We moved to a smaller size in 2009 to make the guide more portable. I’ve been delighted to use Corpid Condensed for the main typeface in the event calendar both years, the italic weight has been playful for headers and the regular condensed weight extremely readable and versatile. In 2009 I added Mayo Borders and Regular to the cover and inside pages, as the ornaments and borders added an evocative organic twist to the theme of evolution without using visual cliches. I found many of the glyphs in Mayo reminded me both of cellular division and wayfinding.

I used my own photographs on the cover; taxidermy groupings of cape hunting dogs and oryx. Their positioning and social nature reminded me of packs of people on the playa, organizing themselves according to their own purposes, be it tracking down an art project, going to a bar or finding music.

The 2009 edition totaled 96 pages, and included a pull-out art map.

The pull-out art map for 2009 included a new feature to aid in the location of art installations around the city. The city is arranged in a circle where the center point is the Man himself. Blocks of the city are laid out in radiating arcs that form a horseshoe shape. Where the city isn’t, the art is. By including the distance from the Man, noted in feet on the art map, participants could orient themselves more easily to find installations.

The cover for the 2008 event is an exploded vector stock illustration of an engine. City streets in 2008 were named after defunct or highly impractical car models, in line with the art theme of The American Dream. The engine worked well with that theme, as an idealized image that stood in for the disillusionment of mechanical marvels. I added graphics that evoke engraved marks and stamped numbers, referencing the currency we use to chase after our material dreams. The 2008 edition was 78 pages, with a pull-out art map.

2008 folded open cover.

I put these shortened conversations into the paintings, and have the birds and bears say it to each other. I prefer flat areas of color, contrast, and I use Letraset or other kinds of rub-on letters so I can get sharp lettering on the pieces.

Angry bears drink tequila.

Apparently the ponies don't like coffee.

Flying foxes, on the other hand, adore coffee.

Sometimes the bird is not paying attention.

I painted a mural on the back wall of the Center Camp Cafe in 2008 at Burning Man. This piece measures 10 x 10 feet.

Dust from a recent dust storm shows on the surface of the mural.

Pairing each typeface with photos from fStop’s stock photography library brought out the individual nature of the fonts. The animal photos added a sense of play and surreality, curved lines in the calendars echoed the curves of bellies and claws.

The calendars are available in the FontShop archives:
June 2007
September 2007
November 2007

Wood type in the title echoes the burlesque/vaudeville reference, while slightly distorted ornaments around the header add lightness and grace. The show was held over for an additional two weeks of performances.

Front of flyer.

Back of flyer.

The challenge was to concisely convey the versatility and appeal of the typefaces in a three or four-line specimen. Display fonts were allowed one or two lines.

Comparisons between weights.

Each specimen showed a multitude of weights and special characters. Adding a line of Spanish, French or Russian in the specimen in addition to English illustrated the diacritics for fonts with multiple language support.

Multiple languages demonstrated.

I designed the newsletters from May 2007 to December 2007. They are currently viewable in the FontShop Newsletter Archives.

Linespacing and kerning essential for balance.

I found inspiration in a series of text messages sent over a fall semester and a strangely poetic set of public information icons used to explain things you could or couldn’t do in parks, rest stops and on freeways. Seems appropriate that you can’t just eat your fish anywhere you like. The hypothetical narrator of The Book of No gets more perturbed and fixated on the rules and sub-rules essential for everyday living, leading up to a very bizarre ending complete with ponies and rabbits.

The signs were vinyl lettering printed on gatorboard, made to the dimensions of real street parking signs in Vancouver. I kept in the strange spacing in front of numbers and the centered text.

The text messages I used in each sign became surreal references out of context. This one was more about missing a show if I didn’t arrive before midnight, but it could easily be about the mothership leaving without me.

Boxes within boxes define the content areas, visually reinforcing the control issues of the narrator and extreme strictness of the various arbitrary rules.

I designed and developed an online shop in Flash to exhibit the pieces and sold wrist warmers, arm warmers, scarfs and hats. I exhibited some of these designs at the 2004 Bad Type conference at St. Bride’s Printing Library in London.

The typeface in this logo is based on letterforms from Unibody, one of the pixel fonts I was using in my knitting patterns. I knitted the words, then scanned and digitally traced the resulting fabric, warping it to show that it was flexible and reminiscent of the actual textile. The angry knitter is a pixelized illustration, referring to the often monotonous, frustrating labor of the craft.

Mustn't Grumble logo with angry knitter.

Pink type on black wristwarmer.

Black type on pink arm warmer.

Process sketches illustrate the progression of the wordmark through the exploration of industrial, fraktur and serifed letter shapes.

Final vector wordmark with alternate sizes.

Initial exploration with serifs.

Tracing serifs to add motion.

A swashy L joins some industrial capitals.

Letters get more elaborate.

Last sketches before scanning into computer.