Blog 4: Postmodernism in Europe

Once more, my blog post is not about an artist, but instead about Émigré magazine. If I’m being completely honest, that’s because a lot of the designers we’re going over at the moment are being presented in Pecha Kuchas and my brain is flooded with information. 

With 69 issues that were published between 1984 and 2005, Émigré was a huge well of visual knowledge of typefaces. No doubt, Emigre magazine is to thank for an easier, smoother transition into the digital age. By assembling, using, and experimenting with digital fonts, let these new forms of type join the ranks of traditional typefaces that had been around for years. Alongside this, it allowed, via experimentation, for contemporary fonts to be made rapidly. 

What drew me into researching more about Emigré was not only the concept of normalizing new, perhaps scary fonts into the general consciousness but also the idea of allowing equal access to information, especially in the digital age.

Now, I’m not claiming that Émigre is a groundbreaking magazine that broke down the weird culture of gatekeeping surrounding fonts and their usage. But researching for this blog post led me to believe that creating spaces where artists and designers can experiment freely and without a sort of “preciousness” surrounding their work could be beneficial to art as a whole. To both spread information on art, share resources, and close the gap between the art world and the regular world – which has been expanding for centuries.