Typography is a craft that requires undue attention to both the physical details of the letters and the mood reflected.
While classic typography like calligraphy and hand-writing requires repetitive and pain-staking exercises to craft beautiful letters, the digital age has revolutionized the art where new typesets and type designs are now being created and used frequently in all printed and digital media.
What’s more beautiful about this form of art is that, when it is combined with inspirational quotes from English literature and this digital age, it creates a whole new level of inspirational typographic art – precisely as that created by the artists at Posterama.
Posterama is a Singapore-based, global collaborative of typographers, art directors, graphic designers, calligraphers and illustrators who turn inspirational quotes into typographic art. Its establishment was fueled by a profound love to recreate Rudyard Kipling’s “If” into a typographically elegant poster.
IF, Rudyard Kipling poster Futura 1 by Stefano Agabio.
The ones who see things differently are not fond of rules, and that’s true for the interpretation of the text written by Craig Tanimoto for the famous TV commercial for Apple computers in 1997, entitled “Here’s to the Crazy Ones”.
One of the most respected and awarded creatives in advertising, Dave Dye, gave an elegant and colourful interpretation; Singaporean Geraldine Chua’s black-and-white graphical interpretation may have stayed closer to the original TV commercial, yet is actually infused with the artist’s own interpretation.
Think Different typography poster by Geraldine Chua.
Think Different poster DD2 by Dave Dye.
In addition to his success in bringing the once crumbling Apple back to life with the aid of the Think Different ad campaign, Steve Jobs’ emphasis in typography for Macintosh is also another story well treasured by the public, especially typographers. The menace of the years did not find him afraid; he was the master of his fate and the captain of his soul, just like the protagonist described in William Ernest Henley’s poem – Invictus.
Invictus poster / William Henley DM1 by Danilo Mancini aka Sailor Danny.
Adversity is an unwanted part of our life, but it may be a blessing in disguise. American artist, Mike Harpin, made his interpretation on the subject in two posters attributed to the “Invincible Summer” quote by Albert Camus and “The Man in the Glass” poem by Dale Wimbrow.
Inspirational quotes: Albert Camus Invincible Summer poster 3 by Mike Harpin.
Perhaps, if we are unable to treat both Triumph and Disaster just the same, then we may need to accept things that we cannot change, and be courageous enough to change the things we can, as that put forth in the “Serenity Prayer” by Reinhold Niebuhr.
Inspirational quotes: Serenity Prayer poster 1762014 by Tomasz Biernat.
If you are as inspired by these typographic art pieces as I am you should definitely visit Posterama.co for more.
This article is written by Connie Tang.
