Dead History
Designer
P. Scott Makela
United States, 1960 - 1999
Typographer
P. Scott Makela
United States, 1960 - 1999
Typographer
Zuzana Licko
Czech Republic, born 1961
Date1990
MediumOffset lithography
Dimensions25 x 38 in. (63.5 x 96.5 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.726
DescriptionDead History is a mashup of two preexisting fonts: Linotype’s Bell Centennial and Adobe’s VAG Rounded, resulting in a typeface that is both serif and sans-serif. The typeface was originally created by P. Scott Makela in 1990, but was redrawn by Zuzana Licko in 1994 before being licensed for sale through Emigre Fonts. Makela’s choice of “Dead History” as the name of the font carried both political and personal significance. He wanted to signify that the age of traditionally produced typefaces was “dead,” which he emphasized through the incorporation of a photograph he had taken of his mother on her deathbed. Makela was a graphic and typeface designer who taught at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, one of the few academic institutions at the forefront of digital typeface design in the mid-to-late ’90s.On View
Not on view
