Tobias Frere-Jones
What:
Tobias Frere-Jones
Where:
The Narrows, Lvl 2, 141 Flinders La, Melbourne
When:
Until Sat June 6, Wed-Sat 12-6pm
How much:
Free!
Contact:
9654 1534
Tobias Frere-Jones and his partner Jonathan Hoefler form New York type design studio Hoefler & Frere-Jones, possibly the most well-respected and prolific dedicated type-design studio operating today. Their way of describing the process of type design is enjoyable, accessible and funny - a quality unusual in type designers. Instead of being restricted to x-heights, character widths and kerning pairs, Hoefler & Frere-Jones are more likely to say "This has that Saturn 5 rocket early NASA quality; it needs to have that Olivetti orange plastic typewriter, Roman Holiday espresso feeling." You can witness some of this here, here and here.
What you can witness at The Narrows is a selection of the vast photographic research project that began with the development of Gotham, one of H&F-Js most famous creations. Having discovered what they believe to be an anonymous, vernacular New York style of lettering, they also quickly discovered that much of it was disappearing. To preserve (in his more specific terms) "the painted, gilded, carved and cast lettering of the city's public spaces" over the past seven years, Frere-Jones has covered 844 blocks of Manhattan, on foot, with camera. Go see it: you'll become a fan if you're not already.
Medium: Design
Drink: Double espresso
Keywords: The Narrows, Tobias Frere-Jones, Typography, Design
Random Entries:
Subscribe to our e-newsletter for weekly updates and exclusive stuff:
Browse our guide to Melbourne by interest
Melbourne Events Calendar
Select a date to see what's on in Melbourne
Browse our guide to Melbourne by keyword
Browse our guide to Melbourne by weekly issue
Working