Typeradio Podcast

Karen Larsen, with SJ Klein, talks about the graphic design community in Alaska. What it is to work as a graphic designer there, how nature and life influence her design. Monumental work, physical objects, and the relation between art and design.

Sarah Maxey talks about her interests in typography and illustration, defines differences between art and design and expresses her views on craftmanship. She explains her working process and mentions some of her influences, who, coincidentally enough, are almost all named Ed or Edward.

Stephen Banham is founder of Letterbox, a typography studio in Melbourne. He speaks about New Zealand design from an Australian perspective; the search for a cultural identity as well as a graphic design identity. He discusses the defining characteristics of Australian design, and his movement from advertising to typographer with Erik Spiekermann as an early inspiration.

Joseph Churchward, a New Zealand based type designer, lists some advertising jobs he has done and talks about the digitization and distribution of a few of his typefaces today.

Joseph Churchward, a New Zealand based type designer, speaks about how he learned hand lettering. He explains the transition from metal type to computer, the influence of Maori on his type design, describes his working process.

Luke Wood and Jonty Valentine express their disenchantment with both professional life and academia; they discuss their current teaching practice and differing approaches to graphic design. They compare over-educated with self-taught designers, talent and education, and reveal an emerging kind of graphic design in New Zealand (with an overseas influence).

Luke Wood and Jonty Valentine speak (on Valentine’s day) about their background and reflect on the gestation of their publication ‘The National Grid’. They discuss art schools and art publications as well as the state of graphic design in New Zealand and the local reaction to their publication.

The two members of Experimental Jetset continues by discussing how education and family have influenced their design work. They speak about Helvetica and the nature of working as a graphic designer in the Netherlands today.

Marieke Stolk and Danny van den Dungen of Experimental Jetset discuss the importance of music and its relation to design. They also talk about how they got started and their working process as a trio. They reflect on the relation between the work and the explanation of the work.

During Valentines day, Elaina Hamilton and Duncan Forbes from Experimenta explains what is it to live and work together, life at the studio and life at home. They explain how they founded their studio, finding initial inspirations in modernist graphic design and Swiss typography and giving it a ‘New Zealand’ approach and warmness. They detail what it is to make a living as graphic designers in New Zealand, talk about the local design community, and they reveal the biggest mistake of Dutch designers.

Bruno Maag continues with his motivation for designing type, and the role of type design today. He speaks about the uses of Comic Sans and his views on custom fonts. Offers his opinions on Dutch design, and ends up with his experience during Font Fight organized by The Typographic Circle.

Bruno Maag speaks about the beginning of his career at Monotype in England, and later in Chicago. His everyday rituals, decorating the house, and his love of cooking (rabbits!). He professes his love for the city of London, his life there and why it is a center of the graphic design world. He speaks about the function of the type designer, and the craftsmanship involved in type design.

Paula Scher talks about her paintings and if she could make a choice between painting and design. Why she paints only in all caps and her favourite letters. Branding the United Sates. What does it mean to be a designer from New York and her love for New York City.

Paula Scher talks about her rituals and superstitions, fears and inspiration. How she accepts change and being fluid. What it is really like to be part of Pentagram and how it works. The differences between the New York and London offices. What it was like to work in the record industry.

Kenya Hara continues to tell us why he became a graphic designer, why and how important design is to the world and its effect on us. What would Kenya Hara do if he wasn’t a designer. Finally he reveals to us why designers wear black. And his dream project for children in elementary school. Listen carefully and you will find out.