Ampersand: Interview with Mark Porter
Ampersand is back! And with it a stellar lineup of speakers for our first conference in 3 years. In the run up, we caught up with Mark Porter about his career and what’s new (and evergreen) in the world of typography…
It’s been 3 years since the last Ampersand conference — how have typography trends changed during that time?
There are always technical developments that open up more opportunities for digital type. But the essence of good typography is timeless, so I’m less interested in trends than in reinforcing the universal principles of great typographic design.
What change, if any, would you like to see in our industry in the next 3 years?
Web design has matured enormously in recent years. I feel like we have now moved beyond the culture wars between the tech and graphic design/print mindsets. We should now all be free to focus on great design and art direction for digital media.
In Rich’s book Web Typography, he says that we are all typographers. Why do you think typography is so important?
Typography is the visual form of the voice and the word. It is a uniquely precise and intelligible way to communicate information and ideas. And we need clear and truthful communication now more than ever before.
What do you make of the emergence of variable fonts?
Variable fonts are obviously going to be an important new part of our toolkit. They could be an enormous benefit to performance, but I also have some anxieties about the downside. Type designers draw specific character shapes and weights for a reason. If designers and typographers approach this development with discipline and intelligence, it could be a game changer.
Tell us about your first role in design or tech. Who did you model yourself on?
My first design job was as art editor of a very small magazine, where I migrated from the advertising department. This was way back in the 1980s, so at that time everybody’s magazine design hero was Neville Brody. But I was also very into music, and what Malcolm Garrett and Peter Saville were doing — it was some of their best work.
What advice would you give practitioners who are just starting out in their careers?
Work with the best people you can. I never studied design and I learnt most of what I know from the brilliant and inspiring editors and art directors that I worked with in the first part of my career. Keep an open mind and never stop learning.
What challenges are you facing at the moment and what are you doing to overcome them?
Most of our clients are in the EU, so Brexit is a big problem for us. It’s still unclear how it’s going to affect our business. Creatively, the challenge when you’ve been working in the industry for three decades is to stay fresh and not repeat yourself. Luckily media (and especially digital) changes so fast that there is no chance of getting bored and standing still.
What’s your proudest achievement?
I’ve been lucky to work on such amazing projects it’s really hard to choose. But winning an award for clarity of communication form the Plain English Campaign was lovely, and a great vindication of my approach to design.
Anything else on your mind at the moment?
Coffee.
—
Join Mark and a host of other international speakers when Clearleft’s Ampersand Conference returns on 29th June 2018 — tickets are on sale now! www.ampersandconf.com
