Background Layer #14
Hello, hello! Ben here with Background Layer #14 (aided by Tyler).
Summer really crept up on us — how is it already June/Typographics? We’ve been so busy...
XYZ in SoCal & Printed Matter LA Art Book Fair recap
Jesse and I went to SoCal at the start of May—our excuse was to join Polymode at the Printed Matter LA Art Book Fair for the west coast launch of Identity Is Variable. The book fair was fun, but intense!
We ran into old friends, sold books, and handed out a bunch of stickers (our grassroots marketing machine rolls forward). We also had a event at Lore with the great Dori Tunstall moderating a discussion about the book with Jesse and Silas Munro and Randa Hadi.
However, the trip was also a chance to go meet with a wide variety of studios. It was great getting to visit The New Company, Populous, 72 and Sunny, Crunchyroll, and Trüf. Special thanks to Ben Loiz for many of the connections! After I left LA, Jesse went down to San Diego for another talk at UCSD.
Wait, did you hear we published a book?
All in all, the book (yes, it's out. yes, we now have to talk about it a bunch) has been not the ”break-even” project that I had hoped, but it has been a really good forcing function for us to get out and talk about our work (above). Because, and I know how obvious this sounds, but it is also the hardest thing, if no one knows what you do or exist, no one can hire you.
The publishing and promoting a book has been engrossing (Honestly, kind of a pain, but so rewarding). I may have an idea of another book to publish...
This is our personal invite to you: Grab your copy from any one of these extremely cool distributors:
Poster House (NY, NY)
Whitney Museum (NY, NY)
Standards Manual (Brooklyn, NY)
Katherine Small Gallery (Somerville, MA)
Binnacle Books (Beacon, NY)
Lore (Los Angeles, CA)
Arcana (Los Angeles, CA)
Park Life (San Francisco, CA)
William Stout Architectural Books (San Francisco, CA)
Jessica Hische & Friends (Oakland, CA)
St. Louis Art Supply (St. Louis, MO)
More print nerdery
We finished up the specimen I mentioned in BGL 13. Art directed by Zrinka, Kyle Letendre brought this one to magnificent life! The final designs are as fun as they are sophisticated and we are obsessed.
Two PMS colors + Black, this may be the most “House Industries” specimen we have made, but I really love how it came out. We put in ad pages in what is basically a ad, which I find to be really funny.
Typographics!
That specimen is in the goodie bag at Typographics, where Jesse and I are this week (you can also just sign up and get it sent to you if you aren’t coming to NYC).
Here’s where you can find us formally, but if you are at the conference, please come and say hello informally too!
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Thursday, June 25, 3:00-3:30 pm ET
Identity Is Variable lecture at TypeLab
41 Cooper Square, NYC (in person and livestream)
Brian Johnson, Ben Kiel, and Jesse Ragan discuss XYZ Type and Polymode’s collaborative work to publish the book Identity Is Variable.
Free and open to the public; Eventbrite signup
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Friday, June 26, 1:20-2:50 pm ET
Type Crits in The Cooper Union Library
7 E Seventh St, NYC
XYZ’s Jesse Ragan teams up with colleagues Dyana Weissman, Sara Soskolne, & Nina Stossinger to critique your typeface in progress.
Typographics attendees only; Eventbrite signup required
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Saturday, June 27, 12:00-1:00 pm ET
Book signing at Draw Down Books table
Typographics Book Fair, 41 Cooper Square, NYC
XYZ’s Ben Kiel and Polymode’s Brian Johnson sign copies of Identity Is Variable. Books available for purchase.
Free and open to the public
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Wednesday, July 1, 1:00-2:00 pm ET
Ask XYZ: An Online Q&A
Zoom
A virtual studio visit with Ben Kiel, Jesse Ragan, and Zrinka Buljubašić of XYZ Type.
Free and open to the public; Eventbrite signup required
That’s a bunch of things, more on some projects we are working on next time!
—Ben
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