Unseeable
Submitted by Matt K on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:22
I like design. And last week the crew here at Bicycle Times spent a few days talking about the future of our mag while planning how to get there. This past year our junk has tested the water and it’s time to drop into the proverbial hot tub of our identity. As I type this I can’t help but be fascinated with the characters the tapping of my fingers are creating. I realize I’m likely among the vast minority who will read this blog and share the interest, but I think there are some strong parallels with typography and bike design. Not everyone is as lucky as I am to have witnessed type being created. But most of you have seen a bike geometry chart.
Although it’s often subjective, good design is apparent as soon as you see it. “The genius of seeing that which is so evident as to be unseeable.” That elusive aesthetic that seems so natural once we see it is often a timeless quality. Like a Schwinn Phantom or Helvetica or Garamond. Although functional they have become a model of design. Each created for a purpose, but have been developed into timeless standards.
I’m excited for the coming year and all we have challenged ourselves with. Hope you are too.
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Comments
Matt K,
Although I have never designed either a bike frame nor a typeface, as a former employee of a firm that made digital the typeface outlines of legacy foundry fonts using a patented scheme based upon the math of 90-degree elliptical arcs, I can wholly relate.
The classiest of frames do indeed for me represent a high form of art, and they are usually made of materials that have stood the test of time. Alas, many an old font got new a new lease on life with the so-called information age because their timeless form drew us back, and so too, in recent years did some old cruiser frame designs re-tickle our fancies.
Jeff Jones' frames are a prime example of what's possible when people think outside of the box.
I joined this forum today specifically so I could assure that your post has not gone completely "unseen". Your comparison of historically significant bike design to criterion fonts really hits the mark with me. It really fattens my soul to hear the fundamentals of good design mentioned. Well said. Thanks for a great post.