Majoor & Young

[Alison Marana]

Donyald Young - Design Matters

Typography is an ancient art, but it is an element that affects modern
existence, even pop culture. As a veteran of typography, interviewer
Debbie Millman notes Doyald Young to be a relevant designer in current
culture. For example, pop musician Fergie uses Young's typeface,
Young Baroque, on an album cover. The many uses of typography change
over time, but a designer who fully understands his art creates work
that is timeless.

To assert the importance of drawing, Young quotes Milton Glazer,
"...can't think without a pencil." Sketching is "part of the process"
according to Young- the utter foundation of a design. Without a
sketch, the essence of an idea is not tangible. If a designer forgets
what he ultimately wants to create, he will never recapture the first
inkling of an idea. Young refers to the process of sketching as,
"...the ultimate good in layout and design." Millman mentions that
designers of the past may have had more of a love for drawing, and
wonders if this makes them better designers. Young does not believe
so: he states, "Talents are spread haphazardly", for example, a
designer with a color sense but no drawing sense.

Young also discusses students and new designers, and "how to teach one
to see." Paying attention to negative space is necessary when
perfecting the shape of a letterform. He mentions being a student,
and a teacher who taught him how to "properly" sharpen a pencil. A
"draftsmen point" is created by exposing lead.

Martin Majoor - My Type Design Philosophy

Majoor, as a designer, focuses solely on typography intended for
books. In fact, his philosophy is that one, "...cannot be a good type
designer if you are not a book typographer...not...display types but
about text types." He discusses the importance of understanding how
type works in a body of copy, and how text is affected by the use of
particular letterforms. I do think it is best for a designer to
attain as much knowledge as possible about his medium. However, I
disagree with Majoor: I do not believe that a good typographer must be
an expert on book typography. If typography is used as art, such as
on an album cover, a poster, or even packaging, book typography
becomes irrelevant. The designer must be aware of the way type looks
on the scale of a phrase, word, or sentence. In book typography, the
scale is changed to numerous sentences or paragraphs. In a book, a
block of text becomes a gray mass. When used as art, a short length
of typography becomes something interesting to examine itself. They
are seperate genres of tyography that must be treated uniquely.

"Shake hands and work together in harmony," is the quote that Majoor
uses to epitomize his philosophy of typography. This is describes the
layering of sans serifs and serifs, diagrams viewed earlier in
Majoor's essay. The fonts Walbaum and Didot are superimposed, so the
viewer can understand the difference between similar changes in angle
and curve.