This 2011 typeface by Geetika Alok & Henrik Kubel of A2 Type is a really lovely example of type design inspired by cultural heritage.
This is a really good visual example for my intervention.
Lloyd Smith, H. (2022) ‘INDIA typeface by Henrik Kubel and Geetika Alok’. Wallpaper, 31 October. Available at: https://www.wallpaper.com/gallery/art/india-typeface-by-henrik-kubel-and-geetika-alok (Accessed 21 November 2025)
As part of my intervention I would like to involve Knowledge Exchange and the relationship of teaching to Industry practice.
I have organised for leading international type design studio Dalton Maag to teach practical, technical, theoretical skills of typeface design to Stage 3 GCD students as part of a five-week teaching block on Type Design. This will form the basis of my intervention.
Some info on Dalton Maag
“Since our founding in 1991, Dalton Maag has been committed to the creation of innovative, high-quality typefaces. We have a relentless dedication to design, and a culture that celebrates collaboration and creativity. From our early beginnings to the present day, we have sought to push boundaries and redefine excellence in typeface design, and in that time we have created some of the world’s most-read fonts.”
Clients
“Our studio may be based in London, but our client base, and influence, are truly global. We work with clients of all sizes, across every industry, and in every timezone. This extensive experience enables us to deliver typeface solutions tailored to the specific needs of each client.”
BBC, DHL, Lush, Netflix, Vodafone, and many more global brands.
For my intervention I’d like to combine several aspects of teaching:
– Decolonisation
– What can we learn from the Western canon? (how does the Western canon of design ‘function’ in a decolonial teaching environment?)
– Students’ own identity as a starting point for a typeface
– Knowledge Exchange: thinking about how teaching connects with industry, knowledge, skills, techniques, the practice of deisgn in a commercial context.
Edward Catich (1906–79, USA), was a calligrapher and teacher and his seminal book The Origin of the Serif (1968) is a thesis on how the serif originated with Roman square capitals and the use of the flat brush, as typified on Trajan’s Column in Rome.
Representative of the Eurocentric position on typography and the teaching of typeface design.
“In the past several years we Westerners have acquired a high regard for typographic and related graphical expressions. We overlook, however, the fact that typefaces (lettering) owe their formal existence to writing, and that type is, in fact, the ‘frozen handwriting’ of the early Humanists.”
(Catich, 1968)
Catich, E. M. (1968) The Origin of the Serif. Davenport: Catfish Press
Stream-of-consciousness notes from Jokela, T., & Huhmarniemi, M. (2018) ‘Art-based action research in the development work of arts and art education’. The Lure of Lapland: a Handbook for Arctic Art and Design, pp.9–23. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland.
“art as a catalyst for development work”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.9)
When the article uses the word ‘art’ I will substitute for design.
“Art may be the intervention for problem solving or gaining new knowledge and understanding”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.9)
– In my intervention, I’m thinking of using design, a design project to gain new knowledge, through the outcomes the students create.
– Intervention is the design of the brief, the guidance, the references, the encouragement, the discussions.
– Research is also the outcomes of the student work
“Art can also be the subject of development or the tool for the research’s data collection and analysis”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.9)
My intervention uses design process and outcomes as the “subject of development”
“Art-based refers to the utilisation of art in research in such a way that stakeholders and members of the organisation or community can be included in the research, and tacit knowledge and experiences can be obtained from them”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.9)
In this project, what is tacit knowledge and what is explicit knowledge?
“the aim of research is typically to develop increasingly more functional practical working methods”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.9)
“ART-BASED ACTION RESEARCH AS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.10)
“We associate art-based action research as part of qualitative research”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.10)
“while qualitative research is based on verbal expression, art-based research is described with images, sounds, drama, etc.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.10)
“According to Leavy (2009), quantitative research aims for the freedom of values, while qualitative research is based, in principle, on values, and art-based research is political and promotes freedom.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.10)
“it is typical for [art-based action research] to be associated with social or environmental politics — more strongly than qualitative research traditionally is.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.10)
objectivity and subjectivity
“Objectivity-theoretical research aims to produce objective knowledge by means of
quantitative methods”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.11)
“Subjectivity-theoretical research uses research methods that aim for interpretations, understanding, and meaning”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.11)
“Research that is based on the development of practice can respectively be specified under subjective and objective”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.11)
My research is about the development of type design practice???
– Where would my intervention be placed on this diagram? Objective / Practical?
“Critical-realistic art-based action research is participatory and aims for better practices”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.11)
– I would say this describes what I am doing!
“artist-researcher-teachers”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.12)
“A research strategy is a guiding principle for the implementation of research”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.12)
“It is the ensemble of the research’s methodical approaches, which guide in the selection and use of research methods at both a theoretical and practical level.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.12)
“Action research rests on processes of collaborative knowledge development and action design involving local stakeholders as full partners in mutual learning processes. (Greenwood & Levin, 2007, p. 1)”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.12)
‘Enhancing change’ – this is the goal!
“The orientations of action research in art-based action research have similar characteristics to design research.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.13)
!!!!!!!!
