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(in)visible (de)signs

(in)visible (de)signs

By Keith Tam

Discussing communication design on a meta level

Blogs at
medium.com/invisibledesigns
nontxt.com
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Currently playing episode

Can typography save lives? A conversation with Thomas Girard

(in)visible (de)signsJan 29, 2023

00:00
01:06:26
文悅古典明朝體有乜問題?What’s wrong with this typeface?
Jan 11, 202401:11:56
與厲致謙談中文字體設計 A conversation with Li Zhiqian on Chinese type design

與厲致謙談中文字體設計 A conversation with Li Zhiqian on Chinese type design

普通話 Putonghua

來自上海的字體設計師、研究者厲致謙2023年11月15日來到香港知專設計學院擔任TypeMeet #007的演講嘉賓。厲致謙是三言3type字體設計公司的創辦人。三言設計及開發多款多語種字體、開展字體研究項目,近年更推動字體設計教育,創立Type School短期課程。本集談到厲致謙怎樣由工業設計晉身為字體設計師及研究者,他對漢字對齊問題的見解,和為什麼漢字不一定是方塊字。

3type
Instagram: @colourphilosophy
The Type
Nov 18, 202326:32
A conversation with Alex Nelson and Beau House from Post Projects

A conversation with Alex Nelson and Beau House from Post Projects

[Interview] Beau House and Alex Nelson are founding partners and creative directors of Post Projects, a graphic design and creative services agency based in Vancouver BC, Canada. In this episode, we talk about the genesis of the studio from their time as students at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, the studio’s work and design approach, and their views on the impact of artificial intelligence on communication design.
Website | Instagram | Behance
Apr 26, 202330:22
20 questions with Thomas Girard

20 questions with Thomas Girard

[Interview] In Episode 3, Canadian scholar and author Thomas Girard and I discussed whether typography could save lives. This episode was recorded in Vancouver, Canada at Thomas's studio where I asked him the same 20 questions that he asked me on his podcast show Uniqueways with Thomas Girard.

Tell me a little bit more about yourself, what do you do?
What’s a key piece of knowledge that makes you different?
Why this? Of all things? Why do you do what you do?
What does your future look like?
Let's talk about location. How does the notion of “place” play into what you do?
If you had to start from scratch, what advice would you give your former self?
What’s your day in the life like?
Lifelong learning is a popular topic these days. How do you stay up to date?
What tools do you use? Are you a digital nomad?
How do you deal with work/life balance?
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doing?
What would you not like to do?
What’s your favorite word, quote, or sentence?
What’s your least favorite word, quote, or sentence?
If you had to pick one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
What keeps you up at night?
What’s a dream you’re chasing.
What inspires you?
Any advice you’d like to share?
How can our listeners keep tabs on you?
Apr 22, 202317:43
On journaling
Apr 07, 202304:29
Typography的迷思與謬誤 Myths about typography
Mar 05, 202301:17:49
與Kiki Yau邱穎琛談雙語文字編排設計 On bilingual typography: a conversation with Kiki Yau

與Kiki Yau邱穎琛談雙語文字編排設計 On bilingual typography: a conversation with Kiki Yau

粵語 Cantonese


第六集請來我的同事Kiki Yau邱穎琛談雙語文字編排設計。Kiki現職香港知專設計學院傳意設計學系助理講師。本科畢業於香港理工大學傳意設計學科,畢業後留校於信息設計研究室擔任研究助理。及後負笈英國雷丁大學文字與圖像傳意學系修讀研究碩士課程,畢業論文題為〈“Outside Western typography” – The influence of technology on the hybridisation of Chinese-Latin typography in Hong Kong〉,研究雙語文字編排設計和科技的關係。本集跟Kiki詳談她的研究方向,也一窺雷丁大學的學習經歷和一些理論與實踐的問題。 [Conversation, Cantonese] Episode 6 is a conversation on bilingual typography with my colleague Kiki Yau, Assistant Lecturer in Communication Design at the Hong Kong Design Institute. Kiki graduated with an MA by Research from the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication at the University of Reading in the UK. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Information Design Lab at the School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Bilingual typography is a familiar sight for people who live in a place like Hong Kong where there are two (or more) official languages. Kiki’s thesis at Reading was on bilingual typography, titled ‘“Outside Western typography” – The influence of technology on the hybridisation of Chinese-Latin typography in Hong Kong’. In this episode, we’ll have a conversation about Kiki’s work on bilingual typography, her influences, and her experiences and the ethos of the typography department at the University of Reading.


Feb 22, 202301:06:09
From UX to making work meaningful: an interview with Dan Szuc and Jo Wong
Feb 19, 202301:12:03
Articulating text hierarchy

Articulating text hierarchy

[Reading] Episode 4 is a reading of a post published on 21 August 2020 https://nontxt.com/articulating-text-hierarchy/

Feb 05, 202305:39
Can typography save lives? A conversation with Thomas Girard

Can typography save lives? A conversation with Thomas Girard

[Conversation] In episode 3, we are privileged to have Thomas Girard from Vancouver, Canada as our guest. We had an interesting conversation on whether or not typography can save lives. The conversation sparked from a passage in an essay that Thomas wrote for the British Columbia Review (formerly Ormsby Review) titled ‘Saving Lives', published on 24 January 2021:

The argument is always that design isn’t about saving lives. Some people argue for its importance, for example with the historical example of poorly-designed election ballots causing American voters to be confused enough to vote for the wrong party or candidate. Teaching typography during the pandemic puts an interesting lens on it. In one sense it is the least of our worries, but historically it has been so important that it must not be allowed to gather dust. I teach a class called Advanced Typography at a small private design school in Vancouver and I often reflect on how, throughout history, typography has been carefully documented and considered in practical ways in its relationship with current technologies, in the impact it has on people emotionally and, most importantly, in the way we read. Letters are meant to be read, and through the careful study of topics like typographic readability and legibility we can assess its continuing importance. Some say we can never see history while it’s unfolding, but I simply offer this précis of typographic studies so that perhaps we can reflect, “Wait a minute,  writing actually says a lot.”

Thomas has been running a very popular podcast channel Unique Ways with Thomas Girard where he interviews such personalities as John Maeda, Bisi Williams, Debbie Millman and Erik Spiekermann. I was fortunate to have been invited to an early episode. He is a UX designer, scholar, educator and author from Vancouver. He was speaker of a popular TEDx talk ‘How to feel at home in the airport’. 

The book mentioned in the episode:
Caps lock: how capitalism took hold of graphic design, and how to escape from it by Ruben Pater

Jan 29, 202301:06:26
Heinrich von Kleist: On the gradual completion of thoughts during speech

Heinrich von Kleist: On the gradual completion of thoughts during speech

[Reading] Episode 2 starts with a short intro about how this show came about, what to anticipate in the coming episodes, and a Cantonese welcome message. The main part of the episode is a reading of a post published on 4 September 2021. To read the post, visit https://nontxt.com/heinrich-von-kleist/

Jan 26, 202307:19
An ode to books

An ode to books

[Reading] Some musings about books from a design perspective

This is a reading of a post published on 10 November 2022 https://nontxt.com/ode-to-books/ 

Jan 24, 202305:15