Jason Alger

Helvetica Bold

My experience with the Vignelli Workshop was unprecedented in both presentation and outcome. Engaging with the Vignelli Archives in its various manifestations and the team that had been assembled provided an incredible background against which to learn, ideate, and create. While I was slightly taken aback with the “vase” topic – as a graphic designer, I much prefer two dimensions! – I was able to pivot my initial approach of an analysis of the archive itself to address that pesky third dimension. By focusing on parameters comfortable to me as well as a significant component of the Vignelli oeuvre – typography – I was able to succinctly combine their “design is one” ethos with a typographic representation, the numeral “1.”

My design was developed around a well-known Vignellian approach to typography, specifically their limited use of typefaces. As stated in The Vignelli Canon, “Personally, I can get along well with a half a dozen....” That list included “Garamond, Bodoni, Century Expanded, and Helvetica... Optima, Futura, Univers (the most advanced design of the century since it comes in 59 variations of the same face), Caslon, Baskerville, and a few other modern cuts.” I focused my initial designs to what I believe to be the most utilized Vignelli typefaces; Helvetica, Century Expanded, Futura, Bodoni, and Garamond.

To create the three-dimensions required for a vase, I rotated each of the five typographic characters on their central axes. This formed a central cylindrical trunk with varying extrusions based on the inherent structure of the numeral one and the formal characteristics of each typeface.

After creating a series of six models using the 3D printer, the final set that was developed into glass at the Corning Museum of Glass was Helvetica Bold (the added thickness of the stroke in the bold provided more overall balance), Century Expanded, and Bodoni. These were produced in clear glass and in an “opal” color. 

Overall, the numeral one vases generated a successful outcome, even with the limitations of structural detail obtainable in blown glass. I believe that they attained both a formal and functional interpretation of the typology of the vase as well as addressing the goal of “reflecting the Vignelli philosophy.”