Meet Warren Blayney.

Fathom is staffing up, no question about it. We recently added the talented Nick Chohany (videographer) and Anthony Smolenski (print designer) to the mix. And this week, we announce the addition of Warren Blayney.

Warren hails from Great Britain (Northern Ireland). With a degree in Interactive Media Design from the University of Ulster, Warren is also educated in business, entrepreneurship, and marketing.

“A good web designer must be able to code as well as design,” says Warren. “You need to know the limitations as well as the potentials of the medium.” Having studied under the famed “Web Standardistas” at university, Warren is as much a stickler for precise coding as he is for eye-popping visuals.

He is excited about the idea of print, video, and web under one roof. “Video is ready for the web, or perhaps I should say that the web is ready for video,” he explains. “The bandwidth is there. The demand is there. Of course, they can live separately, but together, they work a whole lot better.” He adds, “Oh, and print is always going to be necessary—as a live, in-your-face communications tool.”

Warren believes that all sites should be scalable, that good coding leads to intrinsic SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and that a site without tracking capabilities is about as smart as an ad without a headline. He has a few opinions.

Warren comes to Central PA by way of Alexandria, Virginia, where he worked for Redmon Group (with clients such as the Smithsonian, World Bank, and the DEA). Warren founded Glossy Pixel, a web development firm, prior to joining up with Fathom.

Stop by and say “hello.” And when you are done talking web sites and eating McVities digestives, ask Warren about his childhood days spent picking potatoes. (Um, he said we could mention that.)

Fathom was tapped by the Midtown Scholar Bookstore to assist with the creation of its new publishing arm, Midtown Scholar Press. Fathom created the logo for the venture and worked with Fathom Collective member Scott Boggs to design the book. Over 400 pages in length and featuring numerous vintage photos of Harrisburg’s history, the work features gold metallic ink on the cover and tasteful typography throughout.

The talented Scott Boggs

The book is a compilation of articles written by award-winning Harrisburg Patriot-News reporter Paul Beers (1931-2011). Beers’ masterful series of essays charts the PA state capital’s development from a City Beautiful, with its celebrated public spaces, through the fractures of race riots and the catastrophic challenges of flood and near nuclear meltdown. Each essay is packed with interesting detail about the characters of the time, and the work as a whole goes a long way towards explaining what led Harrisburg to its current economic crisis, which has made news throughout the world.

The book will be unveiled this Sunday at the Midtown Scholar’s 2nd Annual Harrisburg Book Festival at 1302 North Third Street, Harrisburg. A panel discussion on Paul Beers’ life is at 4PM and the book release party is from 5:30–7 PM.

You can learn more at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore’s web site. (And as for that site: Fathom is redesigning it…so stand by for more news there!)

Nick Chohany and Anthony Smolenski.

Meet Nick…

With over a decade of experience serving as a producer and director, Nick is skilled in crafting commercials, shooting live events, and creating video content of all sorts—for broadcast, DVD, or online use. Thanks to Nick, Fathom now offers comprehensive video services—for stand-alone projects or as an integrated part of a total multi-media solution.

“Design, web, and video are completely intertwined,” Nick explains. “I feel that Fathom now has capabilities that most agencies don’t have, right here as part of the core creative process.”

While Fathom has offered video services in the past (and often worked with Nick), we can now integrate video into our thinking, and provide it cost-effectively. For example, plans are already underway for a multimedia direct mail effort for a client that involves video interviews which are excerpted for a direct mail piece that leads people to a web site which provides the full interview footage.

Print, web, and video alone are useful tools, but when combined, each medium can be used for maximal effect.

Meet Anthony…

Anthony is a fine artist and illustrator as well as a graphic designer with experience in prepress. He brings a unique blend of talents to Fathom which will broaden and deepen our capabilities in print as well as online.

Says Anthony: “Fathom provides access to a level of design that most clients aspire to for themselves. Fathom’s portfolio speaks for itself.” He adds, “It’s exciting to work with a team that provides a full gamut of services—from initial branding and marketing materials to online presence and visual expression, including video for web and television.”

Anthony views Fathom’s letterpress with excitement (and a healthy dose of terror) and will also be leading up initiatives to produce letterpressed goods for sale to the public.

So, when you call Fathom, say “hi” to Nick or Anthony if they answer the phone. And if you know of anyone who may benefit from Fathom’s expanded offerings, please let us know!

Verdatum
Verdatum tasked Fathom with creating two brochures for use at an upcoming trade show. While the pieces were from the same company, each product its own logo and colors. Our job was to make them look like part of a family. The result was two pieces with short cover flaps to reveal a second panel, with swooping curves that connect and carry throughout.

Midtown Scholar
The Midtown Scholar has an amazing, massive, astounding (words fail) new space. Now they have a new logo to go with it!

