Background Layer #3
This is Background Layer Issue #3, woefully off our every-two-week schedule. As always, if you have feedback, hit reply.
Ben wrote this issue.
New York
It doesn’t seem possible, but a month ago, we were in the Arm shooting a video about Polymode (the typeface) with Brian Johnson and Silas Munro from Polymode (the studio).
We wanted to make a video that told the story of the typeface to help explain the concept and to (selfishly) give someone the story to sell using the typeface to their client. An easy thing to learn from and point to. Jason Chew put the shoot together, and we are still editing, so more to come from this soon (but it did mean we started a YouTube channel…)
Three days later
We gathered again to help kick off this year’s Typographics conference with a Herb Lubalin Lecture Series talk about Polymode (again, with Polymode). While giving the talk, it felt like one of the best talks on a project I’ve given — and we got a good number of questions, which, along with seeing a good number of former students and friends in the crowd, was gratifying.
Typographics
We (Zrinka, Jesse, and I) had a great rest of the week working together in the same place for the first time. Zoom is great, but in-person is better. We had lots of good coffee breaks and got things done, then saw old and new friends for the two full days of Typographics. It’s always an overwhelming experience, but I always get so much out of seeing people and talking over a beer at Scratcher’s.
(click the image above to watch, and after you do, scroll back to 2:44:55 and watch Gen Ramírez’s talk! Then find the second day and watch Jingqi Fan’s talk)
Rest of June
After Typographics, things have been a blur of travel and deadlines. Zrinka went up to Beacon to visit and work with Jesse; then, Jesse was in Saint Louis for three days for a project that we’ll be able to talk about at some point. We are all hands on deck working on that project and a couple more things. I’m working on a mailing list to mail the Polymode specimen that Cem Eskinazi designed (image below). Fill out this form, and we’ll send you one.
On repeat
I discovered Amythyst Kiah when she opened for Iron & Wine last week (side note: the visuals by Manual Cinema were so good at this show), and I have been listening to them on repeat ever since.
That’s it for this Background Layer: lots more images than usual, back to less and a more regular schedule (and maybe, just maybe, an issue by Jesse) soon.