Creative matters

Webinar: The science behind the emotional impact of type.

Making sure the environment is conducive to doing great creative work.

What is the new normal? Juan Villanueva weighs in.

It’s no secret that the environmental impact of minting, bidding, and selling NFTs is significant. Environmental considerations were at the top of our priority list as we began exploring this through our partnership with KnownUnknown and eventually led us to select Avalanche as our NFT platform. Read on to learn more.

We recently partnered with KnownUnknown to create an NFT project featuring more than two dozen artists from around the world, working in mediums such as graphic design, branding, footwear design, and photography, all of whom are using Helvetica Now Variable to create unique, original art. Read on for more information about the project. 

We recently attended NFT LA and Miami NFT Week, where we mingled with investors, designers, artists, and blockchain builders. Here were our key takeaways on the potential for this emerging community.

Over the past four years, we’ve been lucky to forge a reciprocal partnership with the Limerick School of Art & Design / TUS in Ireland. Both Creative Type Directors Tom Foley and Emilios Theofanous have now participated in workshops and modules at the leading fine art, design and creative media school. This year’s students were asked to write a message platform for one typeface and build a marketing plan and design assets to promote it in digital or print media.  

The concept of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, entered the mainstream in February 2021 and the buzz hasn’t stopped building since. As NFTs become more established, what potential do they hold for typography as both a business and an art form?

Nostalgia has been a growing theme since the pandemic hit more than two years ago. In chaos, people crave comfort, familiarity, and experiences that remind them of simpler times. We’ve written previously about how nostalgia is reflected in the development and use of typography in branding. However, nostalgia is also having a moment across nearly all sectors of human life: in fashion, in consumer products, and yes, even in Hollywood.

Over the past year or two, nostalgia has become a fixture in design of all kinds: typography, fashion, furniture and beyond. We take a look at the complex relationship between reviving heritage design elements and the history they come from. 

Elizabeth Ann Clark, Chief Creative Officer at virtual reality studio, AEXLAB, talks about the power of VR in social contexts, some of her favorite design tools, and how her team came to select a student-designed typeface for the face of their flagship game.

In this episode, our own Bill Connolly is joined by Chelsea Goldwell, partner and creative director at Zero Studios, a digitally-native branding studio. Goldwell reflects on her trajectory in design and shares her perspectives on finding balance in this era of intense work.  

In our eighteenth episode, Terrance Weinzierl, Creative Type Director at Monotype, talks with Dave Addey, author of Typeset in the Future. Dave work explores type and design choices in sci-fi movies, a fun crossover that has drawn a remarkably big audience.

In our this week’s episode, Monotype’s Brand Designer, Marie Boulanger talks with Ellen Lupton, writer, curator, educator, and designer. They discuss her recent book, Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers, and Lupton’s mission to democratize type through teaching, collaborating, and writing. 

In our sixteenth episode, we talk with Tyler Haughey, a photographer whose work highlights otherwise unseen details of Jersey shore beach towns in the off-season. He discusses the creative influence of having a father who was a sign painter, as well as the nature of memory and how signage and décor help anchor experiences in our minds.  

For many designers making it to the coveted role of Creative Director at a reputable agency is viewed as a ‘dream job’, and the realisation of reaching the very top of the career ladder. Fortunately, working with BNO Creative Director’s Forum, Monotype’s Phil Garnham is here to elucidate what it takes to become a Creative Director and how to thrive in the position - and even some wellbeing tips mixed in.

This week, Creative Type Director Charles Nix talks to James Horowitz during a London heatwave about the lessons he learned from founding a design agency, his approach to guiding clients through the creative process, and the impact of Instagram and social media on branding and design.

This week’s guests are Jessica Seamans and Dan Black, who together comprise Landland. We discuss their early days of going to (and playing in) DIY punk shows, how screenprinting keeps you humble, and the evolving relationship between music and the art of the poster.