Boot Invites
What do you get when you have a western-themed party, a letterpress sitting around from 1886, and a client open to something “different”? Introducing the boot-shaped invitation, hand-letterpressed and die-cut right here at Fathom.

Common Sense Adoption
Common Sense Adoption Services was moving from Mechanicsburg to Camp Hill. They tapped Fathom for a new logo and identity materials—to capture the excitement of the move as well as the spirit of their services. Fathom took the “c” and “s” and knit them together to create a new visual family: at once both protective and interdependent.

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.
Good things CAN come out of Washington! Take this capital campaign brochure Fathom created for Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church. It captures the history of this historic church while also conveying optimism for the future. Incidentally, the piece also incorporates what is called a gloss aqueous dull strike-through varnish. Ask us about it sometime (!). Through the Episcopal Church Foundation, Fathom creates capital campaign brochures for churches throughout the nation, and we are pleased to have been doing this work for over a decade.

Johnson & Griffiths Studio
Fathom recently completed work on the website for Johnson and Griffiths Studio. The entire site is one giant page, and by clicking on a section, visitors slide over to the content, triggering the theme colors to shift. It’s pretty cool. The site is also easily updated by the client, via WordPress.

You could be next!
Fathom serves clients of every size, from individuals and non-profits to big organizations. Give us a call, and let’s create something great!

“That’s not an ‘and symbol’…it’s an AM-PER-SAND!”

AM-PER-SAND, d'ya hear me?!?

Ampersand. Such a strange little word…what schoolchild can remember it? Like a clam, it has “sand” in it, and like a clam, it is not a word that opens up to inquiry very easily. But foolishly, we’ll try anyway.

How the Ampersand Got It’s Name

The Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC) had a lot to say about things in his day—making his name as an attorney (he successfully prosecuted the corrupt and fabulously powerful governor of Sicily, a feat that caused him to be known as “the greatest orator in Rome”), philosopher (Somnium Scipionis is a very fine read, for example), and politician (he drove the usurper Catiline from Rome with four vehement speeches known as the Cataline Orations). He out-talked Caesar, Marc Antony, and many others. Indeed, his writings were so numerous, that more survived to the Middle Ages than any other Latin author, and the rediscovery of his letters by Petrarch is said to have initiated that little movement we know as the Renaissance.

Cicero talked a lot.

The point is: Cicero spoke and wrote a lot. But the fellow with his hand on the stylus—writing down every conversation, speech, letter, and book—was Marcus Tullius Tiro, Cicero’s faithful slave and secretary. To get this impossible job done, Tiro invented a shorthand system.

In that system (known as Tironian notes), Tiro smooshed the Latin word for “and” (which was et) together to create a symbol that evolved into “&.”

Evolution of the ampersand.

The “&” symbol meant “et” to the Romans, and they would say “et” when they read “&.” The figure was so useful that it was eventually adopted by speakers of other languages as well. When they would read “&,” they would say “et” (if they were French) or “e” (if they were Italian) or “und” (if they were German) or, if they were English, they would say “and.”

“&” was very popular, and by the early 19th century, “&” was even added to the end of the English alphabet in all school grammar books. It was read at the very end, right after “Z.” This primer from 1814 shows it there, all big and proud:

There it is, all proud at the end of the line.

And this primer, from 1857 shows it again (in case you really don’t believe us):

And again!

Now, when reciting the alphabet in 19th century grammar class, any letter that could also be used as a one-letter word (like “A” or “I”) was preceded by “per se” (the Latin for by itself). This is the equivalent of saying “the letter ‘I,’ not the word ‘I.’” I know it seems like overkill, but those Victorians did want to be sure everything was just so and in its proper place.

So, from around 1800 to around 1900, the alphabet would be recited like this:

“per se A B C D E F G H and per se I J K L M N and per se O (because ‘O’ was a word back then, as in ‘O Holy Night’) P Q R S T U V W X Y Z and per se & (where ‘&’ is pronounced ‘and’)”

I don’t know about you, but saying all that extra jibberish under penalty of spanking seems like a rough way to spend a childhood. So, as kids are often as sly as they are lazy, they cheated a bit. Not so much that they’d get the switch, but enough to speed things up. So rather than say “and per se and” they would say, “ampersand.”

(Interestingly, in Scotland, they would say “et per se” instead of “and per se” and so when they simplified it, it became “epershand”—and still is!)

Now, you might ask, why don’t we have words like “ampersai” instead of “I”? As things turned out, we say “the letter I” instead of “per se I” if we need to refer to the letter. Even keeping the ampersand in the alphabet went out of fashion around the same time as Queen Victoria’s death, and by about 1900 it no longer appears after Z in the grammar books.

So… Is it really wrong to call “&” an “and sign” or just “and” or even “the former 27th letter known as and”? It seems to be just as proper as the formalized slang now revered as the “ampersand.”

