Above: Letraset type conglomerate.

Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Geotypografika is dedicated to researching issues of globalization that affect and drive the complexities of global visual communication systems, und wissenschaft (and science, yo).

Bäckermeister: My name is Erik Brandt, I have worked as a designer and educator for some years now. I recently joined the faculty at MCAD (Minneapolis College of Art and Design), in the Fall of 2007.

Until the Spring of 2007, I had the privilege of teaching graphic design and typography in the Persian Gulf. Within the Estados Unidos, I have been fortunate to teach at universities in Central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Richmond, Virginia. For more, please visit the bio page on my static site or write me here.

Above: Die Neue Geotypografika © Erik Brandt 2008.
Poster from my recent lektüre at MCAD.

Editorial
Hai, dozo. The content of the site is largely structured as a way of researching, analyzing, developing, and, most importantly, sharing information specific to design education in general (and I include my own continuing education and pursuit of understanding in this intent).

I invite any and all like-minded people to submit information, posts, or links within these rough boundaries. My true hope is that this becomes a way station of open-source information, experimentation, and debate.

I posit the observation that the world is once again experiencing global change at an unusually rapid rate, as we are reminded yet again (Jan. 21/22 2008). These economic shifts (not ignoring the other conditions - environmental, political, social) already reflect the changing nature of the global visual vernacular, as new economies and individuals (see especially in India and China), seek to project their vision
of the world.

How long before contemporary graphic design and typography finally recede from “Western” domination, and we see a new global vernacular arising? Or will we witness an inversion, where the dominant Eastern economies impose their visual vernacular? For myself, I seek ways to embrace these changing conditions, and am enthusiastic about a more balanced visual world and the possibility of witnessing the truly new.

Much like vast and diverse market forces that now dominate the modern global economy, I feel these changes have already occurred, it is just that we are still used to seeing the world through western media.

Welcome, and please visit the archives to review posts and pages. For more information on my own work, please visit my static site here.
Feel free to write and say hello…