“The research process and results are documented, and this documentation is used as research material. Produced artistic work and artistic productions, as well as the participatory observation of activities, are also essential research materials.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.14)
“In a manner typical of action research, the research questions are reoriented and further specified after each research cycle.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.14)
– So for next cycle, how does the research question change? Become more focussed? What have you found out that changes this?
– There is tacit knowledge of the student
– And explicit knowledge that tutors have taught during the four weeks
“In art-based action research, the artist-researcher does not wander alone, but instead development work is usually carried out in some kind of team or community.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.14)
– This diagram became very useful in planning the stages of my ARP intervention cycle:
COLLECTING AND ANALYSING MULTIPLE RESEARCH DATA
Research data can include:
– meeting memos and notes?
– Researcher’s personal observations of the activities (can make these)
– Photographic documentation /
– Completed pieces /
– Sketches, drawings and other planning and design material made by the researcher or participants (material on pallet, slides by Dalton Maag, my slides, my class materials, the printouts of canon typefaces for example)
– Documentation of the activities’ reflection and evaluation discussions (photos, notes and audio recordings of discussions)
– Various interviews, questionnaires and other feedback (have bits of this)
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.16)
Observation diary
– Personal observations should be complied ii an observation diary (didn’t really do this???)
– I have photos on my iPhone and maybe notes?
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.16)
“Photographic and video documentation are common data of art-based action research. It is typical for this material not to be compiled solely for the purpose of the research, but instead they can be used to exhibit the contemporary art process at exhibitions and, for example, as study material. Documentation is needed for knowledge purposes, exhibitions, evaluation, reporting, and the planning of new projects, and not all needs can be anticipated during the project.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.16)
“The analysis of such material does not differ from the qualitative analysis methods of material. However, it is possible in art-based research to apply artistic work to the analysis and interpretation of the material. In this case, the artist can process the photographic material into a photo collage or the voice recordings into an audio piece or an element of installation art. This type of method may also lead to the artistic representation of the research.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.17)
– This is like Nav’s installation piece in his garden of the garments made in his workshop
– For me it could be using the typefaces for something: an exhibition, for example, to compare and contrast the typeface designs, look at the effect on language, the voice of the typeface.
– An exhibition in the CSM GCD studios would be a good way to do this and / or some kind of publication or website to disseminate the work and ideas.
– In collaboration with Dalton Maag?
Evaluation
“The final results of the project are evaluated in two stages: as soon as the project ends and they are still fresh in one’s mind and later, when those involved
have had a chance to reflect more on the experience.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.17)
“The project participants’ concepts, experiences, and analyses form the basis for the entire project’s evaluation.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.17)
“When activities are reviewed from the perspectives of the researcher, the
participants, and the community or stakeholder groups, the review does not become too one-sided.”
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.17)
– Important to consider this in the next cycle or at a later date. To involve the participants in the evaluation.
(Jokela & Huhmarniemi, 2018, p.17)
Next steps
The article states that “If the research has been completed in close cooperation with the community, the researcher should ask the community to also participate in the analysis of the material (Jokela, 2009).”
“Furthermore, if the analysis
results are presented as an artistic production, the research result may be convergent with a production
completed in a communal art process. The evaluation of art productions is an essential part of forming
knowledge about the functionality of a method. The completed work demonstrates how functional, successful,
and empowering the process has been. The evaluation criteria of effectiveness include, for example,
the work’s and research’s ability to generate ideas, feelings, and mental images, as well as a sense of empowerment
and increasing participants’ confidence in their own capabilities and skills (Jokela, 2009).”
– So it would be really interesting as a next step to involve the community in analysing the finding, maybe an exhibition that addresses this in the way the work is exhibited and captioned, to communicate these findings. Does this involve the typeface design industry in someway in order to bridge the gap between knowledge gained and how this permeates into the industry and design practice.
“An artistic production may be, for example, a place- and time-based process, work or event.”
– An exhibition would fit into this
The article also talks about making the findings available to the general public (as users / “readers” of typefaces, this is interesting).
Methods
– So is ‘art-based research’ the method?
Bias
“Art-based research is intentional. The objective of the research is influenced by, for example, by the researcher’s
and community’s values and attitudes, even their political views. These background factors should be demonstrated in a transparent manner in the research process and reports.”
– Explain my relationship to the research topic, personal intentions
– I have consent from students
•••
P.21 outlines the steps
Some things I should do and evidence
– Review research literature and art in the same field (Queer type stuff, articles on diversity, decolonisation etc)
– Set goals
– Clarify your research methods and ways of date collection
Jokela, T., & Huhmarniemi, M. (2018) ‘Art-based action research in the development
work of arts and art education’. The Lure of Lapland: a Handbook for Arctic Art and Design, pp.9-23. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland
On my positionality
Also from the brief was this quote:
“Notice and reflect on your positionality, embodiments, and practices as a researcher”
My positionality is that I’m a white European male, from a lower middle-class background. I was educated at Central Saint Martins, a leading European art & design school and then went on to work in industry for a boutique design agency in London, Fraser Muggeridge studio, before setting up my own studio, working mainly with cultural and arts clients (predominantly white, middle class clients and audiences). My upbringing, where I’ve lived and worked, where I’ve studied design and who and what I’ve worked with in terms of clients, audiences, content and contexts has undoubtedly shaped and influenced my sense of aesthetics, taste, what I consider good/bad practice, no matter how much I try and acknowledge these biases, they exist. As a design practitioner, I value aesthetics, notions of ‘beauty’ and style, consider my work to be research-led, experimental and playful and I work with communities of people on projects and try to adapt to different people and scenarios.
