Character Two
Myth-Busting / Political Neutrality in Graphic Design / Typo Film Fest / Typo Bus Tour
Legibility: Myth Busting & Myth | Making From Benny Hill to Batman, Nirvana to Nazism, Melbourne’s own mythbuster, Andrew Budge presented a humorous and informative talk on what lies beneath the surface of legibility. Speaker: Andrew Budge (Designland) | Right, Left or Just Centred | A panel of passionate speakers addressed an issue not often discussed in anAustralian context – political engagement in contemporary graphic design. Why are designers so hesitant to take apolitical stance? Can graphic design really be neutral? This resulted in some wonderful debate and spirited discussion. Speakers: Stephen Banham (Letterbox, Melbourne), Steven Cornwell (Cornwell, Melbourne), Jason Grant (Inkahoots, Brisbane) | 26 Letters A Second | Over 90 minutes of the world’s finest typo-films. From films on design pioneers (such as the classic 1977 documentary on the legendary Saul Bass) through to shorter satirical animations, these movies centre on the many faces (human & typographic) of graphic design. | Twilight Typo Tour | This bus tour of 26 typo-sites offered an insight into many of Melbourne’s most intriguing letterforms. Guides: Andrew Budge and Stephen Banham
“I attended the Character forum last Saturday. I would just like to say thanks to you and RMIT for organizing the event. It was stimulating and I picked up a lot of insights. It would have been nice if the forum went a bit longer as the discussions were interesting. Hope you guys organize similar events soon.”
“Just thought I’d write and let you know how great the Character Forums were. It’s fantastic to have some critical discussion of design in Melbourne/Australia, and hopefully you have plans for these forums to become a regular event. I thought Character 2 was really interesting, mainly due to yourself and Jason Grant. Though I found things such as the film festival, bus tour and some of the talks really enjoyable, I thought the discussion sections of both forums probably the most interesting aspect, and maybe could have been expanded. Anyway, I thought you might appreciate some feedback. I think the forums were really worth while and look forward to hopefully some more in the future.”
“Just wanted to say congratulations to you and your whole team of helpers on a great weekend of events. All your hard work obviously paid off and it was a great turn-out to both nights. Well done!”
“Couldn’t make it to Sunday’s mystery tour – is it possible to have the itinerary? You managed to set up some fine disagreement there with your selection of panellists. I was particularly struck by Jason’s remark that graphic design has become the primary vehicle for the promotion of a certain ideology.”
“Congrats on Character 2. Has generated quite a bit of discussion here at Swinburne today amongst the students…”
“Just wanted to let you know that I thought Character 2 was fantastic – especially the forum. As you suggest, I think this idea of ’serving and educating’ is really important for the development of our profession.”
“Just wanted to say top job on Saturday – For a free seminar, it was worth its weight in gold.”