Disco Inferno

Shut Up and Eat Your Helvetica!

Typecon Day 3-5-- Wrap Up!

The OW team had a whirlwind Typecon experience. There has not been a lot of time to post but I am trying to catch up.

Following the Sagmeister talk with the weird story about the Manatee, we moved up to UB Thursday night to see a presentation from Dutch design team NLXL. They mixed some examples of their work with things that inspired them. Following the presentation they played some techno and dance MP3s and NLXL's Oscar mixed some video clips. Pretty cool.

After a full day of presentations highlighted by Doyald Young discussing his book Dangerous Curves and Dard Hunter III discussing the family legacy, the evening at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery starred Erik Spiekermann. Eric, who earlier in the day had patted me on the chest as he flipped my name tag around for me, was funny, foul and took quite a few swipes at Helvetica's bastard child, Arial! Very entertaining. The late night Friday night moved to the 'Hawk with some punk rock DJed by Mixwell Einstein and myself, Odiorne (they rocked Morning Star) and a weird band from Toronto, the Serrifics. Big Black, Primal Scream, Iggy-- we had it all for the people.

Saturday featured another full day of speakers starting with Ken Barber from the famous House Industries and old timer Mike Parker who remarked that he "has probably forgotten more about Times Roman that most people in the room know..." I am not so sure about that, there were some serious type-geeks in the audience. J. and I took some new friends to a great lunch at Betty's and then more speakers. There was alos a great type-themed poster show put together by You Work For Them (see some poster photos on Julian Montague's blog).

Saturday night was the grand ball where I basically DJ'ed cool wedding music. Now I never play songs I don't like, but I play all the alt. 80s' songs and 70's funk, disco songs I had. I had a little fun playing some Underworld, Chemical Brothers, and Daft Punk, but I expected more from a crowd of creatives. I had a whole bin full of house, groove and really great music I never touched. Kinda of disappointing.

All in all, the Typecon was a bit too much type, even for me. Because of the event I met a lot of great new friends and met a lot of cool people. But 7 days of type-themed events have burned me out. I haven't gone this long without a good night sleep in quite a while. And while I was at the Allen Street Hardware at 3:15 AM, I know I had had enough.

j. and spend Sunday wrapping things up, picking up the DJ gear and leftover W2R apparel from the Hyatt and sneaking out to see the new Batman movie (and it is really good!). I got a lot of stickers and buttons, a cool shirt screened from my new buddy from Colorado and some inspiration to be more creative in general, but I am typed-out for a while.

Having this international conference in town was super. I did hear some German designers complaining about the desolate downtown, but a lot of other out-of-town folks enjoyed our architecture, our food, the hospitality of the warm buffalonians, great music and nightlife and lot of type-geek camaraderie. Next year, Typecon will be in Atlanta- ho hum.

Such Great Heights

Typecon Day 2

Things I Have Learned (or was reminded of) Last Night During the Stefan Sagmeister Presentation

> large, hollow, echoey rooms make it hard to hear the speaker

> Even though BBQ chicken wings are sacrilegious around these parts, they are sure good from La Nova

> The old Pink is still a great place to hang out

> Flying Bison sure brews some tasty Buffalo beer

> Sagmeister did some album art for the band HP Zinker (which included local drummer David Waz)

> Posters that are hand screen printed rule (way better that any offset printing)

> SS is not a god, even though the presentation had some churchy things happening-- he is just a man, a pretty good designer, but just a man...

> Type people and graphic artists are great people to hang out with

> Letterpress feels good to the touch

> The deadheads are going to invade downtown this afternoon

> When ever you see a seat, you should sit instead of stand

> Some people use Arial and just don't know any better

> It is not the heat, it's the humidity

Pretty Hate Machine

Typecon Day 1

I met this great artist from Colorado who presented at the Pecha Kucha. His name is Rick Griffith and he is a professor and owner of a really cool design shop. His presentation was a real hoot and I am glad to have made his acquaintance.

I saw him today and he handed me this envelope which contained this awesome letterpress note, click on the graphic to read it larger.

... & he has seen my work....

Sand and Vasaline

Typecon Day 1

TONIGHT! SOLD OUT!
An Evening with Stefan Sagmeister
Wednesday, July 16
Doors open at 8:00 PM
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum

I hope you got your tiks for a rare evening with one of our greatest contemporary designers, Stefan Sagmeister. He will be speaking on his cool new book "Twenty Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far." Controversial, enlightening, entertaining - should be a BLAST!

There will be a reception, book signing, La Nova wings, and local brew courtesy of Flying Bison Brewing Company. Mmmmmmm...

View his hypnotic website here (click me)

HERO's poster for the event (no, click me...)

Peaches & Creme

Pecha Kucha Review- Typecon Day 0

The TypeCon2008 edition of Pecha Kucha kicked of the conference with a bang! Though the actual Typecon begins today, last nights PK pre-opening event was great. J. and I presented (in slot number 4) following book cover designer Shasti O'Leary Soudant (who is a Photoshop master) and preceding Mark Brickey of Hero Design Studio-- who wrote his speech while us 1st four presenters were on!

