i recently started working with a graphic designer who also happens to be a type designer. a talented guy. working with him and talking about design have brought back memories about my design education, primarily about its formalism and especially the ‘manual’ part of my education. that is to say, the making. i was trained to make, to execute special formal exercises: drawing a letter, mixing a color, setting lead type. all to ensure we could present our ideas, understand the process and make a beautifully executed design and so that we would be knowledgeable about the myriad trades we would encounter as a designer. we were graded specifically on craftsmanship. i had wonderful opportunities to witness great designers do their magic. armin hoffmann stands out as one who had an extraordinary ability to execute his ideas. i once watched him cut out of black paper the perfect ’n’. truly, it was a marvel. the ’n’ was the first letter that we would start with in drawing a new typeface, but before we would get to the letter ’n’, we first had to master drawing straight lines, then diagonal lines, then a half circle and full circles, before we could even begin to start drawing a typeface. i have always enjoyed the making. for years, it was i who made the comps for our presentations.
the images collected here are just that—comps. these are renderings, little paintings of book covers. remarkable, in fact. another find from the 26th street flea market here in new york. i have spent many an hour at this flea market and have seen it decrease in size over the years. it used to encompass four parking lots and one interior garage. you could wander for most of the day. these are just a selection of the many pages of book covers painted by an unknown chinese designer or artist. the skill and execution are remarkable. my days at making never resulted in anything quite this amazing.
