Typography was my main reason for becoming a graphic designer,” Hannes von Döhren says. “I started by designing experimental typefaces by myself for fun in my spare time, alongside my job as an art director, making them available as free fonts on the internet and using them in personal projects. Playing around with type was such fun that I became seriously interested in the workings of fonts: their technology, their rules and their background.”
His first typefaces were published through Linotype, and later at MyFonts, before von Döhren founded HVD Fonts. The type design that pushed him over the edge, so to speak, was Brandon Grotesque. Within the first month of its release it was climbing to the top of bestseller lists and was featured in MyFonts’ newsletter, and in its first year it became the most successful new typeface of 2010. “Following the success of Brandon Grotesque, I now get to experience the great privilege of doing what I love,” he says.
When starting a new typeface, von Döhren says he often acts on impulse. “On the one hand, I like to explore new paths—to experiment and devise new forms. On the other hand, I like moving in a narrow corridor, design-wise, and within those limitations develop my own personal view on something. I want to understand why the old masters of classic type design made something, to discover their brilliant and sometimes baffling solutions.”
After developing an idea and designing a basic alphabet, von Döhren begins to experiment. “I love to install the type family for the first time on my computer and start designing with it. In this phase, I see how it works in a totally different environment—the one in which it will be used in its future,” he says. “This is a very emotional phase for me.”
“[Hannes von Döhren] is relentlessly creative and prolific, and seems willing to take on just about any style or motif. His fonts are variously playful and serious, but always crafted.”
—Tobias Frere-Jones
Typography was my main reason for becoming a graphic designer,” Hannes von Döhren says. “I started by designing experimental typefaces by myself for fun in my spare time, alongside my job as an art director, making them available as free fonts on the internet and using them in personal projects. Playing around with type was such fun that I became seriously interested in the workings of fonts: their technology, their rules and their background.”His first typefaces were published through Linotype, and later at MyFonts, before von Döhren founded HVD Fonts. The type design that pushed him over the edge, so to speak, was Brandon Grotesque. Within the first month of its release it was climbing to the top of bestseller lists and was featured in MyFonts’ newsletter, and in its first year it became the most successful new typeface of 2010. “Following the success of Brandon Grotesque, I now get to experience the great privilege of doing what I love,” he says.When starting a new typeface, von Döhren says he often acts on impulse. “On the one hand, I like to explore new paths—to experiment and devise new forms. On the other hand, I like moving in a narrow corridor, design-wise, and within those limitations develop my own personal view on something. I want to understand why the old masters of classic type design made something, to discover their brilliant and sometimes baffling solutions.”After developing an idea and designing a basic alphabet, von Döhren begins to experiment. “I love to install the type family for the first time on my computer and start designing with it. In this phase, I see how it works in a totally different environment—the one in which it will be used in its future,” he says. “This is a very emotional phase for me.”“[Hannes von Döhren] is relentlessly creative and prolific, and seems willing to take on just about any style or motif. His fonts are variously playful and serious, but always crafted.”—Tobias Frere-Jones
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
