Typography can be creative – magazine article, Canadian Art, Carl Dair, 1948

Although Carl Dair designed the five pages of this article, he was limited to using the Linotype faces typically available to the magazine. Linotype’s version of Futura was called Spartan and was nearly identical to Monotype’s 20th Century that Dair often used. The article also includes material from the first few booklets he had prepared for the E. B. Eddy Company.

Type Texture is a page from Carl Dair’s Type Talks, published the same year for the E. B. Eddy Company. The periodical here and now was a small literary magazine from designer Paul Arthur, considered typographically sophisticated in its day. Aujourd’hui is a modernist cover design by an unnamed Montreal design student.

The cover and spread are from a book designed by Jean Simard. Below are two student exercises from Carl Dair’s classes at the School of Art and Design and the Art Association of Montreal. Dair also mentions the organizing of a Saturday morning typographic study group in the city. The page on the right is not part of his article.

Notes

This five-page magazine article, written and designed by Carl Dair, looks at the state of typography in Canada as the country emerged from the Second World War. Drawing on examples from his own work as well as that of professional designers and students, Dair examines how Canadian typography was beginning to evolve – seeking a more contemporary balance between functionality and visual sophistication.

He also touches on the difficulty of encouraging a truly modern approach without slipping into what he dismisses as the fad of the merely ‘modernistic.’ His critical eye and deep typographic understanding are already evident, even at this relatively early stage in his career.

Published in the fifth anniversary issue of Canadian Art, the article is a reminder of just how ambitious the magazine’s editors were. It’s hard to imagine launching a national art publication in 1943 – at the height of the Second World War. – Rod McDonald

Artifact Text

Text (title page)

typography can be creative.

a discussion | of design trends | in canadian | printing | by carl dair

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Artifact

Date

1948

Title

Typography can be creative

A discussion of design trends in Canadian printing

Description

Article

Magazine article; 5 pp

7.5 × 10 inches

Publication

Canadian Art, Vol. V, No 4, Spring-Summer issue

Publisher

Client

Credits

Agency:

Studio:

Creative_Director:

Art_Director:

Design: Carl Dair

Typography:

Hand_Lettering:

Calligraphy:

Illustration:

Art:

Author: Carl Dair

Writing:

Printing:

Biography:

Principal Typefaces

Cover: Ultra Bodoni Italic, Bodoni Bold

Display: Spartan (Linotype Futura), Linotype Janson Italic

Text: Linotype Janson

Find more:

Bodoni Futura Janson

Region

Ontario

Language

English

Holding

Copyright Status

Artifact copyright

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Notes copyright

Accompanying notes are licensed under Creative Commons licensing CCbyNC which allows for non-commercial use with attribute.