BuroNorth

Buro Beer

Our client Christmas present this year was the beer we brewed last month down at Barley Corn brewery. We developed two beers, one that tasted like the typeface Gravur, and one like the typeface Fakir.

Beer A

is reminiscent of a Japanese dry beer. Pure, crisp, and dry tasting beer A is brewed from malted barley and fine hops for a more sophisticated, clear taste. A font based on one of the key features of everyday life in Switzerland (standardization) Gravur is a digitized version of the engraved type on all Swis letterboxes and door bells. Like beer A the typeface is light, modern and international, is made precisely and accurately with a restricted set of ingredients, and goes well with fish and light summer flavours.

Beer B

is the definitive Belgian Strong Golden Ale. Brewed with Pilsner malt and white sugar, and hopped with Saaz hops. Beer B is traditional, European, and at 8.5% packs a real punch. Fakir, is a contemporary interpretation of gone letter-forms with origins in blackletter. Blackletter, a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to 1500 continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Like beer B, Fakir has its origins in longstanding European tradition, is heavy and robust and tastes great with heavy Christmas fare.

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Message from Franci

There’s an empty desk at Büro North. I have just left it, as it’s time for me (sigh) to go back to Milan and graduate. For the past three months and one day, I have been lucky enough to sit here overlooking Little Bourke St as the first ever Büro North intern.

So what is it like to intern here? I can only tell you of my positive experience… I am leaving heavier, bringing away with me so much, everyone here has taught me a lot. The projects i got to work on, which were most diverse, included a bit of industrial design, 3D modeling and rendering, some graphic design, I even had a taste of how wayfinding projects work. The most unusual brief i got, which was also my first, was a concept  design for a coffin, what a good start!

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Vegas Boneyard

Came across these stunning shots on this cracking site by Pam Sattler of decommissioned Vegas signage. Lots more beautiful images below…

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Buro Trees decorated

We are constantly surprised at how inventively our Buro Trees are decorated, the Sofitel (with Mance design) flocked the trees in an azure green and added crystals, and Daves mum loved the tree so much she covered it in shiny stuff..!… If you’ve got one in your living room, we would love to see how its been used, feel free to email in photos to soren(at)buronorth.com

The problem with Gill

Last week my Mum discovered a tiny chapel behind the church at Capel y Fin in South Wales UK. What was noteworthy about this particular chapel was that the churchyard had been ‘rescued’ by the famous typographer and stone mason Eric Gill.

Knowing Id be interested, Mum stuck her head into the local pub to find out more about Gill’s role in the preservation of the little chapel. The men at the bar described Gill as “that pedophile” and refused to discuss it further. It turns out that the patrons of the Llanthony pub were right. Whilst Gill did create beautiful carvings and typefaces, he was also guilty of incest with his daughters and bestiality with the family dog!

This made me think. Should we now reconsider Gill’s work in the light of his lifestyle choices, and should we think twice before using his typefaces? I believe this leads to a broader question, should the private lives of artists and designers effect the way we view and use their work?

Personally I feel that the two cannot be separated, not to say that we shouldn’t appreciate the work of artists, such as Richard Wagner, but their work should always be considered in the context of the process that created it, in the case of Wagner an extreme antisemitism, that was greatly appreciated by his biggest fan.

“Whoever wants to understand National Socialist Germany must first know Wagner”. [Adolf Hitler]

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Benefit Exhibition

Buro North was approached recently to contribute towards a benefit exhibition held at The Commission Gallery, 28 – 30 November, run by friend of the studio, Rhys Gorgol. The exhibition was to raise money for youth with cancer through the Alfred Hospital, and carried the theme Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

The sculpture we created (with a big thanks and nod to Dave and Ben who threw many hours tirelessly creating the artwork, then even more hours laboring over a laser cutter and assembly table), entitled Dot, is a physical representation of the visual and audio information of the first minute of Dorothy’s journey along the yellow brick road, in the 1939 film Wizard of Oz….

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Artichoke Magazine

Thanks to Kate Rhodes and Cameron Bruhn for the review of Balencea signage that apeared in the last issue of Artichoke magazine. The article reviews both Architecture and signage through the expression of form and its abstract references back to the Doric column…