Representation

I was listening to "The World" last night on NPR, and heard a great interview of a graphic designer named Christina Paoli who recently wrote a book called "Mexican Blackletter." It addressed somewhat what Amanda brought up about type. . . some frustration with over-use of the computer and not enough hand-rendering. It's also a complaint I've had about not only type but design in general- jumping right onto the computer to design without first sketching or thinking about design.We can easily find/use Mexican Blackletter in perfectly rendered form from a font house, but where did it originally come from? It seems to be something we see more and more of in the U.S. in the form of tattoos, signage and on car windows as more people coming here from Mexico proudly display evidence of their heritage. But not every Mexican American with a blackletter tattoo is downloading this font.

Blackletter- also known as Gothic miniscule originated in Europe near the end of the 12th century. We see variations of it in European religious art dating from that period. Apparently, according to Paoli, Jakob Kronberger, the most important printer in Seville, Spain in the 1500s helped establish the first printing press on the American continent in Mexico in 1538. In 1544, the first printed book in America was published: "Doctrina Breve," by Fray Juan de Zumarraga, which was set in Rotunda blackletter- movable type. Blackletter has been subtly reshaped by indigenous influences in Mexico over the years. If you travel to Mexico you see blackletter used in signage everywhere from little taquerias to doctors' offices. Why is this typeface so popular in Mexico? For the people Paoli interviewed- people who are not trained graphic designers- words like, "tradition," "religion," and, "historical" kept coming up. This leads me to think about the type choices we make as graphic designers. What does Times Roman say for instance? Or Helvetica?

This interview also brought up a specific area of interest for me; the influences of printmaking on design and vice/versa, as well as how people in 3rd world countries like Mexico use design elements to convey meaning- without the use of a computer. Most of the shopkeepers, graffiti artists, tattoo artists and everyday people in Mexico do not use computers to create signage or art. They hand draw their letters. It's a visual treat walking through a Mexican market for someone like me who loves color and the quirkiness of hand drawn signage- and it's everywhere- on buses, in restaurants, murals, jewelry stores. . . you can't miss it.

The interview can be heard if you go to www.theworld.org. It's obviously something that gets me going. . . I ordered the book!