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| 03 |---MONTHLY DESIGN-->-->> January 1999. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From South Korea. Feature on the |T-26| Digital Type Foundry. When [T-26] Digital Type Foundry was first introduced in 1994, it received instant welcome from designers. Founder of this company, Carlos Segura, a designer originally from Cuba, began to establish [T-26] among designers by introducing experimental and cult design. Discounts to students and other users increased their interest in [T-26] and incorporating these users in production made [T-26] indispensable in their work. [T-26] is currently providing more than 400 typefaces designed by more than 100 designers around the world. Carlos Segura says that the success of [T-26] lies beyond the subject of 'fonts'. "When we started [T-26] in 1994, it was at the beginning of an experimentation period that changed the face of design. With that in mind, we wanted to offer tools and ideas that would contribute to that effort, and we wanted [T-26] to be the 'place to get it'. It was quite difficult to find these tools prior to 1994 without going through an extensive search." This quote shows what role their fonts played in this experimental age. [T-26] kept the price as low as possible so more designers and students would be able to buy them. They wanted to encourage people to buy the fonts, not steal them. [T-26] is the only company that offers 40% discounts to students and they also have several fonts that are exclusively produced to generate funds for nonprofit organizations. One other reason [T-26] was welcomed was the fact that they spoke to their target at their level with a sense of intelligence. [T-26] packages their font collection as more of a 'gift' than a 'sales pitch'. So their collections are released as limited edition of 'art'. They contain posters, postcards, napkins, toys, digital tools on floppies, flyers, bookmarks and the font supplements. All of these materials in the 'kit' are produced using a variety of techniques, like letterpress, silk screen, woodblock, etchings, offset, embossing and 3D items. A one to two minute quicktime movie of [T-26] digital fonts, which was created as a part of 'Digital Direct Mail' series in 1994, also makes this font special. This is kind of a mini 'music video' with the font as the star. No longer an introductory type foundry, [T-26] hopes to mature into a collective with strong ties to every group of people who love type.  >> return to "articles" section :-) SEGURA INC. 1110 North Milwaukee Avenue. Chicago, Illinois 60622-4017. (t) 773.862.5667 (f) 773.862.1214 (e) info@segura-inc.com |
