We arrived at the door of Coffee Cup Design Studio on the 10th floor. When we first walked in and greeted Ken he was very friendly and seemed happy to see us. The studio was small but the space was used well, with shelves upon shelves of design books and several files which we later discovered was full of typography. Ken said he had over 5000 fonts.
He was very interested in our course and what we were up to. He discussed his early career and his design work before computers were invented as he had been in the business for over 20 years. He described the way he had to cut out each individual letter for the Type work and then when sending it to print, he wasn't just as easy as converting it to PDF and clicking a button. To send the final print with colour to the client the piece had to be divided into 4 negatives with each of the colour combinations 'C' 'Y' 'M' and 'K'.
Since computers were invented and the competition increased, he says it is harder for him now. However, we asked what he was working on at the moment and the brochure he is working on appeared impressive.
When we showed him our portfolios he was very impressed with our work and the ideas behind some of the content. There's a few things in my portfolio that I seem to be very proud of to explain to anyone who views it, this is the bracket in my 'Manchester Literature Fesitval' poster that resembles an open book, and also my TED magazine that rolls up to resemble a magic wand. So I think it is safe to say I am definitely keeping these pieces in my portfolio. However, my animation piece is more illustration based and lacking in idea and I find that it is hard for anyone to comment on it, so I think this is going to be taken out of it.
At the end of the visit Ken suggested places for us to visit in New York whilst we were there. These were a Type Designers Club, a studio called Number 17 and the oldest pub in New York located on Greenwhich Street. As time went so quickly and we didn't get round to doing any of these, I still am very keen to get in touch with Number 17 and also research Ed Benguiat who Ken said he saw once speak at the Type Designers Club. Benguiat designed the logo for the 'New York Times' and the logo for 'NASA' that is on the side of the space shuttle.
Ovarall a very relaxed and successful visit, and me and my work colleague Grace plan on staying in contact with Ken in the future.
The Logo
Kenneth Funk and Grace
No comments:
Post a Comment