Download - Mrs Eaves Magazine Spread
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60 TypeCast Licko 61
Mrs Eaves Zuzana Lickos Twist on a Classic
Zuzana Licko was born in 1961 in Bratislava in the former Czechoslovakia. Her family immi-grated to the United States in 1968. Lickos formal arts education included studying architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. However, she decided to change her major and gradu-ated with a degree in graphic communication in 1984. Her earliest typographical design was for her father, a biomathematician that needed a Greek alphabet for his personal computer.
migr EmergesWhile Licko was at Berkeley, she
met Rudy VanderLans, graduate stu-
dent studying photography. Licko
and VanderLans married in 1983.
VanderLans
established
migr maga-
zine in 1984.
migr featured the works of artists,
photographers, poets, and archi-
tects. The magazines first typeface
was resized typewriter text. The
Macintosh computer
was a new technology in
the 1980s and the fonts
were simple due to the
need for recreation with
the dot matrix printer.
Licko began to design
typefaces for migr using
the Macintosh. The first
typefaces created for migr
were Emporer, Oakland,
and migr. They made
their debut in migrs
second issue and were made
available for purchase after
several requests. Lickos
deigns, such as Matrix and Modula,
created just enough contrast to
balance VanderLans free-spirited
layouts. In addition to her work at
migr, Licko
edited screen
typefaces at
Adobe Systems,
Inc.
Acclaim & CritiqueIn 1985, migr Fonts was founded
to market Lickos and other design-
ers digital typefaces. Lickos work
embraced new design aesthetics
and possibilities. While her designs
were well-received by the migr
audience, critics were less enthusi-
astic. In fact, Massimo Vignelli, an
outspoken critic, described Lickos
and VanderLans work as garbage,
lacking depth, refinement, elegance
or a sense of history. Licko and
VanderLans responded to their
critics by contending people read
best what they read most. Lickos
and VanderLanss work was at
Mrs Eaves is a mix of just enough tradition with an updated twist.
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Matrix Script Book Character SetZuzana Licko
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62 TypeCast Licko 63
the forefront of a new genera-
tion of designers that emerged in
the age of the Macintosh. As the
Machintoshs technical capabilities
has evolved, Lickos designs have
steadily progressed. In fact, Lickos
typefaces have become such a part
of mainstream design that her work
is recognized by the industry and
serves as an inspiration to other
designers.
Mrs Eaves & BaskervilleOne of Lickos most popular designs
is Mrs Eaves. Licko designed Mrs
Eaves in 1996 and released it
through migr Fonts. Mrs Eaves
is a serif transitional
revival of Baskerville.
The typefaces name
is derived from Sarah
Eaves, the woman
who served as John
Baskervilles maid and
later became his wife.
After Baskervilles
death, Eaves ensured
that Baskervilles
remaining works
were produced.
Additionally, Filosofia
is Lickos revival of
Bodoni. Lickos revivals
were spurred by the advances in the
capabilities of the computers ability
to create more complex designs and
the growing use of long passages of
text in migr. Licko discovered that
designing Mrs Eaves and Filosofia
gave her a new perspective on classic
designs noticing details that are
often overlooked. This new appre-
ciation allowed her to be influenced
by the classics but to produce
designs that were not as rigid and
had their own personalities. In an
interview with Rhonda Rubinstein,
Licko described Mrs Eaves as:
A mix of just enough tradi-tion with an updated twist. Its familiar enough to be friendly, yet different enough to be interesting. Due to its relatively wide proportions, as compared with the original Baskerville, its useful for giving presence to small amounts of text such as poetry, or for elegant head-lines and for use in print ads. It makes the reader slow down a bit and contemplate the message.
When Licko was in the process
of selecting a classic typeface as the
basis of a revival, she encountered
the criticisms that were leveled
against Baskervilles work and could
sympathize with the designer. The
Baskerville typeface was criticized
for being too even, too perfect, too
genteel,with a kind of fincial,
sterile refinement. Over time
Baskerville has be vindicated. His
typeface is considered the ultimate
transitional typeface, being pivotal
between old style typefaces, and the
modern typefaces that followed.
As Licko designed Mrs Eaves, she
sought to address the criticisms that
were made against Baskerville. Licko
lessens the sharp contrast, a highly
criticized feature of Baskerville, in
Mrs Eaves However, Mrs Eaves
does preserve some of Baskervilles
recognizable charac-
teristics specifically its
overall openness and
lightness. In order
to obtain the desired
openness and lightness
as well as to reduce
contrast, Mrs Eaves
lowercase characters
have a wider proportion
than the Baskerville typeface. The
x-height is reduced relative to the
cap-height to avoid increasing the
set-width. In comparison to other
typefaces lower case text sizes, Mrs
Eaves is a point size smaller. Lickos
Mrs Eaves is a revival of Baskerville
but is not meant to be a clone of the
classic. It is a typeface that is modern
with a classic feel.
Revisiting Old FriendsLickos work as resident type
designer at migr concluded with
the last issue that was printed in
2005. A total of 69 magazines were
published during its run. Although
Licko has not published a new font
since Fairplex in 2002, she is still
working with type. She is revisit-
ing past designs to refine them for
Open Type. Her redesigns include
the addition of special features
such as type in set in small caps
and alternatives, such as a narrow
Mrs Eaves. Licko has also expanded
her interest in other art forms by
exploring ceramics. In fact, ceramics
serve as a needed distraction from
the time-consuming highly-detailed
work type design requires. Licko
considers Mrs Eaves to be her most
popular and best-selling typeface.
It has appeared in various forms
including WordPress logo, the titles
and spines of books from Penguin
Classics, Bowdoin Colleges logo,
Radioheads Hail to the Thief, and
the title of NBCs For Love or Money.
Peopleread best what they read most.
QQMrs Eaves Uppercase Q
imposed upon a Baskerville Q.
Word Press logo is set in Mrs Eaves.
Mrs Eaves typeface has been utilized in a number of works, including the covers of CDs like Radioheads Hail to the Thief and books like Mrs. Nixon.