Lance Hidy

Emblematic Elusions: Eros in African Cinema by Afi Venessa Appiah

afi venessa appiah — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 09:20:40 +0000

Emblematic Elusions: Eros in African Cinema is a chapbook series by Africanist film theorist Afi Venessa depicting how filmmakers redefine the Black form in the visual field from the wounded signifier to an embodied vessel for liberation. Each edition presents a film essay analyzing a significant Black African movie; Edition I showcased La Noire de… (1966, Ousmane Sembène). Edition II, which this article focuses on, revolves around Les Saignantes (2005, Jean-Pierre Bekolo).

Such engagement on the question of Eros allows for an intuitive opening for larger discourses in history, (post)colonialism, migration and diaspora, socio-economic dynamics and (post)nationalism.

African culture is more discreet, less externalized, more modest and restrained. Every disclosure of the matter is a violation of the matter. In this sense, cinema is transgression. (Folly, 1996)

Considering cinema’s inherent ability – and burden, to an extent – of making matter seen, such a dichotomy allows for complex yet invigorating discourse …

Edition II’s front and back covers feature a unique blend of stylized hand-drawn elements. The title’s delicate lettering by graphic and type designer Juliette Duhé unwittingly alludes to a rare edition of Tales of a Grandfather (1828-1830) sitting in Anteism Books’ bindery studio BookArt where the chapbooks are made. The letters’ fluid shapes give the title an ethereal quality featuring a swirling and intertwining flow. Despite the content’s engagement with African and filmic theory and philosophy, Duhé’s whimsically drawn letters challenges any sense of a formal and structured title form.

Hand-drawn title by Juliette Duhé

Rare edition of Tales of a Grandfather (1828–1830)

The back of the chapbook’s accordion form features the writer’s “Afi” logo designed by Jonna Mayer. The graphic and type designer renders an ornamental lettering that recognizes the writerly craft with its calligraphic essence. The hand-lettered logotype has a fluid and graceful quality. Its strokes have a palpable sense of the artist's gestural movement. Mayer achieves a classic feel as an ode to the literary world and its history. All while remaining playful, the personality-filled A’s arm stretches upwards while its leg nonchalantly curves into the F whose ball terminal forms the dot of the I. With a contemporary approach, the type logo’s design holds a roundedness and thickness that refers to organic handwritten-style lettering emerging in the mid-20th century.

Classic 20thC reference from NY restaurants that inspired Afi’s logo

Juliette Duhé designed the layout of the chap books interior bringing life to the text rooted in Afi Venessa’s thesis Within Double Restraint: the Dialectics & Aesthetics of Erotic [Re]presentation in African Cinema.

With typography playing a determining role, its setting is meticulously composed to highlight key narrative elements as well as filmic and theoretical concepts. The body features the deliberately chosen typefaces Freight Text and Halyard Display conceived by Joshua Darden, the first African-American credited as a type designer. Freight Text, Darden’s first published typeface at the remarkable age of 15, “demonstrates a respect for the past yet follows no particular historical model” (FontBooklet No.2). Halyard Display’s personality is at once familiar while pleasingly setting itself apart. While it was originally intended for larger sizes, it was selected here for its strong visual presence and tighter kerning, making the body text exude confidence and sophistication.

For quotes, the typographic palette is further enriched by Penumbra Serif, adding a touch of elegance to the highlighted passages. It is one of the few serif designs with mono-weight strokes. As Penumbra is a titling type, it has only uppercase letters, giving significance to citations in this academically rooted series. For subtitles, ITC Bolt introduces an assertive and futuristic presence, while ITC Busorama is used for keywords, offering a spirited contrast that captures the reader’s eye.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Avatar movie posters

Jayce Wheeled — Sun, 16 Jun 2024 08:02:05 +0000

Contributed by Jayce Wheeled

Source: movieposters.ha.com Heritage Auctions. License: All Rights Reserved.

Poster design by BLT Communications

From Wikipedia:

Avatar is a 2009 epic science fiction film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. The cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver. It is the first installment in the Avatar film series.

Papyrus was famously chosen as the typeface for the movie’s logo, despite its status as one of the world’s most derided typefaces. The designer did make various edits when creating the logo.

Trajan, Penumbra Serif, and Palatino are used for various taglines. Futura is used for the movie’s website address. Bee is used for the movie credits.

This use of Papyrus famously spawned a Saturday Night Live short video in 2018 starring Ryan Gosling, which specifically lampooned the graphic designer’s perceived lazy selection of Papyrus for the logo.

It’s also worth noting than when the sequel movie, Avatar: The Way of Water, was released in 2022, they chose to no longer use Papyrus in the updated logo.

Detail

Poster design by Gravillis

Poster design by The Refinery?

This comparison from designforhackers.com clearly shows that, while Papyrus was the starting point for the logo, modifications were made by the designer.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

HI postcard

Stephen Coles — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:05:02 +0000

Contributed by Stephen Coles

Source: www.stinehoureditions.com © Stinehour Editions. License: All Rights Reserved.

Source: www.stinehoureditions.com © Stinehour Editions. License: All Rights Reserved.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

National Harbor logo

Rob Hudson — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 11:16:36 +0000

The Great Gatsby (Penguin, 2010)

Florian Hardwig — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:08:23 +0000

Coralie Bickford-Smith, Reading graduate and senior cover designer at Penguin Books, used Penumbra Serif for the hardback edition of The Great Gatsby that marked the 70th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's death. It is part of a whole series of books by Fitzgerald.

I designed the patterns in an attempt to give these books something of the elegance and glamour of the art deco period, with the sense of ornate detail fused with the modernist aesthetic of mechanical repetition. The combination of metallic foil and matt paper is designed to feel good in the hand as well as look good on the shelf; by evoking the jazz age of Fitzgerald’s stories, I hope these books will give a little tactile enhancement to the reading experience. — Coralie Bickford-Smith

The Wedding between Art & Agriculture invitation

Florian Hardwig — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:51:07 +0000

For The Wedding between Art & Agriculture, Penumbra Sans has been wed to Penumbra Serif. Lance Hidy’s all-caps typeface family comes in four styles: Sans, Flare, Half Serif and Serif. Each of them has four weights.

Invitation to the exhibition at Kalmar Konstmuseum, presented by Kultivator.