“Type Is Never a Sort of Matter of Life and Death”
An Interview with Hungarian Typographer Béla Frank
Hungarian type & graphic designer Béla Frank has been living in London for three years so among others I’ve asked him about his experience there. Béla, who believes in lifelong learning, is really keen on type and design at the moment but — as he says — nobody knows what the future brings.
As far as I know, you had gone a long way until you finally found typography, and type and graphic design. Could you speak a bit about the circumstances?
I’ve always been curious. My scope had always been changing, my interest shifting up to the point when eventually I was able to pick one thing, and by doing that feel more or less satisfied. It was type. Not really type design but anything in connection with type and visual creation. Let it be typography, painting letters, drafting type, and engineering fonts — anything but type. I knew I had arrived in a certain sense. It felt good and still does.
Reading was always a major part of my life as well as drawing or image-making. Type is something in between.
I’m a qualified joiner, studied physics and maths at universities (and dreamed to become an astrophysicist who studies and solves the mysteries of black holes but I was hopeless and reckless). I had been writing for years but never published anything. I worked in various positions in various places, almost always for short periods. This scheme fitted my personality till I found design.
I walked into a design school for adults in Budapest in 2009 and set out on a journey that led me to my current situation. I started learning graphic design and typography, and grew more interested in the latter. At some point I realised there should be people out there who design the fonts I liked and used. It may sound trivial now but it wasn’t for me back then. It was sort of a revelation for me. Then I was fooling around with letterforms on Illustrator and started learning Fontlab, and all other things came automatically.
Type and graphic design as well as design in general enjoy a wonderful time in Hungary right now. What do you think about the Hungarian typography/design scene?
It seems to be blooming as far as I can tell, and it’s really good to see the new generations coming up and a fresh approach gaining momentum. What makes me even happier that you can see more and more Hungarian designers crossing the borders — in person or by sending their works — and being appreciated.
You joined Fontsmith in 2012. Could you tell me about the reasons for moving abroad and rather working there as a designer?
The reasons were mostly my aforementioned restlessness, curiosity, the aim to develop professionally and to travel. I also wanted to try out myself in a culturally, socially different environment. I wanted to learn English next to the source. I had a quite idealistic image of the UK in my mind, one that has been fading and is being replaced with more real stuff. I still enjoy discovering the small ‘peculiarities’, however, after three years they are parts of my life.
It seems to me, based on the website, that quite an international team works at Fontsmith. How should we imagine the daily working routine there? Do you create most of the time in team or alone?
The studio has just gotten more British with our Brazilian colleagues moving back to and working from his homeland. The mood in the studio is mostly relaxed and the workload is manageable. Overall, it’s teamwork but everyone has their jobs assigned. There are times to sit together and talk things over but this business mostly requires a lot of focused and immersed personal work.
What do you think the major differences between England and Hungary are regarding typography, graphic and type design?
Couldn’t really tell. I came more than 3 years ago and I guess the Hungarian design scene has changed a lot in the meantime. I’m not really following it on a daily basis, except from some design blogs and certain designers. The UK design scene’s dimensions are obviously superior to the Hungarian one and their style and mood are certainly different but good design is good design everywhere, and you can find it everywhere.
You founded a digital type foundry called Faberfonts but I read somewhere that it’s closed now. Are you planning to reopen it?
It was closed down when I joined Fontsmith and it’s gone for good. It was part of the period I spent learning as much of the business as I could on my own. I had not — and could not have — a clear idea of other aspects of type design rather than the actual drawing and maybe production. Even that knowledge was well limited by the time.
Now, it’s a different story. I’ve had the chance to develop myself professionally and I’ve done so, I reckon. I’ve also learned that running a foundry is ideally much more than drawing the type and putting it on MyFonts. Let’s say, the temptation is always there, let’s see what the future brings!
Who are your favourite type designers or those whose work you like?
It’s hard to pick one or many. There’re too many to list so I just won’t try. (Second thought: Dutch type design in general, and Miklós Misztótfalusi Kis.)
You have designed some typefaces. What is the design process like? Do you always have an exact idea you want to pursue or do things change a lot during the process?
I wish I always had a fixed idea but most of the times I don’t. Or I do but things are prone to change and sometimes a simple change can trigger a bigger chain of events, which may even result in a separate project. It may not be a good thing, and I know it isn’t anything like a professional attitude, but I’m always happy to play and explore. This is a luxury, spending time and effort this way and that’s why this applies only to the projects I do initiate.
Client projects are different. I always try to set aside a good amount of time to play, sketch and experiment before doing anything else, and then I draw a plan and stick to it.
Which typeface do you love and hate the most, and why?
I do hate or love type. It’s just type, really, of which I always can have a definite opinion but it’s never a sort of matter of life and death, which would deserve so strong emotions.
How important is legibility when it comes to designing a typeface or doing lettering?
That always depends on the project. Legibility is important for a text typeface or in case of a brand font design but with a display type or experimental piece one can go wild or even completely sacrifice legibility. I’ve always liked those pieces when the border disappears between a sign that carries a meaning and a mark that may exist for its own sake.
Print or digital? I’m asking because, for instance, regarding A Linocut Project you write that it is self-initiated project to improve your linocutting skills.
Anything that suits my intentions. I’m always out for learning, playing, experimenting, building, making errors and use them wisely. Linocut, drawing or the other occasional ways of self-expression are refreshing those days when I spend most of my time on the computer.
I’ve just interviewed Dutch graphic & book designer Hansje van Halem, who is famous for her patterns among others. You have also created some patterns. Would you say you like repetitious work? Why patterns?
Patterns are boring, patterns are interesting. Patterns mean order with exciting possibilities to develop a disorder. I like order and disorder changing into each other. I do like playing with these means. Designing a small set of well-defined items, and then let them loose and watch when they surprise you again and again is a kind of great pleasure.
That pattern, on the other hand, that exists in repetitive jobs can sometimes be meditative but it’s usually soul-destroying, at least for me. No place for disorder. Type production is a business of this kind, sadly. I always try to avoid doing these works or reduce the amount. To save time I’ve been learning coding lately and it really pays off.
I was browsing on your Behance profile and noticed that some projects had been never realized. Do you consider these, in some sense, as failures?
It’s never a failure. When a project — which is more of workload and less joy — doesn’t work out, then yes, it is a waste of time and effort. It may even be a failure financially. But even in these cases, there is some stuff I can reuse later. Nothing is wasted.
Which project of yours are you the most proud of, and why?
I’m happy with most of them but not exactly proud. I always focus on what’s going to come instead of what has already happened. I detach myself from my works right after they are finished.
You’ve mentioned that you’re working on your new identity right now. When can we see it?
I’m updating my online presence bit by bit so you could have seen my new logo on Twitter, for example. Hopefully, if you visit my new place at belafrank.com you can see more anytime soon. Either way, bookmark it, there is more to come!
What are your plans for the future? Could you imagine settling down in Hungary again?
I’ve got other things in my life than type and they may take over at some point. However, I can’t see myself to finish with designing type just like that and I’m not planning to move back to Hungary either but then again, life is unpredictable. My plans may not work.
In the meantime I’m living my life in the UK whilst trying to look after my connections remained in Hungary.
Originally published at //hypeandhyper.com/en/a-betu-soha-nem-elet-halal-kerdes/.
