A conversation with Phillip Niemeyer
We spoke with Phillip Niemeyer about elegant living, Massimo Vignelli, typographical snobbery and the phases of the moon.
I don’t promote myself very well – or much at all. Maybe it’s like the case of the cobbler’s children not having shoes?
1
Julien Fernandez
Beyond music, you’re also a graphic designer at an agency called Northern-Southern. I see they also operate an art gallery. Can you tell us more about your work for this company? What’s your personal role?
Phillip Niemeyer
I work as a professional freelance designer – mostly graphics, but sometimes other things. I have also directed commercials and music videos and written editorial opinions for newspapers. I do graphic design for a bunch of different types of clients – art galleries, new restaurants, business ventures, things like that. I also design interiors. These are often graphic, punchy things. I don’t promote myself very well – or much at all. Maybe it’s like the case of the cobbler’s children not having shoes? Part of it is being a jack-of-all-trades type of creative. I am never sure how to brand myself.
I am also the director of Northern-Southern. It’s a lot of work, and there’s lots of graphic design involved, which is definitely a perk. It’s fun to be the client. Northern-Southern is my thing, too, as in give it a lot of time and energy. But as a “thing,” it’s all about sharing. Northern-Southern has an agency side that represents artists and their work.
It’s also a production office for making exhibitions and permanent installations. It’s a brand name for a bunch of collaborative and curatorial projects. I work with a lot of artists, a lot of friends, with N-S. We’ve shown Alec Dartley of Aagoo Records’ work, and are working on some ideas for him. Currently, we’re preparing to open N-S’s second showroom/gallery space over the summer.
Elegance is calmness and control. But feminine control; a cool breeze in the greenhouse of temper.
2
Graphically, I work with scales and mathematical proportion. This is in piece with much of the modernist stuff that we now see in reproduction. I use grids obsessively. Vignelli is terrific, and I love his work. It really bummed me out when American Airlines got rid of his logotype. People can often throw away great treasures.
3
I think elegance is a result of supreme calmness and control. What’s your definition of elegance? What is elegant to you in the world?
A snake bracelet on a woman’s arm. So yes, I agree. Calmness and control. But feminine control; a cool breeze in the greenhouse of temper.
4
The cover of The John-Pauls’ new record Forget To Remember To Forget is a true work of art, showing gradual moon phases as well as the Sun as a fixed star. What was the intent behind this?
Typographical snobs will go to any length to avoid saying “font.”
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I am familiar with 18th Dye, and I saw them once. They were very cool. My biggest inspiration for writing songs is Lou Reed. I have a very limited voice, and he shows that this does not have to be a liability if your heart compels you sing.
A mid-90s band that really does not get the love they deserve: Jonathan Fire*Eater.
6
The word “lunacy” was derived from “Luna”, at a time where most believed that the moon directly influenced our daily thoughts and actions. Do you believe the cycles of the moon can affect our psychology?
You know, I am not sure. At least where I have lived, in the city, the moon does not seem to make much of a difference to peoples’ lives. Most days I could not tell you if it was full, new, waxing or waning. Does it influence us if we no longer notice it?
7
Lastly, we love lists and technical vocabulary at North of the Internet. Can you make a list of fonts as well as a list of typographical terms for us?
Typographical snobs will go to any length to avoid saying “font.” Kerning is a classic type term. Leading is another. If you work with paper, it’s fun to say “bone folder”. Graphic designers in the USA measure with picas. 1p6 is a cool amount of space. X-height sounds cool. Anything with X is cool, though.
Thank you.
Data
Conversation: 18
Curated by: Julien Fernandez
Conducted by: Email
Published: August 2, 2017
Total questions: 7
Word count: 786
Reading time: Three minutes
Hyperlinks: 11
Imagery: 5
Photographs by: Alessio Federico
Metadata
Fonts: No
Bone folder: 1
Elegance: Snake bracelet on woman’s arm
Biggest inspiration: Lou Reed
Check this out: Jonathan Fire*Eater
Wiring
18th Dye, actions, Alec Dartley, American Airlines, arm, art gallery, band, bone folder, breeze, calmness, children, cobbler, commercial, control, elegance, feminine, Forget to Remember to Forget, gallery, German, greenhouse, grid, heart, Jonathan Fire*Eater, kerning, leading, liability, logotype, Lou Reed, Luna, lunacy, Massimo Vignelli, mathematical, memory, months, moon, music video, Northern-Southern, Phillip Niemeyer, pica, proportion, restaurant, scales, shoes, showroom, snake bracelet, snobs, Swiss, temper, The John-Pauls, thoughts, time, treasure, type, typography, woman, years, Yves Saint Laurent
Relation
About the curator
Julien Fernandez was born in Mayenne, France in 1976. He currently lives and works in Pescara, Italy with his wife, two kids and a dog, Lenny. He is captivated by structural relations between objects, animal behavior, contagion and magic, and is currently working on a mechanism that would classify mental images in the physical world. He also designs and envisions the day-to-day architecture of North of the Internet.
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