Intriguing design anecdotes

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

This topic was imported from the Typophile platform

Hello all,

We are currently gathering research for a compendium of graphic design miscellany. We would greatly appreciate any anecdotes you may know of. The publication will be targeted at designers of all ages as an kind of amusing factual compilation of tales and facts.

Examples include:- John Baskerville insisting on being buried standing upright. In 1820, his body was dug up and used as a sort of local peepshow. The curious could view it for the sum of 6 pence.

We would be extremely grateful for any contributions, the more entertaining the better!

[Theunis de Jong]

There once was a star constellation named The Printing Office.

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Thankyou!

[Chris Dean]

Check out the Double Crown Club. Last I attempted to communicate with them, they were still a bit secretive and elitist.

Also, contact Mike Parker and ask him if he wouldn’t mind telling you his Starling story. Set aside at least 30 mins.

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Brilliant we'll definitely look into these!

[Chris Dean]

Oh, re Starling, I believe Mike intends to publish this himself. Be very clear about this.

[Chris Dean]

Is this personal, professional, or academic work?

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Academic, its a final major project for our final year at university

[Chris Dean]

Where do you study?

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Northumbria university in Newcastle

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Thanks for that!

We know enough about Eric Gill to know that he wont be featured!

[hrant]

Edward Johnston always carried a piece of toast in his shirt pocket so he wouldn't waste time when he felt a wee bit peckish.

Francesco Griffo was hanged for the murder of his son-in-law.

Otl Aicher died when a car hit his lawn-mowing tractor because he liked to drive into the road to overshoot his field to make the turns so the lines would be straight.

Ask somebody to tell you about Eric Gill...

hhp

[PublishingMojo]

I heard Matthew Carter tell a funny story about buying a bottle of Scotch in an airport duty-free shop.

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Thankyou!

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Thankyou!

[aluminum]

So, you're asking us to write a book for you?

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

We're collecting research, you don't finds things out if your don't ask...

[hrant]

Indeed. Just make sure to credit Typophile!

hhp

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

We will make to.

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

* We will make sure to.

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Thanks Dean thats really helpful, we will definitely make sure to reference all of our work properly. It's undergraduate research. We're writing and designing a book rather then an academic paper.

[Chris Dean]

Be certain to properly cite Typophile in the references section of your paper. A failure to do so would constitute academic plagiarism. APA 6.0 format:

Dean, C. (2013, March 11). Re: Intriguing design anecdotes [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from https://typography.guru/forums/topic/111281-forwarding

You will need to do this for every comment you reference. Better yet, it would be best to use these comments to help direct you to a primary source (book, journal, something published &c) so you can research it more thoroughly and double check the authenticity of the comment(s). It is highly likely that comments are simply inaccurate. If you track down a primary source, you don’t have to cite Typophile. However, on principle, I would make a statement to the effect of “special thanks to the members of Typophile for assisting in our research.”

People can point you in the right direction and save you some Google/library time, but they can’t always be relied upon to provide you with accurate, verifiable information. This is especially relevant to an important final project such as yours. Knowing how to conduct a literature review is a significant portion of being capable to conduct quality research. It is also a significant amount of work. If I had to review a paper, and the bulk of the references were forum comments, I probably wouldn’t mark it as it would be extremely to difficult and time consuming to double check them all. I’d simply pass it back and ask them to provide me with proper references. It’s kind of like passing the buck to other researchers and your professor.

Is this undergraduate or graduate research?

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Thanks for all your help we'll keep that in mind!

[Chris Dean]

Depending on the institution, most thesis (including undergrad’s) will be stored in a database that can be accessed by other researchers, so you want to wear your Sunday best, just in case!

Oh, and it’s Lastname, First initial.

Chris Dean = Dean, C.

[Jennifer and Rebecca]

Anymore for anymore?!