Touch: The Vista Sans Wood Type Project was born out of Tricia Treacy and Ashley John Pigford’s mutual love for type, letterpress and fascination for experimenting with different creative processes and the joy of collaboration. The idea was to embrace the old and new, the traditional craft and technological digital and produce a hybrid form of typographic design.
It would also involve a collaboration with various artists to see how they would visually interpret and respond.
It would also involve a collaboration with various artists to see how they would visually interpret and respond.
So what was the deal?
Twenty letterpress artists, designers and printmakers around the world were each sent a five piece set of CNC-cut wood type letters plus paper.
They had to make an edition of letterpress prints and send them back by a said date. The letters were T-O-U-C-H.
And the catch?
Receiving a full set of everyone’s prints, being involved in a fantastic collaborative project and taking part in a stack of exhibitions and presentations. There is no catch. Everyone also got to keep the beautiful machine routed pieces of wood type.
The artist collaboration and what was produced are of course key to the project. But it’s also important to mention the concept and process in developing and creating the physical letters. Designed by Xavier Dupré, Emigre’s ‘Vista Sans’ typeface seemed right as it was designed as a contrast of graphic and mechanical form. This spoke to the project conceptually and stylistically. Each Vista Sans letter was then cut by a 3-axis CNC router customised and constructed by Ashley. Pretty impressive.
Ashley John Pigford
Ashley John Pigford has been operating as Design is Good For You, a graphic and interaction design studio, since 2003. He is Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware teaching Typography, Graphic Design, Interaction Design and Physical Computing.
As long-time collaborators, Ashley and Tricia Treacy initiated the Vista Sans Wood Type Project in 2012, which builds on their shared love of typography, letterpress printing, digital fabrication tools and collaboration.
Tricia Treacy
Tricia Treacy has been running her own letterpress design studio, Pointed Press Studio – a nexus for collaboration and creativity in design/typography/printmaking arenas – in Swarthmore, PA since 2000. She also teaches graphic design, letterpress and book arts at the University of Pennsylvania.
So after three years of hard work and a little help from Kickstarter, the self published ‘Touch: The Vista Sans Wood Type Project’ book has finally launched. Tricia and Ashley were absolutely thrilled to release their labour love here at TYPO Berlin.
Hot off the press, the artists involved haven’t even received a copy themselves.
The book is a capstone to the project, each with its own unique letterpress cover and loving sewn by hand. But rest assured, if you couldn’t make it to the conference you can purchase it fromAmazon.com.
The aim was to inspire others to explore letterpress, typography and collaboration.
They have indeed. The creative cogs in my head are turning but as are Ashley and Tricia’s. Word is, they have already made start on their next project.
They have indeed. The creative cogs in my head are turning but as are Ashley and Tricia’s. Word is, they have already made start on their next project.
Maggie Tang