Take that, grammar bullies!

Fathom's take on the interrobang.

As editor of Type Talks magazine, Speckter held a contest on what to name the new symbol. “Exclamaquest” and “exclarotive” were close contenders, but “interrobang” won out. (Interrogatio is Latin for “a rhetorical question” and bang is printers’ slang for the exclamation mark.) Articles in several national publications heralded the new symbol. The Wall Street Journal said it was the perfect punctuation for sentences such as “Who forgot to put gas in the car?” In 1966, American Type Founders issued the Americana typeface which included the interrobang. It was even included as a key on Remington and Smith Corona typewriters of the period.

Specimen of Americana with interrobang shown at bottom right.

While combining two or more unrelated characters into one strangely functional form like an interrobang might be called “frankentype,” it is in fact called a “ligature,” from the Latin word ligare, meaning to bandage or bind. Although graphic designers rarely if ever use interrobangs, they do use other ligatures all the time. You do too, though you might not realize it.

A simple ligature that any school-child will recognize looks like this: w. We call it a “double-u” but there was a time when “u” was written like this “v” (easier to carve into stone that way) and a double-u was formed like this: vv. Some smarty-pants decided it would be best to just create a ligature for it, and the rest is history.

And who could forget this exciting ligature: &. That one started out as people writing “et” (Latin for “and”). Always in a rush, scribes smooshed the letters e-t together until they became a ligature that was stylized through Roman times into the ampersand as we know it. It wasn’t actually called an “ampersand” until the 1830s, when lazy English schoolchildren slopped together the words “and per se and” and it stuck. And that’s as far as we’ll be going down that road, because frankly the full, twisted tale would make your head hurt.

Evolution of the ampersand.

Other ligatures you may not recognize so easily are used secretly by graphic designers to eat up billable hours for the purpose of being generally invisible to the average person. Take this one for example: fi. No, that was not just “f” and “i” really close together. It was a ligature, a single letterform which sidesteps a potential typographic pileup with aplomb.

Johnson & Griffiths type logo created by Fathom showing "f-f-i" ligature. An actual single piece of type that would have traditionally been used to create this effect is shown above.

Seriously, though, there are times in logos and big ad headlines where a subtle ligature really brings things up a notch. Ligatures have been used since Sumerian cuneiform…whenever increased speed or clarity could be achieved by the creation of a new, combined character. So, is it any surprise that Mr. Speckter, an ad man, decided to try his hand by combining ? and ! into ‽ Think of the space that could be saved in headlines! It was the 60s, after all, and if we could put a man in space, why not this? And who better to do it than Martin Speckter, not just an ad man but the ad man who was also the author of that really very, very exciting book, Disquisition on the Composing Stick?

This is a composing stick, by the way, used to set type. To learn all about it, pick up Disquisition on the Composing Stick. Dare you!

History has treated the interrobang about as kindly as it has treated Esperanto. (⸘Vere‽) But yet, the interrobang lives on. It is the logo for the State Library of New South Wales, Australia, for example (though it might also be an appropriate symbol for “old” South Wales, where medieval conflict evidenced by castles every few miles [!] meets post-Thatcher economic recovery [?]).

This logo from down under is over the top!

Microsoft oddly provided several versions of the interrobang in its Wingdings 2 character set. And the interrobang survives in several fonts to this very day, including Calibri, the default font for Office 2007 (see how Microsoft knows how to OWN a trend just a few decades after it is no longer trendy‽).

Perhaps the interrobang is due for a resurgence. It all starts with us: we just have to use it.*

OMG, like, totally why not‽

* You can find an interrobang in Microsoft Word’s Fonts. Go to Format, choose Fonts, then Wingdings 2. You’ll find 4 different versions of the interrobang. Hit the ` key, the ] key, the 6 key, or the - key.

Fathom’s “Old Reliable” letterpress, built in 1886, is covered with evidence of historic mishaps…weld-marks in multiple spots, half-broken remnants from unknown appendages long lost. The whole mechanism is driven by an electric motor from the 1920s that moves an exposed belt which in turn spins a giant, wicked gear against other greasy gears. Up close, it looks like a meat-grinder.

And then there’s the platen itself—the place where you put the blank cards for printing. I don’t mean to be overly dramatic, but if the press closes on your hands or fingers, well, let’s just say what you’re working on becomes a limited edition, multi-color design. Some online discussion boards discuss injuries inflicted by letterpresses. It is mildly disturbing when press operators can identify (almost eagerly) the make and model of the press by the particular wound pattern.

These thoughts seemed rather distant to me as I prepared the Old Reliable for her maiden voyage…filing down the rails to be sure they were flat, calibrating the platen to be parallel, adjusting the rollers so they strike the form at just the right height, oiling 40-some spots, putting in packing and tympan paper, applying the gauge pins, adjusting the grippers. But once I was standing in front of the press, ready to flip the switch on its first job, I must admit that my “point-and-click” mind was unnerved by this greasy, inky behemoth crouched before me. With jaws stronger than an alligator’s, it was as if the press was holding a sign that said “Feed me.”

