For its twelfth edition, Typo Berlin
came to Alexanderplatz, the neuralgic
and ideological heart of the ex-capital
of socialist Germany. Its venue was
the Haus des Lehrers, built in 1962 as
the headquarters for the organisation
of East Berlin pedagogues by
Hermann Henselmann, who also
designed the Ferneseherturm
(television tower) and the monumental
entrance of the Stalinallee.
Music was the theme chosen for this
edition and it provided the framework
for a range of events. Moritz Sauer
introduced online independent labels
while Elena Albertoni presented for
Anatoletype the opentype version
of Gregorian musical notation.
Particularly prominent was the threeday
event with Steve Heller that
illustrated the alliance between
graphic design and the music industry
with the creation of the first record
sleeves in 1939. In his eyes the
successful collaboration between Alex
Steinweiss and Columbia bore all the
traits of a small revolution. Records,
which until then had been relegated to
the darkest secluded corners of shops
selling domestic appliances and sold
in anonymous packages, finally
earned a place in the shop window.
The album cover became a favoured
place for experimentation and for
the possible – however problematic –
translation of the album’s musical
content into images.
For Smalltown Supersound and Morr
Music respectively, Kim Hiorthøy
and Jan Kruse, among others,
explored this complex relationship
with their work.
The attempt to examine the many links
between music and typography
inevitably produced some specious
results that were at times not
altogether satisfactory, such as the
all-graphic-designer band Wolfraam
on stage at the Typosounds festival.
But there was no shortage of very
interesting experimentation. House
Industries presented their latest
typographic sets in perfect punkmanagerial
style; bass, guitar and
drums emulated the caustic melodies
of the Vandals, while images were
screened of Bad Neighbourhood,
a font-kit inspired by punkzines and
the strongly contrasting effects of
the photocopier. Berlin group Jutojo
produced live video effects with an
analogical procedure whose
fascination lay in its intentional
anachronism. A slide was projected
onto a mirror that, from inside an
aquarium, reflected a moving image
onto a white surface. The camera
collected these impressions and
transferred them onto the screen.
The event would not have been
complete without Niklaus Troxler
– graphic designer and organiser
of the now consolidated Willisau Jazz
Festival – who brought the jazz
posters series to Berlin, a very
Helvetic opposition to the Swiss
graphic design school of Joseph
Müller-Brockmann.
Typo Berlin couldn’t find a more
effective way to end than the
conference-interview with Klaus
Voorman, designer of the legendary
and much imitated cover of Revolver
(the Beatles, 1966) and bass player
in the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
in 1970.
Typo Berlin 2007
In a whirlwind of alphabetical notations and musical writing, Typo Berlin, the 12th international conference of typographic design, offered a boundless yet condensed discussion platform for graphic, motion, Web, sound… Text by Giovanni Piovene. Photos by David Benham.

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- 10 September 2007