The evening started with type guy Stephen Coles. Next was my friend, local artist Julian Montague, who reviewed a lot of his work , talked shopping carts and spiders and discussed type used throughout.

J. and I discussed our background in the pre-computer days of design and presented some behind the scenes looks at 4 different logo projects. We discussed our reasoning for using certain typefaces and went back and forth about our design process. J. and I have very different ways of designing- she is a meticulous planner and she equates my style as "driving with your eyes shut"- which isn't entirely true, but close.

Other presenters included Rick Griffith from Colorado who was crazy/fun and the AmpersandAmpersand kids from Hamilton, Mark Byk and Kristine Tortora who played a weird, old song (my friend Paul K would have loved this) and let their slideshow speak for itself. I also enjoyed local designer Greg Meadows who talked about his love of type and how it all began. I missed the last two presenters, Toronto's Brian Maloney, and Emily Luce, as I had to run to DJ the Book Arts after event party.

it is great to meet a lot of out-of-town designers that came to our fair city for this great event. What a way to get the creative juices flowing-- talking about design! The other thing that j. mentioned this AM was there is a lot of hands-on artists involved, screen printers especially. It is great to see a lot non-computer design.

I am really looking forward to seeing Sagmeister tonight at the Manuscript Museum in the heart of Allentown. FREE tickets still available. You all better be there!

Holiday in the Sun

weather prediction for typecon this week: sunny & humid

We designed some swag for the Typecon 'swag bag' given to all attendees. They have officially hit the streets tonight at the grand opening, sneak peak of the The WNY Book Arts Collaborative (I like to call it the Bookmaking Clubhouse)!

This rounded corner sticker is a limited edition Where to Roam, Got Punkt., punkt rock sticker in pink and black with a classic ransom note punk stylee. That's a lot of punk, oi!

Here it is, get them free all week at the conference (or send me an email and I'll mail you a few). Get 'em while they last, stick them on a lot of things...

Tpecon kicks off tomorrow with the Pecha Kucha!

Bat Dance

Why? It's Christmas dammit!

While preparing slides for our Pecha Kucha (during Typecon) presentation on Tuesday, I ran across some early artwork and old designs. I went waaaaaay back into the archives to unearth quite a view vintage, old school graphics. This flyer was made before I became Wizard Graphics and is just attributed to "M.W."

This flyer was designed for a party thrown at my 1st apartment after I moved out of my parents house. Constructed by hand in 1987 (3 years into college at this point), this flyer was passed out to friends. With hand lettering and photos sliced out of a book I bought at the discount book store about TV in the 60s, the flyer is probably one of the earliest examples of my work- true cut and paste. I can't remember if these were run at Kinkos or the Buff State Library copy machines?

Squeezing as much text into small spaces, I am surprised there was any white space on this thing, but I had to get that Frank Gorshin Riddler in as big as possible for full effect! This flyer came in red and green.

If I ever wanted to make a typeface from my handwriting, this would b a good example. In 20+ years my handwriting hasn't gotten much better, probably worse actually.

Merry Christmas, Batdork.... enjoy this flyer (click on it for a larger view)...

All The Young Dudes (and some old ones...)

To help with your Typecon planning, I have chose to highlight a few choice events that are must sees... there a lot other workshops, events and presentation, but I picked out a few of my favorites that I am looking forward too. Here ya go...

Be sure to check out the onsite Typecon store (at the Hyatt) with Where to Roam Tees for sale and free stickers!


TypeCon2008 Schedule Highlight

Tuesday, July 15
8:00 pm: Type-themed Pecha Kucha Night
An Evening of Mini Presentations From Design Legends
and Rising Stars at the Hallwalls Cinema (at Babeville)
OtherWisz will be presenting... I am not sure if we are the "design legends" or the "rising stars" or the guys in the middle!

Wednesday, July 16
9:00 pm: An Evening with
Stefan Sagmeister: Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, North Hall
Stefan is very entertaining if you saw the Helvetica movie


Thursday, July 17
8:00 pm: Opening Night Extravaganza @ University at Buffalo
featuring Dutch Design Innovators NLXL
These guys are very cool, check out their work here.
The only thing that sucks is that it is out in Amherst, ugh.


Friday, July 18
10:00 am (Hyatt) : Doyald Young - Dangerous Curves
Another awesome designer, in his 80's

3:15 pm: Indie Font Marketing Panel (Hyatt)
John Collins (MyFonts), Patrick Griffin (Canada Type), Stephen Coles (FontShop/Typographica), Mike Cina (YouWorkForThem), Alejandro Paul (Sudtipos), and Jan Middendorp (moderator)

5:15 pm: Kim Elam (Ringling College of Art and Design)
Typographic Systems, Beyond the Grid (Hyatt)
But I love the grid....

8:00 pm: Erik Spiekermann at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Another awesome designer (again, see Helvetica, the movie...)

10:00 P22 presents Type:Con 2008 (Mohawk Place)
featuring Odiorne, Etaoin Shrdlu, The Sarrifics, and Deja Blu
Dr Wisz (me!) and special guest Mixwell Einstein- DJing classic alt. rock and weird rock, kraut rock and space rock!


