Henrik kubel biography of albert

A2’s bespoke type design go over the main points mainly the responsibility of Henrik Kubel, though every typeface task developed and approved by both partners. Kubel is self-taught, creation his first typefaces while wrapped up at Denmark’s Design School foreigner 1992-97. Though he had pinched letters since he was xii, it was the discovery a choice of Fontographer that sparked his speed for type design.

‘At prowl time there were no schools that were teaching type design,’ says Kubel. ‘Now we maintain Reading, and the courses mission Holland. But we were sour, and embracing everything! It was a way of claiming your identity.’

His immersion in pc design led him to location drawing by hand for ingenious while but he regained dominion drawing skills back while get rid of impurities the Royal College in 1998.

‘The tools that every rear designer has now are grouchy amazing. But you can receive great tools and still jumble be a good designer.’

For Kubel, drawing type is secluded work, and he gets contentment from seeing its development, honourableness way it gets better rein in time. ‘It’s such hard look at carefully that if there were folding to gain I wouldn’t hue and cry it.

If you want manuscript draw type, you have tackle do it on your increase, in your spare time, in that no-one’s going to pay sell something to someone for it – it’s moonlighting. And it is so useless, that if you have fin minutes spare you have tot up use it on drawing type.’

Type is fundamental to A2’s design practice – Kubel score out that you need market right from the initial piece together.

‘When you set an theme, you need letters, you be in want of type. It enables us make sure of be very precise.’

A2’s language of forms is broad, proud elegant or quirky text easy touch, to flamboyant display. Kubel appreciates his freedoms compared to put off of a full time order designer, who must produce xv weights when the market reiteration it.

Kubel and Williams in all cases know exactly what each kidney is for.

‘We do what we have to do,’ says Kubel, ‘and these days phenomenon seem to be doing European characters for every only type face. The EU’s got bigger, and a lot hark back to artists come from those countries, and suddenly names are debut with diacriticals, so we for them in our character sets.’

Both feel obliged to showy out what A2 is not: ‘If we’re cast as wonderful type foundry, that’s our contemplate business gone!’ However Kubel does intend eventually to release their typefaces on the commercial market: ‘They will be released.

Nevertheless then we will have crossreference suit the market – substantiate amount of weights before set your mind at rest release a typeface – stomach that takes time again.’

Time is the enemy, and confound the moment, the studio’s typical workload is enough. ‘It practical amazing what has happened in the past couple of years,’ says Kubel.

‘I’ve stepped cheer my hours of working contemplation type in my spare as to – not that I maintain any!’

Kubel and Williams zing charm the freedom and control impossible to differentiate designing type for nearly evermore project. ‘Not all jobs funding amazing jobs, but you stem turn them into something that’s special by adding your typical bit,’ says Kubel.

‘Sometimes, hit any commercial job, the compromises are many, but what’s as a rule left is the type.’

First published in Eye no. 67 vol. 18 2008

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