By Keith Tatum
Why do you search for vintage typography? I’m enamored of the techniques and craftsmanship of those who practiced their skills during a time without digital tools and the ability to easily “undo.” When you research advertising and manufacturing companies, you’re bound to learn a bit about life back then and the work that folks did every day.
At a personal level, I hunt for vintage typefaces and do my own lettering to stay connected with my father, who was a sign painter and letterer on the side. I lost him in my early twenties. Sometimes, late at night, while I’m working at the hundred-year-old drafting table he gave me, I get a sense of comfort and calm from making letters just like he did. I want my daughters to understand and see that they can make anything they dream up with their own hands.
Which is your favorite era of typography? I have many, but if I had to pinpoint my favorite, it would be a sliver of the Victorian era from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. There are amazing examples of typography that come from sign writing, penmanship, trade advertising, letterpress, lithography and engraving. I enjoy the decorative, expressive flourishes of the letter work done during that time.
How do you find the unique typography you dig up? I’m always hunting, online and offline. Technology has kicked open the door for sharing photos and scans on Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest and digital archives. But I find the best examples by visiting small towns and antique shops in Ohio and other states. I also spend a fair amount of my free time scouring online auctions and personal and public collections. Collectors hoard most of the exceptional work, and it’s slowly creeping into the digital world for public viewing. Libraries, antiquarians and historical societies are doing the noble work of digitizing ephemera, books, advertising and the like. I also try to visit physical spaces that curate the history of print and advertising, such as Hatch Show Print in Nashville; the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin; and the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Has vintage typography influenced you as a UX and digital designer? It absolutely has. I recently gave a UX workshop in Indianapolis and nearly every slide from my Keynote presentation was hand-created, lettered and scanned. I try to weave my personality into my white board drawings, sketch notes and mind maps so you always recognize my handy work. This is what the artists and crafts folk that came before me stood for—they left their mark in their work. In digital times, it’s important to remind others there’s a person behind what we make.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve come across in your hunting? There’s certainly no shortage of bad taxidermy in the world. One piece stands out, though: I came across an old card that apparently you would hand out once your child was born. It has an awkward illustration of a grinning man with type that reads, “I’m a daddy!” I’m sure it was intended to announce the joy of your newborn’s arrival, but instead the man’s facial expression really creeps me out. I wish I had bought it, if for no other reason than it makes me uncomfortable.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? Comedian Steve Martin said something that has stuck with me: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” If you continually practice anything, over time you’ll get really good at it. If you do it long enough, eventually you’ll become an expert. I think that’s how I’ve managed to have a career at all and why I persistently share the typographic works of others and myself.
Who have been your most influential designers or artists?
• Charles S. Anderson Design. Nobody has done a more diligent job of preserving the graphical past and making it relevant today.
• Hatch Show Print. They’re still doing what they started long ago, and they do show posters better than anybody else.
• Dustin Wallace. His work with Fossil really sparked something in me and surfaced a curiosity for vintage-inspired design.
• Ed Emberley. His books and illustrations gave me confidence, as a child, in my drawing skills and becoming an artist.
What excites you about design right now? The tension between digital and traditional design and techniques is exciting to me. Currently, there’s a renewed desire to get our hands messy and physically make things, and people everywhere are sharing what they’re up to.
I love that I spend my working hours focused on user experience and making digital things work harder for the people who encounter them, yet I also marvel over creating letters on paper without firing up design software to do so.
At a personal level, I hunt for vintage typefaces and do my own lettering to stay connected with my father, who was a sign painter and letterer on the side. I lost him in my early twenties. Sometimes, late at night, while I’m working at the hundred-year-old drafting table he gave me, I get a sense of comfort and calm from making letters just like he did. I want my daughters to understand and see that they can make anything they dream up with their own hands.
Which is your favorite era of typography? I have many, but if I had to pinpoint my favorite, it would be a sliver of the Victorian era from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. There are amazing examples of typography that come from sign writing, penmanship, trade advertising, letterpress, lithography and engraving. I enjoy the decorative, expressive flourishes of the letter work done during that time.
How do you find the unique typography you dig up? I’m always hunting, online and offline. Technology has kicked open the door for sharing photos and scans on Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest and digital archives. But I find the best examples by visiting small towns and antique shops in Ohio and other states. I also spend a fair amount of my free time scouring online auctions and personal and public collections. Collectors hoard most of the exceptional work, and it’s slowly creeping into the digital world for public viewing. Libraries, antiquarians and historical societies are doing the noble work of digitizing ephemera, books, advertising and the like. I also try to visit physical spaces that curate the history of print and advertising, such as Hatch Show Print in Nashville; the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin; and the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
Has vintage typography influenced you as a UX and digital designer? It absolutely has. I recently gave a UX workshop in Indianapolis and nearly every slide from my Keynote presentation was hand-created, lettered and scanned. I try to weave my personality into my white board drawings, sketch notes and mind maps so you always recognize my handy work. This is what the artists and crafts folk that came before me stood for—they left their mark in their work. In digital times, it’s important to remind others there’s a person behind what we make.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve come across in your hunting? There’s certainly no shortage of bad taxidermy in the world. One piece stands out, though: I came across an old card that apparently you would hand out once your child was born. It has an awkward illustration of a grinning man with type that reads, “I’m a daddy!” I’m sure it was intended to announce the joy of your newborn’s arrival, but instead the man’s facial expression really creeps me out. I wish I had bought it, if for no other reason than it makes me uncomfortable.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? Comedian Steve Martin said something that has stuck with me: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” If you continually practice anything, over time you’ll get really good at it. If you do it long enough, eventually you’ll become an expert. I think that’s how I’ve managed to have a career at all and why I persistently share the typographic works of others and myself.
Who have been your most influential designers or artists?
• Charles S. Anderson Design. Nobody has done a more diligent job of preserving the graphical past and making it relevant today.
• Hatch Show Print. They’re still doing what they started long ago, and they do show posters better than anybody else.
• Dustin Wallace. His work with Fossil really sparked something in me and surfaced a curiosity for vintage-inspired design.
• Ed Emberley. His books and illustrations gave me confidence, as a child, in my drawing skills and becoming an artist.
What excites you about design right now? The tension between digital and traditional design and techniques is exciting to me. Currently, there’s a renewed desire to get our hands messy and physically make things, and people everywhere are sharing what they’re up to.
I love that I spend my working hours focused on user experience and making digital things work harder for the people who encounter them, yet I also marvel over creating letters on paper without firing up design software to do so.
Keith Tatum is the user experience director at Ologie, a branding agency in Columbus, Ohio. With a background that combines illustration, design and information architecture, he draws on his diverse skills to shape and improve Ologie’s digital work. He has brought his expertise to projects for Auburn University, Wilmington College, Xavier University and others. Tatum came to Ologie from Resource, where he was creative director for the agency’s retail portfolio, working with brands such as Bose, Sherwin-Williams and Kohler. He earned a BFA in illustration with a minor in advertising design at Columbus College of Art and Design. He shares vintage typography to large followings on Instagram, Pinterest and Dribbble.
