This all depends upon what you mean by 'experimental'. I'd say all good designers experiment, or feel their way, to good design. Sure there is method to the madness, but there is always madness to go along with the method.

Alexey Brodovitch was a pioneer.
Paul Rand was a pioneer.

Read the book Making and Breaking the Grid.

typographically experimental meaning if it said 'These words are crashing' then the words would be actually crashing letter by letter down the page and onto the end of the page to communicate that.

Yeah there are tons. Im inspired by Jennifer Sterlings ability to control type.

April Greiman
Weingart
Willi Kunz
David Carson
Max Bill
Piet Zwart

ChrisL

>the words would be actually crashing letter by letter down the page

Experimental? I think the accurate description would be "literal graphic treatment" or "cliche typography" or even "Italian typography" ;-)

Three quick thoughts:

Jennifer Sterling? - WTF!

Alive or Dead?

Italian typography - Studio Boggeri. Ispirato.

"Illustrative Typography"

"concrete poetry" might be a good example of what you are looking for as well:

http://www.rediscov.com/sacknerarchives/browsecollections.aspx

Sorry Sii, i didn't know how to put it.

I guess Apollinaire's "Il Pleut" had words “crashing letter by letter down the page and onto the end of the page”. 3 versions at:
http://perso.univ-lyon2.fr/~edbreuil/litterature/Apollinaire/La-pluie/pl...

and Stéphane Mallarmé’s "Un coup de Dés" does something similar:
http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~doyle/docs/coup/scan/coup.pdf

also check out "Early Visual Poetry 1506-1726" at:
http://www.ubu.com/historical

Filippo Marinetti’s “freed words”
http://colophon.com/gallery/futurism/7.html

and Massin’s layout for Ionesco’s "la Cantatrice Chauve"
http://paris.blog.lemonde.fr/?name=2006_03_massin_la_canta

Rudy VanderLans. Not sure what he's up to these days, but the sheer audacity of the early (large format) issues of Emigre still do it for me. I unfolded and assembled one of the big two-colour giveaway posters in class the other day... to the sound of a collective 'whaaaat?'

You might be referring to more post-modern typography, rather than experimental. Depends on how you define 'experimental typography'

Experimental typography. Whatever that means

Curious comment Duncan; if the typography is postmodern does that mean it can't also be experimental? I wasn't aware that the two were such mutually exclusive states.

Sup Ben, In the Essay I link to, it mentions that, depending on how you define an experiment, all typography is an experiment, and 'to experiment' is a "part" of the design process. Giggly mentioned Lupton, so her thoughts might have been with the whole cranbrook in-crowd. I was pointing out about the definition of the word, and more that the peps should/could go and read an interesting essay and learn for themselves too! (as the essay also mentions that it can be up to individual desgners interpretations). Semantics!
I like how Tiff through Paul Rand in, and Dezcom hit us with Max Bill, thats the shizza.

Nothing's up Duncan. The majority of Peter Bilak's essay that you refer to is about experimental type design. Miss G's question is about experimental typographic layout.

If you have deduced the idea that 'all typography is an experiment' from Hamish Muir's quote then I think you should re-read the essay; it is used in the text as an illustration of diversity of opinion – it is really not the main thrust of the essay – and it is immediately balanced by a counter statement from Melle Hammer (which I think is probably nearer the truth).

Semantics!? How about the difference between 'through' and 'threw'?

Always look for Fred Woodward. The master of American publishing design. Again -- Fred Woodward.


Hey,

Nothing’s up Duncan.
ouch.

The majority of Peter Bilak’s essay that you refer to is about experimental type design
no its not.

If you have deduced,
I didn't deduce anything, just pointed out about defining the word experiment.

it is used in the text as an illustration of diversity of opinion
yup.

and it is immediately balanced by a counter statement from Melle Hammer (which I think is probably nearer the truth).
good, an opinion.

How about the difference between ‘through’ and ‘threw’?
yup you got me :_(

Peace.

yes, I guess Hermann Zapf have to be in your list, look at his Manuale Typographicum published in 1957... http://www.typogabor.com/manuale-hermann-zapf/ there is pure experimental typography...

and Bradbury Thompson for Westvaco inspirations:
http://paris.blog.lemonde.fr/2007/07/26/westvaco-ii-la-periode-1953-a-19...

and Herbert Lubalin and Neville Brody, that's obvious doctor Watson : http://www.typogabor.com/herb-lubalin/
http://www.typogabor.com/neville-brody/

One of the best and experimental (even if lately we do not see much of his quality) layout designers
in the world is Luca Stoppini from Italian Vogue.

Ciao
Stefan

The Lupton book, thinking with type, IS good. I also like Jost Hochuli and Robin Kinross's Designing books: practice and theory.