多伦多设计师 Ian Brignell 的字体作品

2011-7-13    Ian Brignell 汉堡王 雅诗兰黛 潘婷 哈佛 莱福 金霸王 摩根船长 Caramilk 泡芙 Secret 加拿大

Ian Brignell is a Toronto based lettering designer. His clients have included notable brands such as Burger King, Estée Lauder, Pantene, Harvard, Leffe, Duracell, Captain Morgan, Caramilk, Puffs, and Secret.
Ian Brignell 是多伦多的字体设计师。他的客户名单包括汉堡王、雅诗兰黛、潘婷、哈佛大学、莱福、金霸王、摩根船长、Caramilk、泡芙和Secret等知名大牌。

How did you get into lettering and type design as a career? Did you receive formal training?

I started in lettering around grade 9, when my art teacher introduced our class to calligraphy. I bought a few books, including a Speedball Text Book, which had lots of great historical lettering samples with instructions on how to construct them. During high school I did certificates for the graduating classes, as well as sign painting for local businesses.

你是怎么开始职业设计生涯的？你有木有接受过正统训练？

在九年级的时候，我们老师把书法引入课堂，我就开始学字体了。我买了一堆书，包括Speedball课本，它包含许多霸气的历史字体模板和制作指导。高中时我设计了毕业班的毕业证，还为当地企业设计个性图样。

I went to Sheridan college for Graphic Design where we had lots of typography courses, which included the technical side of drawing accurately with ink. We were encouraged to be expressive with type, but we weren’t really tutored on the creation of original forms. So I guess my training was fairly informal.

我去Sheridan学院平面设计时学了排版课程，其中包括技术层面的精致手绘工笔。我们被鼓励做感染力强大的字体，但我们并没有修真正的原创设计。所以我想我的训练是相当非正式的。

How long have you been working? In what ways has your process evolved over time?

I’ve been working as a lettering specialist for 26 years. During that time, my process has changed mostly because of the introduction of the computer to our industry. This has allowed for much more exploration in a tighter format, which is good. One problem when you work in pencil sketches is that the transition from graphite grey into solid black doesn’t always work as you’d hoped. It’s also easier with the computer to test things out in their true setting, on top of photos or whatever. I still do lots of sketches, but the lettering tends to get really developed and fine tuned on the computer.

你工作了多久？你的工作是怎样变化的？

我当字体设计师26年了。那段时间，我的进程已经改变主要是因为电脑融入我们的工作。这提供了更为严格的格式，这是很好的探索。其实，当你在铅笔素描作品，从成纯黑色石墨灰色的过渡并不总是如你所希望的。这也是与计算机更容易测试出真实的设定，是设置在照片上方还是什么地方。我还是画了很多的草图，但在电脑上做进一步的修改之后的字体还是更好一些。

What are your major influences? What inspires you?

I’m influenced by just about everything, but I especially like the work that was done on packages from the 19th and early 20th century. I also enjoy amateur hand-lettered signs, since they often contain very quirky and original details that I would never think of. I have to mention that during college I saw a book with some examples of Herb Lubalin’s lettering work, and this was one of the moments that really made me want to pursue lettering for a living.

你有什么重大影响？是什么激励你？

差不多什么都能影响我，但我特别喜欢从19世纪和20世纪初的作品。我也喜欢业余手工字母标志，因为它们往往含有非常古怪和原始的细节，这些我想都想不到。我要提一提，在大学期间我看到了一个本书，里面有香草Lubalin字体的一些例子，就是那时，我真的想把研究字体作为终身的事业。

How do clients normally approach you? Do they have a specific vision in mind or do they work with you to develop the finished lettering? (Do they ask for a range of options to choose from?)

Almost all of my clients are designers or art directors, and the projects they send me arrive at my door in many different forms. Sometimes the client has a very good idea of what they want, but need me to work out the detailing and final execution. Other times they call me and give me a 2 minute brief on the phone with no visual reference and say “go”.

客户通常怎么跟你恰接？他们自己有具体的想法还是和你一起完成字体设计？ （他们要我你设计一堆然后再选择吗？）

我的客户几乎全部是设计师或艺术导演，他们寄给我的项目什么样的都有。有时，客户有不错的想法，但需要我做细节并最终执行。其他时候，他们就给我打个两分钟的电话什么图也没有然后就撇下一句“弄去吧”。

With some projects I get very thorough briefs where the client has specific directions that they want to explore, and they supply samples and supporting reference to guide the work. In almost every case I’ll show the client a number of options, and then we’ll develop the lettering based on their feedback.

对于某些项目，我可以得到很详细的描述，这些客户对自己的想法有具体的方向，而且他们给我样本和各种参考资料。几乎每一次我会给客户很多选择，然后我们在他们的反馈基础上继续设计。

How do you typically take on redesigns when the company has an extensive history (such as with a brand like Bell or Smirnoff)?

I take my cues from the client. Most projects that involve big brands tend to be evolutionary, in which case the history of the mark must be considered carefully. When I worked on the Smirnoff mark, for example, I had to maintain the arched baseline and colour scheme, but the client wanted me to create letters that were a bit softer and more broadly appealing.

如果该公司拥有广泛的历史，你如何重新设计字体（如与像贝尔或斯米尔诺夫品牌）？

我从我的客户上找线索。大多数涉及大品牌的项目往往是渐进的，在这种情况下，必须慎重考虑品牌的历史。比如，当我在斯米尔诺夫标志工作，我不得不保持拱形基线和配色方案，虽然客户要我创建的字母是一个有点柔软和更广泛的吸引力。

Occasionally the brand needs a complete overhaul, and then I have to explore a range of possibilities based on the clients visual concerns and marketing objectives.

有时品牌需要一个完整的革新，然后我要根据客户的想法和产品探索的许多可能性。

You have so many projects under your belt; do you have any favorites, or ones that you felt came together particularly well?

I’m very happy with the Miller High Life redesign, because it had everything; a brand with an impressive design history, decorative caps, formal script as well as various bits of supplementary type. All of these elements contained lots of tasty details which ended up working very well together.

你着手这么多的项目，你有没有什么最爱的，或者是那些你感觉特别好的？

我超喜欢Miller High Life 的重新设计，因为它囊括一切，有令人印象深刻的设计史，装饰，正式脚本以及许多各种延伸的风格。所有这些因素构成精巧的细节，这令作品最终达到一致的完美。