What exactly is in the water in Utah?

Flouride. Our fine state just barely passed an
public initiative to catch up with the rest of
the nation and flouridate our water supply. There
were fears that "the government is trying to
poison us."

It's hard to understand why stable, hip design-types
can find a home here. But I guess I haven't left yet.
Maybe I'm not so hip or stable.

Stephen

Scoles - many design schools there?


--

Veer is distributing Alias, Device and Adobe fonts + some selected designs by others going to a customer base of 30,000. It might be worth checking out for type designers looking for more distribution.

Technical point: don't know whether any of their contributors are based in Utah or whether they use solely freelancers, but their mailing address is Provo.
:]

bj

There's a solid design community in Provo-SLC area, which tend to recruit from excellent local university programs. Having worked there myself, the AIGA events were always very inspiring.

jb

True, Jared. That is worth saying twice.

bj - There aren't any specialized design schools
worth mentioning, but BYU's design program
produces some great talent (Jared, Christian and Joe?)
and the University of Utah (David Thometz!) is decent,
but a little more behind-the-times.

Stephen

It doesn't matter, BJ is still right: it's just plain weird...

hhp

Well, I guess since you're already suspecting
something I'll let the cat out of the bag...

We're trying to convert you all to Mormonism
through subliminal messages in graphic design.

Stephen

No need to: the polygamy thing is plenty enticing... or at least *was*, since you guys don't do that no more. ;-)

hhp

more impressed than weirded. It's cool that TYPE is one of the common threads.

Hrant, I know your tongue was deeply planted in cheek

My wife wouldn't discuss type (as if that's what we're doing here anyway) if her life depended on it... So obviously, she's not Mormon. Long live Utah. Dominatrix? http://www.josephine.net/

hhp

Yeah, the AIGA there (the Salt Lake chapter) is
particularly good. Somehow they always attract
interesting speakers, many of whom don't work in
Utah. I think they lure them with the skiing/boarding.
:-)

When I first got to New York after finishing at
BYU my new employer asked me what
Provo was like. She believed it was teeming
with designers and a very hip place. I felt like I
was deflating her grand impressions when I
explained that Provo is a typical town that grew
up around a University.

BYU's design program left me feeling very well
prepared. They don't offer any type design
courses but there's a definite emphasis on
typographic integrity and a sensitivity toward
type that really sparked my interest.

Oh, and BJ, if you ask any more questions you
may wake to find a horse head in your bed.

The horse head...does that come with guacamole?

Witness Protection, here I come.

Say Hello To My Little Friend.


John Johnson

You see, BJ, this is *exactly* the sort of
thing that gives us Angelenos a bad rep... ;-)

OK, seriously (for a change):
It's great to hear that BYU is typographically aware. Looking at their collection of early books (especially strong in the 16th-C French stuff), it fits. I wonder, how/why did it start?

hhp

BTW, you know where else seems to have
peculiarly strong typographic activity?
Minnesota. I mean, I know that Vikings
made some killer Runes and stuff, but...

hhp

I'd have to agree on MN.

Good schools, good arts community, a ton of design shops. Chank perhaps gets more credit that he deserves (then again maybe not) but there are a bunch of other shops that do type either full or part time.

Grant worked on Veer, see

http://www.splorp.com/blog/default.html

Yah, it's dem dam cold Winters dat keep us all inside makin' fonts and what not donchaknow? Yah, you betcha!

Stuart :D

We don't say dam(n), Stuart -- we say darn. More polite. Uff-da!

All except dat Ditka guy. He can say "dam(n)". Yah, sure.

David
(Minnesotan on my dad's side, before his family moved to Warshington, and then to Utahr....)

Alias Metsys is the header font for computer arts, a magazine based here in the UK. It ROCKS.

I love your mags! Some of the best magazine design seems to come from the UK. Gotta go to Tower Records to get that fine imported stuff.

bj

In a possibly hopeless attempt to bring this thread back to the original point... Veer isn't based or designed in Utah. We're situated smack dab in the middle of Calgary, Alberta. The Utah connection? We only ship products out of a warehouse located in Provo. Perhaps it's the water after all.

g.

Grant - It's the LA River water i'm drinking I suppose. Thanks for the info.


bj

bj - You're quite welcome. I just felt the need to clarify. Being the neues Kind auf dem Block, any word is a good word.

Oh, and regarding your previous statement:

| Veer is distributing Alias, Device and
| Adobe fonts + some selected designs by
| others going to a customer base of 30,000.
| It might be worth checking out for type
| designers looking for more distribution.

You must have the inside skinny on us. We are indeed entertaining the possibility of adding additional smaller, boutique foundries and designers to balance out the mix. I can certainly forward any interested parties to the proper contact. Thanks for the plug, btw.

g.

aw, no moles on the inside...just looked at the site after seeing the link at Kaliber and made a couple of careless inferences.


bj

> careless inferences

The key to efficient data mining.

hhp

Hahaha! That's great, Hrant.