Stag ‘n’ DIN

mondoville: ‘CNN Canada' launch proves, yet again, that the only guaranteed steady job in broadcasting is that of the graphic designer

Or motion-graphics designer.

So. CBC NN. Like every other alteration, large or small, that CBC has dared to make, CBC NN obviously represents a death knell for CBC journalistic ethics and standards, CBC journalism, and the CBC. But how does it look?

They’ve certainly put some money into advertising – more than two full pages in the paper today.

Two full-colour newspaper ads for CBC News

There’s a different screen layout, but FF DIN is still the font for body copy. (Yeah, not Frutiger. That’s what’s all over the walls of Fort Dork.) DIN has a long history and this version is a successful revival by Albert-Jan Pool.

Carole MacNeil with onscreen graphics

The new display face is Stag by Christian Schwartz, a wunderkind who has been publishing typefaces since he was 14. It’s in the slabserif family, which, like sansserifs, are quite hard to distinguish. (Stag kind of looks like Stymie, Rockwell, Serifa, and Icône the way DIN kind of looks like Geneva, Univers, and VAG Rounded.)

I find motion and broadcast graphics fascinating, but it is almost impossible to learn about them without taking a course or actually working in the field. Like other disciplines of screen design, you absolutely cannot sequester yourself in a garret and do some book-learning. Almost the only way to discuss motion graphics is sitting next to a designer with video running on the appropriate hardware, which is a thicket of trouble in itself.

Motion graphics is the sort of thing that lends itself to a monthly pub night where designers show off their work on laptops – and later, once they’re a bit lubricated, bitch about their competitors’ work.

Invitation: I’d like to interview CBC graphic designers. Or you can write a guest post – or illustrate one. Up to you.

(Photos.)

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Upload Files

You can include images or files in your comment by selecting them below. Once you select a file, it will be uploaded and a link to it added to your comment. You can upload as many images or files as you like and they will all be added to your comment.