Saturday, July 19
9:15 am: Ken Barber (House Industries)
Learning from Lettering
Another really cool company

10:00 am: Jakob Trollbäck (Trollbäck + Company)
Choreography for Type

8:30 pm: Alpha Crazy, a Celebration (Hyatt Ballroom)
buffet dinner, drinks, Type Quiz, music, dancing, and surprises
DJs deja blu spin house, neo-soul, funk, nu-jazz, old school hip hop, retro grooves and 'sounds of fonts'


Sunday, July 20
5:30 pm: Jan Middendorp - Type as Image, Image as Type

6:45 pm: Closing Night Gathering at the Roycroft

Hope to see you around next week during the festival...

Psycho Killer

Oh my God, it even has a watermark.

Typecon is only 4 days away... more Typecon fun later on, check back. Here is a great YouTube clip from the movie American Psycho when the boys are comparing business cards. Hilarious.... subtle off white color...

Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster

Of Sagmeister and Cleaning
(or Things I Have Learned So Far In My Life include 'a clean office is a good thing'...):

Today is unprecedented in the history of this office. Today is the Clean Sweep. Today we will clean this office like no other office cleaning! Since we moved upstairs last June little actual office cleaning has taken place. Sure I have vacuumed every month or so, but this is for real! I betcha I will find some cool stuff... I'll show you what I find. I will take some snapshots...

Typecon is only one week away, are you ready? And, just announced, Public Tickets Available For Stefan Sagmeister in Buffalo- click here.

From the Typecon site:

"SOTA is proud to present Stefan Sagmeister: Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far. Sagmeister's first Buffalo appearance is slated for Wednesday evening, July 16, at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, North Hall, 220 North Street, Buffalo, New York.

Doors open at 8:00 pm, with the presentation kicking off at 9:00 pm. His new book, Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far, will be available for purchase, and Stefan will sign copies on the spot. This evening is presented by The Society of Typographic Aficionados (SOTA) in association with Veer and the Type Directors Club (TDC)."

The Seeker

Paint brush graffiti.


When I was a kid, I spent a few years growing up on the East Side of Buffalo on Kuchuska (sp?) Street living with my folks in my Dad's Dad's house prior to packing up (at the age of 3) and moving to Tonawanda. We still went to my Mom's parents home on Beck Street every Sunday afternoon, until we took up the family camping trend in the mid Seventies and we split town every weekend for such faraway lands as Darien and Niagara Falls.

My grandparents home was across the street from the back parking lot of some department stores. The back wall of the store had this awesome paint-brush rendered graffiti that was there until the knocked the building down to build a (big K) K-mart. Not out-of-a-can sprayed, but authored with a brush. I could always picture this rockin' long haired East Side Pole-- a braver, more vandal-happy version of myself-- with a bucket of white paint and a fat 'ol brush scrawling this Who-based sentiment: Keith Moon Lives.

In the world of Krylon-applied tags, this brush scrawl stood out in my mind. Hey, I was a teenager and I loved the Who! You could tell the artist started to speed things up when they got to the end, the 'es' in 'lives'... maybe the cops were coming! It is harder to run with a gallon of house paint than a can of spray-paint! But the artist did take the time to add the 'eyes' or 'boobs' or whatever is in the O's in 'MOON.' What a skilled craftsman!

I found this picture in the flat-file cleaning mentioned earlier. I had used this as an submission to a college photography class where we were all given 5-6 phrases and were instructed to go out and photograph images that we felt represented the words. This one was for "scholarly communication."

Ham n' Eggs

OtherWisz designed a nifty, little restaurant guide for the out-of-town designers coming in a few weeks for Typecon. This was a fun project where we got to do pretty much what we wanted- all we started with was some text and a list of restaurants written and compiled by Richard Kegler of P22.

The design is a 16-panel accordion fold that ends up being 8-1/2" x 2-1/4" to fit in a back pocket. The design was inspired by NYC subway guides (great bunch of them online here) and the font we used, P22 Underground. The font has these great extras that link together to make subway map lines. I wanted the cover to be type-a-riffic sensation with a balance of letter-forms and white (black) space. Sounds good, right? Those P22 Underground characters fit so well together, I could not resist fitting them into each other.

We divided the list of eateries into 'sections of town' and J. put them in order - starting from the Hyatt (base-camp for Typecon) and moving outwards including: Waterfront, Downtown, Theatre District, Chippewa, Allentown Elmwood Village and the must visit 'Off The Beaten Path.'

The printing was supplied by United Graphics (thanks Scott!), who has donated a bunch for the Typecon planning team. We were glad to do this project, and I was pretty pleased with the result. The PDF is up on the Typecon site and the printed guides will be available upon registration.

Here is a bit from Rich's introduction:

"Buffalo is food town. Like the many fine establishments to be found in the largest city in New York State, Buffalo restaurants abide by Darwinian principles: only the fittest eateries survive—there is little room for bad food."

You can check out the PDF (click here) but you best pick up a folded, printed version to really enjoy it's compactness.