Jonathan Barnbrook is one of England’s best-known graphic designers, drawing much of his typographic inspiration from established 20th-century British fonts, most especially the work of Edward Johnston and Eric Gill, and display lettering found throughout London. In 1992, he released Manson (later renamed Mason) through Emigre, establishing a relationship between the West Coast foundry and his London studio. While Priori first appeared in the title treatment of Barnbrook’s 2002 album cover for David Bowie’s Heathen, it was not released to the public until the following year. The typeface itself is based on a common structure onto which any style can be applied, easily allowing serif and sans-serif variants to be inserted within a single word or sentence. It is meant to feel familiar and classic, yet strange and new. In addition to announcing the availability of Priori, this poster features a list of some of Emigre’s best-selling fonts, some of which appear in this exhibition.
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