Continuing our recent fascination with poster artists, we bring you Minneapolis designer Paul Gardner, the man behind Florafauna . A talented letterer and typographer, Paul’s typographic sophistication is especially noticeable in his logotypes and posters; his poster work, especially, takes center stage as Florafauna is as much a screenprinting shop as it is a design consultancy.

Continuing our recent fascination with poster artists, we bring you Minneapolis designer Paul Gardner, the man behind Florafauna. A talented letterer and typographer, Paul’s typographic sophistication is especially noticeable in his logotypes and posters; his poster work, especially, takes center stage as Florafauna is as much a screenprinting shop as it is a design consultancy.

Paul’s approach to type is as diverse as his approach to image (which is pretty varied – anatomical illustrations, found magazine art, creative commons photography, collage): he doesn’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions, and suggests that no one type will work in all – or even most – situations. He does write, though, that he can’t deny his use of one particular “crutch font” – Trade Gothic, which he uses on a regular basis.

When asked if he prefers to use hand-drawn v. digitally-set type, he responds

Many times, my decision to hand draw my type vs. using type straight out of the box is nothing more than an aesthetic or visual choice. There are times when re-drawing type by hand and blowing it up 5x will just look better than a more clinical, proper use of a font. Drawing each letter by hand yields a more humanistic feel and can infuse loads of personality into the letters. There is something very honest about drawing type by hand, it’s a nice way to get that message of “we’re not hiding anything from you” across.

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above: This poster, for Minneapolis-based band Tapes ’n Tapes, uses Canada Type’s Flirt and Neutra on top of a striking duotone image.

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above: An often overlooked gem, Bitstream Midlake is used here to dramatic effect.

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above: Both of these posters use hand-drawn type prominently. On the left, the Mates of State poster combines a cut-up collage and decorative border with a hand-drawn version of Trade Gothic Condensed Bold; on the right, the Decembrists poster uses a hand-drawn display type and Trade Gothic for the smaller copy.

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above: Blackoak is a 1990 Adobe Original from woodtype aficionado Joy Redick, and seems to be undergoing a small revival lately. Here, it’s used along with Sackers Heavy Gothic.

Excerpt from:
Paul Gardner is Florafauna