LogoArchive Extra Issue “Letters As Symbols” is available now on loremnotipsum.com. LogoArchive was conceived, designed and sent to print in a day. It was inspired by a panel discussion at Somerset House as part of the exhibition Print!
Now on to its seventh release, LogoArchive continues to surprise and delight within the context and practice of archival, reconfiguring itself with each new issue. The distinctive smaller format offers ample license to experiment and collaborate with other like-minded resources. Christophe De Pelsemaker’s Logo Books, an online archive of pages from out-of-print publications dedicated to trademarks, is one such resource.
Christophe’s own book, Letters As Symbols, a collaborative endeavour with Belgian designer Paul Ibou, sought to bring to life and uniquely document symbols based on the letters of the alphabet and present these from A–Z. Letters As Symbols has a unique and unusual story and journey to publication. This began in 1991 and culminated in its eventual release in 2019. This LogoArchive ExtraIssue intends to offer readers a sample of Letters As Symbols, presenting one example for each of the 26 letters, and tell the story of the book. In addition, the iconic booklet of LogoArchive becomes a bright yellow folder to hold examples of the original Letters As Symbols submission forms received in 1991 from well-respected designers such as Félix Beltrán, Woody Pirtle and Rolf Harder. These provide contextual richness in either their typed or handwritten details.
LogoArchive is delighted to have been able to tell the story of Letters As Symbols, and to collaborate with Christophe on the concept, design and content of this issue.
LogoArchive is marked by its conceptual and philosophical foundations but also its graphic immediacy, an interplay between the visual language of archival and children’s storybooks, as well as its materiality and production. These reflect the pragmatism of documentation and the metaphorical play present in some of the logos, and LogoArchive’s digital origins as an Instagram account and its new material manifestation. LogoArchive is founded on an enthusiasm for a well-crafted logo; a convivial metaphor, a communicative immediacy and smart use of form language. However, in print, it was never conceived as a document with a singular intention; the simple documentation of logos, rather a delivery mode in which to build a story and share thoughts. A conversation on Twitter; digital dialogue lost in the passage of time but forever coded into the electronic aether, is materialised as ink on paper and written into the story and ongoing development of the zine. This sits alongside an anthropological text; a musing on the distinctive qualities of the human eye.
Details: LogoArchive Extra Issue “Letters As Symbols”
Design: Richard Baird / LogoArchive
Publisher: BP&O
Size: 148 x 210 mm
Pages: 10 (+ Insert 12 pages)
Binding: Stapled booklet