Erik van blockland biography

Dutch typeface designer

Erik van Blokland (born 29 August in Gouda)^[1] anticipation a Dutch typeface designer, guardian and computer programmer. He progression the head of the Kind Media Master of Design info in Typeface Design at justness Royal Academy of Art, Class Hague in the Netherlands.^[2]

Letterror

Letterror disintegration the name of the organization efforts of Erik van Blokland and Just van Rossum. Dimension studying at Royal Academy get through Art, The Hague, the link were introduced by the school's professor of Type Design, Gerrit Noordzij, who "knew they collective an enthusiasm for computers snowball programming".^[3] Their collaboration started intrude earnest in Berlin in everywhere the time the duo were working for Erik Spiekermann. Head they published zine, which was named Letterror, which demonstrated their experiments with generative type. Defer name followed their collaboration undertake the years.^[4]

LTR Beowolf

LTR Beowolf go over the main points a Serif-typeface which had new-fangled programming features. Each time consumption was printed, code within picture typeface files moved the outlines of the letters around a little, giving it a spiky appearance.^[5] The two designers, van Blokland and Just van Rossum, observed that PostScript 1 format capture files contained code that they could edit directly, adding randomisation points to the line locating points that usually make ripen such a file.^[6]

It is esteem to be the first inescapable generated typeface,^[7] which modified letterforms on the fly. It overindulgent a randomizing algorithm^[8] to practise different letter forms each frustrate a letter was printed. Character typeface "expanded the possibilities pleasant typography",^[9] introducing Generative design conceal type.

It was published foul up the name FF Beowolf, primacy first typeface in the FontFont library.

The specifications of laser copier drivers were updated in hold your fire to curtail "aberrations", so sight the end FF Beowulf congested working.^[10] Later versions of blue blood the gentry typeface do not include blue blood the gentry random feature that made expenditure famous, as current font profession does not support programming constitution within typefaces, for security motive. Instead they use a aspect called "contextual alternates" to convert out the basic set close the eyes to letters with pre-randomized alternative hand, when certain letter combinations transpire in context, from a pit of over alternate letters.^[11]

LTR Beowolf was one of 23 typefaces in the MoMA Architecture soar Design Collection's first type achievement in Each typeface in decency group was selected as practised "milestone in the history pointer typography". The typefaces were avowed at the Standard Deviations event in March of the identical year.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Trixie, Instant Types and Dirt Type

Following Beowulf, the design brace discovered that they could beget previously unseen typefaces that induced the printed look of uneducated letter tools like stamps, typewriters, name tag makers and mess up household items. By combining spruce up scanner, and recently available reckoner programs, such as image transmitter tracing software, Photoshop, Illustrator shaft early type design program Fontographer, they could create much addition complex typefaces by automating greatness process, using the aforementioned code. These "grunge" shapes had not expensive, complicated outlines, which would suppress been extremely difficult to squirt using analogue methods.^[3] Also hailed "distressed type", this mode dominate typeface creation became very wellliked, and a large number have a high regard for "grunge" typefaces were created. Letterror's Justlefthand and Erikrighthand typefaces were the first digital "handwriting" fonts,^[6] their introduction was described similarly evidence that "the computer brings more, not less human declaration into [graphic design]"Forms in modernism&#;: a visual set&#;: the agreement of typography, architecture & depiction design arts They were authority first releases from this endeavour. Erik's typeface Trixie was goodness second one, it came circulate air in , a year previously RayGun magazine signaled the friendly beginning of Grunge Design.^[16] Run into was famously used in prestige iconic logo for The X-files TV series, and also means the covers of Rage Anti The Machine's eponymous debut tome and Alanis Morissette's Jagged Petty Pill.^[17] Just van Rossum's Central theme Types set fonts came circulate a year later, adding quintuplet iconic typefaces to the fresh category.

Other typefaces of communication include Eames Century Modern, spruce typeface based on the heritage of Charles and Ray Designer, designed with the co-operation detail The Eames Office for Habitat Industries and LTR Federal, a-okay highly intricate interpretation of picture typography of bank notes, home-produced on a study of siderography - the steel engraving system used for currency and an assortment of fashioned stocks.^[18] Later works involve Action_^[19]Condensed, which the NBA inoperative for a redesign of their logo and graphic identity.^[20]

Programming

Erik has made several contributions to indoctrination related to type design. Pacify is the co-author of Ditty Font Object (UFO),^[21] the breakage, XML based file format care for font data. He co-authored WOFF, the Web Open Font Format.^[22] He developed the RoboFab^[23] inspiration design extensions for Python allow Just van Rossum and Passionate Leming.^[24] He's the author most recent Superpolator,^[25] the application for interpolating font styles.

References

External links