He lives and works between London and Bolzano and is type designer and member of CAST – Cooperativa Anonima Servizi Tipografici. He carries on a research at the University of Reading, about Venetian Roman types of the fifteenth century, combining the use of bibliographic knowledge with the analysis of letterforms. From 2009 to 2013 he was professor of typography at the University of Bolzano.
-15% OffProceedings of the International symposium / Turin, 16–17 September 2021
The Nebiolo company of Turin was Italy’s greatest type foundry on both national and international levels for most of the 20th century until its closure in 1978. Originating from a small type foundry established in 1852 and bought by Giovanni Nebiolo in 1878, Nebiolo was officially set up in 1880. By the turn of the century the company experienced a rapid commercial expansion that would lead it to successfully develop the production of printing presses, a sector in which it would dominate the Italian market until the 1970s.
Nebiolo is especially remembered for its contributions in the field of typeface design. Its Studio Artistico – headed successively by Giulio Da Milano, Alessandro Butti and Aldo Novarese – released influential typefaces that had a strong impact on the history of 20th-century printing and graphic design in Italy and elsewhere. Due to the dispersion of the company archives, a critical evaluation of Nebiolo’s heritage has been lacking until now. With this first international symposium, and the publication of its proceedings, the Nebiolo History Project offers at last an overview of the latest research on hitherto underinvestigated aspects concerning Nebiolo and its role in the history of industry and the graphic arts in Italy.
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Edited by Nebiolo History Project: Alessandro Colizzi, Riccardo Olocco, James Clough, Riccardo De Franceschi, Marta Bernstein, Massimo Gonzato
Texts by various authors
19 × 27 cm
376 pages
Paperback
Original language edition (italian/english)
Isbn 978-88-98030-89-7
First published July 2023
-15% OffMany typefaces created today are related to types of the past, and interest in older letterforms is stimulated by the great number of visual resources available. We are surrounded by digital fonts based in one way or another on historical models, but it is clear that we cannot consider all of them as revivals. So, how to distinguish a type revival from a typeface that is loosely based on historical forms? More reflection on this subject is necessary, both to help navigate the landscape of contemporary typefaces, and to give greater clarity to discussions on the history of type. This 104 pages pamphlet provides tools for researching and designing revival types. A concise publication that will show a practical perspective and fresh content, fuelling the conversation among and between designers and scholars.
The content is organised into four parts. The authors begin by defining the theoretical ground, including a definition of revivals, and a discussion on the boundaries of a revival project. The second part introduces the framework of analysis developed for recording the relevant design features of the type used as a model. In the third part, Olocco and Patané apply the framework to the roman type cut by Francesco Griffo for the De Aetna (1496). Based on this analysis, the fourth part showcases the process of reviving this historical type.
Although the authors are focusing on defining a procedure to design a type revival, those suggestions can be adopted beyond the scope of a revival project. Their approach will ensure a strong connection with the original source and a substantial help towards understanding how to employ historical models in a contemporary context.
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Texts by Riccardo Olocco and Michele Patanè
Preface by Gerry Leonidas
Book design by Riccardo Olocco and Michele Patanè
12.5 × 21 cm
112 pages
Paperback
English
Isbn 978-88-98030-48-4
First published May 2022
