As Unit Editions opens its new gallery space with an exhibition of work by GUNMAD’s new foundry Or Type, we caught up with Unit’s Tony Brook and Mads Freund Brunse from GUNMAD to talk about the innovative show.
What was the thinking behind opening the space?
Tony Brook: Opening up the space seemed like a natural extension of the Unit Editions events we have been holding.What’s your direction in terms of curation?
Will it serve particular subjects or types of studio?
TB: Adrian [Shaughnessy, Unit’s co-founder] and I have eclectic tastes so variety will be the watchword. I have a fairly large collection of posters, books and graphic ephemera at home and I liked the idea of sharing them so aspects of my obsessions will make an appearance for sure.
Do you think the gallery offers something that London is currently lacking?
TB: There are a number of shops and galleries hosting interesting exhibitions, places like Kemistry Gallery, KK Outlet, Artwords, Magma etc. We are very happy to be a part of that scene but adding our own idiosyncratic voice.
What was it about Or Type that made you feel it was a good fit for the launch exhibition?
TB: As GUNMAD, the studio contributed to our book Type Plus [Unit 17] and one of our Unit events called Type Night and launched the new Or Type website in conjunction with some new and very groovy typefaces. It was a great and unexpected way to kick things off – the team made great use of the space available.
Mads, tell us about why you launched Or Type.
Mads Freund Brunse: We figured out that at one point we had made enough typefaces from our own projects that it made sense to distribute them for other designers to use. Or at least see if there was interest, and there was.
What is your approach as a foundry?
MFB: It’s really important for us that our typefaces have a lot of character, maybe just something special in certain characters, or in the general flow. We’re not looking to change the world with our type, or to make the perfect ones. It’s just about making something interesting. This can derive from older type that we come across, handwritten protest signs or just some idea that pops up in our mind. We like to think that’s what set us apart from other foundries and creates our reason of being. We are also just interested in the idea of managing a project ourselves. It gives us a lot of freedom what we can do and publish whatever we want.
Which pieces have you selected for the exhibition?
MFB: For the exhibition we wanted to show our typefaces in an interesting and logical way. Unit Editions' gallery already had a nice framing system in the space, therefore we decided to create a series of posters to fit the existent frames. We designed them using our online specimen tool. This creates a link between the walls and the website which is also present on two computers in the space. We worked on a series of images with Swiss photographers Moos-Tang. The images help creating a narrative together with the typographic statements.
uniteditions.com
ortype.isOr Type: Now & Then or Again
Unit Gallery, 33 Stannary Street, London
Until 13 March 2015