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Creative licence

Monash’s Faculty of Art and Design is a leader in education, research and practice in the field. JOHN CLARK reports on two new projects from the university’s Caulfield campus

A new project launched this year in the Faculty of Art and Design can best be described as innovative e-commerce – of a type.

In aficionado’s terms, The Forecast Project is a font foundry. To the layperson, it is a website dedicated to showcasing, and selling, original typefaces created by design students.

The brainchild of sessional lecturer Mr Andrew Trevillian, the project aims to take the work of students out of the studio and into the public domain.

“As well as promoting students’ work to a wide audience, Forecast also provides a hub for discussion and debate on typefaces and the broad field of typography,” Mr Trevillian says.

Half the funds from the sale of the downloadable fonts will go to the designer; the remainder will be ploughed back into the foundry. The name is historical – the metal type once used in mechanical printing presses was cast in special foundries.

Coordinated by a student executive, The Forecast Project also features ‘satellite’ ventures, such as a magazine, visits by guest lecturers, and site-based papers and articles by students, staff and others.

One student is already collaborating with a furniture designer on a line of furniture based on the letters of the word ‘forecast’. Developed in virtual space, the style has been inspired by the typographic forms of a new typeface called VANdigital, one of the fonts set to be released on the new site.

“The desktop publishing revolution pretty much changed everything about font creation,” Mr Trevillian says.

“Before that, typeface design was in the hands of expert craftsmen. But software packages created a huge explosion of font design in the early 1990s.”

Mr Trevillian says designing a popular font could be likened to making a best-selling record.

“If a new typeface lands in a strong position, say in a popular magazine, the demand usually increases exponentially for about six months – it’s a little like rock‘n’roll: a couple of hits and you’ve got it made.”

Armed with a noble title and directions to spread their talents far and wide, Monash art students are heading back to school.

In a new scheme at the Faculty of Art and Design, third-year students are working at selected secondary schools throughout Melbourne as artists-in-residence.

The outreach education program is part of the faculty’s highly successful professional practice course, which helps students come to grips with life as a practising artist.

Program director Mr Malcom Bywaters says the aim of the artist-in-residence scheme is not only to equip students with career skills, but also to spread a little goodwill in the process. The program is a two-way street, Mr Bywaters says.

“It shows schools how art can enhance the wider community, but it also gives our students the opportunity to advance their careers,” he says.

Design student Lee Picot is spending one day a week over five months at Camberwell Grammar in Melbourne, where he’s helping students prepare computer artwork.

The experience has reaffirmed Mr Picot’s aim of becoming a teacher.

“The school is open to different interpretations of art. It’s very contemporary in its views on what art can be and encourages its students to explore,” he says.

The head of the art department at Camberwell Grammar, Mr David Williams, says Mr Picot is providing a valuable resource for the school’s Year 11 and 12 students.

“He’s offering good insights into how his knowledge can be used in an institution like this, and at the same time we’re providing him with a rich experience – the students love it,” Mr Williams says.

The program creates a good sense of community wherever the students go, says Mr Bywaters.

“Students are ambassadors for the course, and they also take their own experiences back into the studio.”

Painting student Colin Hyett spent a week as a Monash diplomat at Toorak College in Mt Eliza, about an hour out of Melbourne.

“It was a great chance to go out into the community and work with students to produce and exhibit a piece of art,” Mr Hyett says.

The head of art at the college, Mr Roger Wiggins, says the program had a positive impact on the students.

“It was very successful all round. The students were excited to be part of the process, and Colin’s installation during arts festival week became quite a talking point.”

According to Mr Bywaters, the artists-in-residence program has been an overwhelming success, both for schools and artists.

ACTION: For more information about the activities of the Faculty of Art and Design, visit www.artdes.monash.edu.au

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