A St Bride noticeboard

["Justin Howes" <jhowes@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

As an experiment, this mailing to (mainly) Friends of the St Bride Printing
Library gives details of three book arts-related events including what
promises to be a phenomenal conference at Ditchling. If you don't want to
receive further mailings, please let me know. If you have events you'd like
to be included in the next mailing, please send them in.

Justin Howes

====

FONT, Sumner Stone, Calligraphy and Type Design in a Digital Age
An exhibition at Ditchling Museum, 1 April -- 11 June 2000

In an age dominated by visual imagery, the look and shape of letters matters
more than ever. As the keyboard becomes a more familiar tool than pen or
pencil, and the ancient bond between handwritten letterforms and the type
used by printers seems about to vanish, what will determine the standards of
legibility, clarity, impact or fluency of the alphabets that fill our daily
lives?

 FONT explores the relationship between calligraphy, type and the new
digital technology through the work of one of the world's greatest
typographers, the American Sumner Stone. A calligrapher by training, and now
one of the leading figures in the application of the computer to type
design, Stone has entered into a unique collaboration with Ditchling Museum.
The exhibition he has helped to create focuses on the development of a
single new typeface, BASALT. Seen at every stage of its creation, BASALT is
set alongside other work by Stone, together with examples of both historical
and contemporary lettering he admires.

As well as providing a rare insight into the creative process, the
exhibition shows how the shape of our entire visual environment is changing
at the beginning of the new century; not just on the small scale of the
desktop screen, but also in the special demands of public signage for
locations as diverse as a university campus and the Paris Metro.

====

FERNAND BAUDIN, OR TYPOGRAPHY IN THE SERVICE OF THE READER
An exhibition at the Royal Library, Brussels, 14 April -- 27 May 2000

Author of How Typography Works (1989) and L'Effet Gutenberg (1994), Fernand
Baudin's work as a book designer is celebrated in this retrospective
exhibition organised by the Royal Library, Brussels. Baudin regards himself
as a technician in the service of the reader, the elegance of whose book
designs is incidental, rather than an end in itself. He is best known,
internationally, as a propagandist for the social importance of writing --
he has argued in numerous publications for an improvement in the way
handwriting is taught, and for better models -- and advises users of the
computer to re-discover the lost intellectual heritage of the manuscript
page.

====

A 2-DAY SEMINAR AT ST MARGARET'S SCHOOL, DITCHLING
Saturday, 13 -- Sunday 14 May 2000
The seminar brings together leading scholars, designers and craftsmen in
discussions on type design and other related topics, including the
continuing relevance of calligraphy and hand skills in the twenty-first
century

SPEAKERS
Hermann Zapf: Introduction
Sumner Stone: Reflections on the Sans
John Dreyfus: Watch this Space
Michael Harvey: Drawn to Type - a presentation of the major influences in my
career as a type designer
Sam Somerville: The Handmade Book - some design considerations
David Levy: Between Hope and Hype - reflections on the future of written
forms in a digital age
Tom Perkins: The Geometry of Roman Lettering
Chair: Peter Guy.
Cost £75

A free minibus service is provided to and from Hassocks station on prior
booking with the The Edward Johnston Foundation, The Old School House,
Church Lane, Ditchling, Sussex Tel/Fax 01273 844505.

====




--------------F2DFBF079E85C3335BBA39BE--