My teaching practice is very much rooted in an industry-related perspective. So while I’m not necessarily training students for a vocation, I do frame my teaching in terms of industry context. How are these skills, techniques, knowledges and experiments related to what it means to practice design in an industrial context.
Learning a craft, how to make things really well, has been important in my development and I see that as important to design students and important to preserve in teaching.
Stuart Bailey
Re-reading this essay by Stuart Bailey about higher education and criticality. There are some great quotes that have become guiding principles for the project.
“Education is all about trust. The teacher embraces the
Mark Wigley, 2006 (cited in Bertolotti-Bailey, 2007)
uncertain future by trusting the student, supporting
the growth of something that cannot yet be seen,
an emergent sensibility that cannot be judged by
contemporary standards.”
References
Bertolotti-Bailey, S. (2007) ‘Towards a Critical Faculty’. Towards a Critical Faculty (Only an Attitude of Orientation) From the Toolbox of a Serving Library. Available at: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://readings.design/PDF/00_TaCFOaAoFtToaSL.pdf (Accessed 25 January 2025)
This powerful image became a key visual reference relating to typography and racial justice
Thinking of ideas for my intervention, I’ve been thinking about a typeface design project that looks at cultural identity as a starting point. This would hopefully encourage students to think beyond the Western canon for ideas for typefaces, not only looking to diversify the ‘voice’ of typefaces but also reflecting the culture from where the ideas came.
This reminded me of Norman Potter’s writing in Models and Constructs (1990).
Every artefact, from painting to poem to chair to waste paper basket, tells the total story of the culture that produced it.
Norman Potter, Models and Constructs, 1990
and something James Langdon said in a lecture (I believe the Walker Art Center Insights lecture)
Contained in everything that is manmade is the evidence you would need to understand the values of the society that produced that object.
James Langdon (adding to above)
References
Potter, N. (1990) Models and Constructs: Margin Notes to a Design Culture, London: Hyphen Press
I went back and re-read the brief.
Two points in particular stood out for me:
– “Approach the intervention as a creative unsettling of your own practice in partnership with your students and/or colleagues”
– “Notice and reflect on your positionality, embodiments, and practices as a researcher”
Prior to doing the PgCert I would say I view myself as a tutor in terms of wanting to impart quite core principles of typography, that could be described as fundamental skills, tools, knowledge that can then be used by students to enhance their work and as a ‘jumping off point’ for their own ideas, experiments and explorations of the subject.
Since reading more about decolonisation, attending Anoushka’s workshop and speaking to colleagues and tutors, my understanding of what I think of as core and fundamental knowledge comes into question somewhat. Decolonisation asks us to reconsider what we might of think of as ‘universal truths’ or knowledge of a subject as regional, and part of a varied global perspective.
My big questions about my teaching practice are about encouraging students to question what we think of as universal knowledge but to also not discard it as somehow representative of colonialism, capitalism, etc.
I find this term ‘creative unsettling’ really interesting and have seen how this has started to happen in the first two units of the PgCert and intend to develop this more fully on the ARP.
Being open to this unsettling is daunting as it’s in my nature to use my knowledge and expertise as a way to give me confidence in teaching, so undoing this a bit like exploring the unknown for me as a tutor.
The idea of doing this “in partnership with your students and/or colleagues” is also interesting and perhaps key to a decolonial approach, as it would be difficult if not impossible for me to try and become an expert in many global approaches to graphic communication design and typography, so it seems essential to work with the students to explore this. The fact that at CSM we have a very international cohort is a real advantage here also.
I’d like to develop an intervention that explores diversity, racial/social justice, deconialism, through a typography project of some kind.
For me it’s interesting to consider what decolonialism can bring not only to the institution but also to the design industry, and how can my teaching encourage both of these things.
I’m also interested in what happens to so-called colonial knowledge. In some of the rhetoric of decolonialism there is a kind of heroic excitement in radically changing the landscape of how design is taught. But I’m also conscious that in hundreds of years of practice, there is knowledge, skills, techniques that are valid, useful, fundamental in design (and of course other fields) that we shouldn’t just abandon. The question for decolonisation is how do we avoid a situation where anything goes and can be questioned? How and what do we teach from colonial knowledge sources?
When attending Anoushka’s workshop in particular, I was reminded of the work and ideas of postmodernism, which seemed similar to some of the ideas she was presenting as decolonial (non-hierarchical etc). There’s an aspect of postmodern typography that just lead to unreadable communications that call into question everything about legibility, hierarchy, structure, composition etc.
