LushUS
Artist
Jeffery Keedy
United States, born 1957
Date1992
Dimensions23 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. (59.4 x 41.9 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.7559
DescriptionIssue four of FUSE focused on the concept of “Exuberance,” and was the first edition of the publication to include work by American designers. Jeffery Keedy (better known as Mr. Keedy) wrote the companion essay, “A Type of Death,” in which he discusses how the modern obsession with sterile, clean typefaces has taken the soul out of letterforms. With LushUS, Keedy created a digital typeface inspired by the ornamental fonts of the Industrial Revolution, with elements of Egyptian, Tuscan, and other Revival types. The result is full of highly decorative serifs and jaunty accents. Even the text on the poster humorously parodies Victorian sideshow and circus announcements. In naming the typeface, Keedy played on the dual meaning of “lush,” signifying both luxury and a heavy drinker, while the “US” pointed to the fact that the issue highlighted designers from the United States as well as the collective meaning of “us” as a community. Keedy further invited future users to “feel free to add ornamentation to this typeface: more is not a bore.”On View
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