Colin Harman

There’s a much debated story of how Helvetica truly came to be. Regardless of it’s back story, it’s hard to deny how much of an impact it has had on our designed world. Helvetica was created by Max Meidinger in Münchenstein, Switzerland in 1957. You can find the lengthy (mostly true) story here. For those of you who are truly interested in the history and impact of Helvetica, there is even a documentary film about it, which in my opinion, is excellent. To give my regards to the famed typeface, I decided to make a poster for my office that told the story of Helvetica all contained within the Swiss Cross.

From a distance the poster just looks like it is faintly printed, but upon closer inspection the story is clearly legible, albeit quite small. It was a fun to work at getting the type size and leading just the proper size to create the cross, yet not manipulate the story to make it fit.

This a horizontal 11″x17″ poster I made to promote the gathering for all those with in The Ridge that contribute to the arts. Whether it be through the band, creativity, drama, stage design, speaking, graphic design, video, lighting, audio, media, etc, this event is for those people. This poster will only be used for people who are a part of those teams, and will be hung around The Ridge, but I think it’ll prove effective.

It’s a style I haven’t really dabbled into before, but I like it. It was fun to come up with the composition in a new way, plus altering ITC Avant Garde for the type setting.

BRCC Arts '09 Promo Poster

If you are a part of the team, and this is the first you’d heard about it, be sure to check your e-mail for the eVite (I know i hate eVite too) and RSVP so we can have a headcount of how many to provide food for!

Oh and of course, if you get a chance, graphically what do you think of this piece? What would you have done different to achieve this style?

So I found this quote by Louis Nizer the other day and it really peaked my interest. I suppose it’s always revolutionary in a subtle way when philosophy in its raw sense can be slimmed down to a single sentence. I think of a lot of things when I read this, but I just appreciate what he says. I work in an office with no windows, so I decided a while back to start making posters to hang on the wall in my office to bring a little bit of energy and visual appeal to its otherwise bland decor. It’s coming together, but here’s an example of one I put together this past week using, of course, the quote by Sir Nizer.

Louis Nizer

What quotes do you like? Any ideas for a good poster for the office?

Well these may not be the only ways to work better. This idea was birthed out of a page in my Moleskine from a few months back that I had written while sitting in a Starbucks in San Francisco. These may not be the only ways in the world to work better, in fact I know their not. However, they are a few ways that have helped me in a few situations and I would venture to say that they are things that will keep me from making some piss-poor decisions in the future.

This 18″x42″ print hangs to the front-right of my desk at work, and it’s always a reminder that helps me get through the frustrating times. The design of it was super simple, but I think that with a short list of simple thoughts like I have, something flamboyantly exquisite may not have been the right mode of communicating simplicity.

What other things can you think that you would add to this? What helps you work better?

Do tell.