People

Left to right: Steve Matteson (Ascender Corporation), Tom Rickner (Ascender Corporation), Michelle Perham (Microsoft), Chuck Bigelow (RIT)

On October 28th, 2009 a panel of typographic experts gathered to impart the wisdom they have gathered over years in the typography industry.

Led by Charles Bigelow, typography professor in the School of Print Media and a co-creator of the Lucida fonts, the panel discussed the paths their careers followed leading them to the high-ranking typography positions in which they currently reside.

All three of the panel members attended RIT and graduated from the School of Print Media. Steve Matteson and Tom Rickner currently operate Ascender Corporation as Type Design Diriector and Type Designer and Font Producer respectively. Ascender Corporation has been contracted by major corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple and designed the typefaces used in the Microsoft Zune player as well as the Android G2 Google phone.

Michelle Perham currently works for Microsoft Typography Group as a project manager and oversees international type design for all Microsoft products including the recent Windows 7. Her group currently has over 250 different fonts with more foreign fonts than latin fonts. According to Perham, less than 10% of world computers running Microsoft are using latin fonts.

The panel discussion covered a wide range of typographic topics including the increase in display fonts and the decrease in newspapers. According to Charles Bigelow, as the display technology and “hinting” of fonts become more refined, people are more comfortable reading off of a display. There is a linear relationship between this refinement and the demise of the newspaper industry.

A major focus of this panel discussion was job opportunities in the world of typography and design. The panel all seemed to agree that you have to follow the aspect of your education that held your attention the most no matter if it was your core focus of study. Chuck Bigelow has a degree in Anthropology and Michelle Perham has a degree in Photography, both took a type class and have based their careers around this particular facet of their education.

In addition to following your passion, the panelists from Ascender discussed the importance of hand drawing and the ability to have a strong grasp on the tools needed for type design before considering entering the field. A strong understanding of type was stressed as well as the need to practice with font revivals before attempting to put a person’s own work onto the screen.

If one thing was clear in this discussion it is that type is in high demand.

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Signatures Literary and Art Magazine celebrated its 25^th reunion at Lovin’ Cup during Brick City weekend. The event was open to everyone, be it a contributor to the magazine or a lover of poetry and music. It attracted a wide range of audience–alumni staff of the magazine made an appearance as well as professors and students alike.  Everyone came to appreciate art, performed and in the open.

The party kicked off with Henry Kearse playing on the piano while everyone settled down. Signatures advisors Professor John Roche, Professor Vincent Golphin and managing editor Sarai Oviedo then welcomed everyone to the event.

Rob Livolsi was the first performer. A singer/songwriter, Livolsi played a few songs on the piano housed in Lovin’ Cup.He was followed with an acoustic set by Pia Mater, a local favorite. Playing for a half hour, Pia Mater had a good set, especially considering it was there first acoustic performance ever in public.

Poetry had its chance to shine as well, with performances from Garrete McMahon, Danielle Gatti, Zachary Smith, Andy Knight, Whitney Gratton, Sarai Oviedo and John Roche.  The content ranged from original poetry, to a performance skit, to readings from past Signatures issues. There was also time for an open mike, which some people took advantage of.

Pia Matter then came out for another short acoustic set, finishing the activities for the event. With closing remarks from John Roche, the party came to a close. Alumni, contributors, and editors all mingled and took copies of the magazine, ending the celebration of Signatures 25 year run. By the look of it, there is no slowing down for Signatures anytime soon.

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This summer I worked as a Research Analyst at Infotrends, a market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry. They provide research, analysis, forecasts, and advice to help clients understand market trends, identify opportunities, and develop strategies to grow businesses.

My main focus was with Production Workflow and Customized 
Communications Consulting Services, where I helped developed InfoTrends’ Ultimate Guide to Web-to-Print Solutions. This guide analyzes Web-to-print solutions of almost 30 companies across the nation. My job was to research and talk with vendors to write company and product reviews. At the end of my co-op I compiled the whole guide. The guide gave me an insight on the software behind many of the small and large print companies. Companies highlighted in the guide included Xerox, Canon, Rochester Software Associates, XMPie, and others.

My other main project was creating InfoTrends’ Ultimate Guides Online database. InfoTrends has four different Ultimate Guides, relating to Web-to-print, multi-channel communications, variable data publishing, and transpromo solutions. I worked with other co-workers to create an interactive online version of the printed guides. Other tasks included helping with e-learning, consulting projects, white papers, and forecasts.

InfoTrends provided me with experience in research and analysis of markets within the print industry. It allowed me to become familiarized with companies and their products/services, more then I could ever learn in the classroom. My most valuable knowledge gained from my co-op was the look into the outside world. Without this experience, I would have never realized all the companies in the print industry, all of which have unique niches in the market.

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Grand prize is 3,000 copies of publication printed for free; Entry deadline is March 15

Wanted: High school students with aspirations to have their work published in a magazine. Rochester Institute of Technology welcomes and encourages all creative minds to apply.

RIT’s School of Print Media is proud to be sponsoring the Young Professionals in Publishing Competition. High school students from across North America are eligible to participate.

The grand prize is the free printing of 3,000 copies of the students’ work published in a 16-page magazine. There is no entry fee. The deadline for submissions is March 15.

The goal of the competition is to encourage high school teachers, regardless of discipline, to use the latest self-publishing technologies to encourage student learning by creating a
high-quality printed publication. Some ideas for potential publications include creating a cookbook to sell for a high school fundraiser, a writing class publishing its creative writing assignments or an art class publishing student portfolios. The options are only bound by the creativity of the students and their teachers/advisors.

Teachers will play an important role of advisor to the student groups or classes that want to participate. RIT’s School of Print Media will provide the template for the magazine and its faculty will be available to offer advice on how to use it.

RIT faculty will judge the entries. Finalists will be chosen on the basis of originality of concept, quality of images and graphics, aesthetics and the quality of the writing. Up to 10 finalists will be selected and each finalist will be awarded 25 full-color copies of the publication. The grand prize-winner will be selected from the finalists. The 3,000 color copies of the winning publication will be delivered to the school.

To learn more about the competition, visit http://cias.rit.edu/printmedia/contest.

RIT’s New Media Publishing program prepares its graduates to create and publish content across a wide range of media. The curriculum provides deep knowledge in the workflows necessary to merge text and images to produce Web sites, direct mail advertising, books, magazines and other publications. New media publishing graduates work in such fields as advertising production, digital imaging, Web design and development and print production. For more information about the program, visit http://cias/rit.edu/printmedia.

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