RECAP: Type as Monument Event with Alistair McCready
Last Thursday, the Society of Experiential Design (SEGD), Isthmus Group and Design Assembly teamed up to host typographer and designer Alistair McCready. He shared his reflections from his book Type as Monument–taking us through his creative journey; from discovering typographic design, to how the landscape informs his practice.
Alistair’s work is informed by the histories of place. He explained how the scars left in the whenua from events past mimic letters in the landscape –
‘There was no standardised typeface for creating memorials–each one is unique. When you carve out letters in stone, and later try to fill them in you will always see that scar–this is also present in the land. You can see trenches dug and buildings forgotten, but the scars in the landscape are still there telling the story’.
Type design is a precise and mathematical practice and often lonely and siloed. It can take years to perfect a font family–often finding that letters can be continually improved but knowing when to stop was a skill that takes time to come to terms with.
We were excited to have the opportunity to hold this event in Isthmus’ new Queen Street studio and welcoming a wealth of familiar and new faces.
If you would like to join their next event, the SEGD and Isthmus will be holding an online webinar on Friday December 1st titled Honouring Indigenous Stories. You can find the link here: https://segd.org/webinar/2022-Voices-07
