is it sometimes crucial to leave a mark behind? Why do people want to communicate that they were here or there? We can see this along history… from cave drawings, to the Pyramids of Giza, to royal paintings, to photographic portraits, to bathroom stalls, to contemporary social networks as facebook and myspace. Other people want me to know something about them, and they want to be sure that I remember it for a long time.
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Please refer to Insights Incite Change Style Guide to get an overview of what I am talking about.
A few days ago I found the Insights Incite Change Style Guide webpage for Syracuse University. I was temporarily thrilled, for as an alumnus of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications I could not wait to experience a new visual transformation of my alma mater.
My excitement, sadly, lasted only seconds.
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At the AIGA Next conference there was a segment called 20/20. It was 20 young designers, each having been granted 1 min to talk or show what’s next. One of the designers, Geoff Halber, asked others to contribute to his presentation by submitting a version of an 08.
My domino version of the 08, already blending with the next version.
Thanks to Kelly Murdoch-Kitt for having taken the photo.
As part of my explorations on the relationship between the disciplines of architecture and graphic design, a current work in progress delves into the subject of representation thru typography. Here letterforms (which designs are dictated by the medium) can be texture, but at the same time a message, which at the same time is a texture. The revelation of this meaning arises from the interaction the user has with the work. These are process photos. The project is half way in the process.
Architecture by Jorge Rigau, FAIA. Typography by Alberto Rigau. Scultpture and modeling by Jaime Suárez Toro.
Original letterform designs.
Final letterforms in their construction molds.
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The second in a series of articles published in Mangrove magazine in 2004. These are not deep in academic research, but a fun read.
Missing pictures
Movie subtitles, intended to facilitate the enjoyment of foreign films, often hinder more than help the purported aesthetic experience. Who decides on the type, placement, and contents of these words on the big screen? Most people have no idea, and those who do it don’t seem to either.
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