It’s Real
What was I thinking when I promised the good folks at Gamut Theatre Group 900 two-sided letterpressed invitations for their annual Shakespeare’s Birthday celebration? Could I not do the math? That’s the first lesson about letterpress: it’s real. As a designer, I am used to quantity being just a number…something the printer has to deal with. But now, 900 represented not only time, but ink; stock; table-space; sore feet and shoulders; and actual, personal danger.

Oh, the fear subsided once I realized that I could keep up with the press and that I didn’t have to put my hands in *that* far. But then my brain snapped back to self-preserving consciousness: Perhaps it is *just* that sort of ‘oh-this-is-safe’ thinking that loses limbs. So as the job got underway, I was filled with equal measures of satisfaction, excitement, and trepidation.

I Ink, Therefore, I Am
The next thought that hits me: How long is this going to take? I mean, 1,800 impressions is a lot! I’d seen old photographs of lines of pressmen standing in front of Gordon-style clamshell presses just like this one, but I never thought about the fact that they had to stand there all day, hours on end: Feed the paper. Impression. Remove the paper. Feed the paper… Those were in the days before labor laws of course. Nobody would voluntarily…oh wait, here I am. Anyway, time, in these circumstances, starts to play tricks. Repetitive, thoughtless motion can do that.

I asked my daughter, who was sitting nearby doing her homework, to time me as I printed one side of 100 cards. At the end of that short run, while re-inking the press, I pondered how long I *thought* it took. 20 minutes. But according to Amelia, it only took half that time. In this tempus fugit world—when everything is needed yesterday but it’s already two days from now—there is something comforting about an activity that makes time slow down. Consider: 100 cards in 10 minutes means one card produced every six seconds. The press is indeed moving at a good clip, yet it seems to move at half that speed, with all my mental energies concentrated on the exact technique for placing and removing the stock, ink level, and number of cards remaining.

Could it be that the Old Reliable is truly an anachronism—not just a machine from a different age, but a bender of time itself? The experience was certainly zen, and the end-product entirely satisfying. The print quality for the Old Reliable matches or exceeds that of any letterpress I have seen, reproducing an exceptionally detailed etching sharply and with even coverage and excellent impression. I still have both hands…and I must say that I have a little more of my mind—or is it my soul—than I had at the start, too.

I hope that the final result—invitations for Gamut Theatre’s Shakespeare Birthday celebration—yields a strong response. If you do not get one in the mail, you can always just go anyway…it’s a blast, and this year Hamlet and his whole dysfunctional family will be there, along with Harrisburg’s cultural diaspora, sipping wine and catching up. The event is on April 3rd at 7p.m.; tickets are $100 each or $150 per couple. You can R.S.V.P. at 717-238-4111 or www.gamutplays.org.

And of course, if you need an invitation or elegant personal correspondence designed and printed, I think the Old Reliable is hungry for more.

—Jason Smith

St. John’s Church, McLean VA
Fathom has been working with St. John’s Church, McLean Virginia for a number of years, on everything from the church’s capital campaign to numerous annual appeals, special projects, a new church identity, and a web site. Last year, we were honored to win a national Episcopal Communicators Award for the church’s annual appeal. For the 2011 appeal, we pulled out all the stops, with a fold-out brochure and a coordinated postcard, pledge card, and envelopes. The Rev. Ed Miller (a creative and energetic rector who also happens to be a photographer) continues to trust—and push—us to do great work.

Conexus
Fathom has worked with the HVAC control wizards at Conexus for several years. We helped name the company, then we developed a logo and business cards as the venture moved forward. This year, we were tapped to design a coordinated marketing packet. An insert brochure explains the benefits of integrated system controls. This ties in visually with a die-cut folder. Coordinated insert sheet blanks and a Powerpoint template complete the look. Visually, we explored natural themes and juxtaposed them with mechanical systems to show that integrated systems are comforting and seamless.

Papenfuse for Dauphin County Commissioner
Candidate Eric Papenfuse approached Fathom for campaign support. Fathom responded with a versatile campaign logo, photo-shoot of the candidate, and design of printed materials. Papenfuse has been a tireless advocate for an open public process both in the city of Harrisburg and in Dauphin County—with solid logic and strategy to boot. We wish him well!

Assistance At-Home
Assistance At-Home is a company that helps the elderly and disabled retain their independence by helping them with daily living tasks. Fathom created an image for the venture from the ground up: logo, typography, and even a “Making life easier” theme. We then developed a brochure to explain their services in exceptionally clear terms.

On the horizon
Fathom continues to provide capital campaign materials development services for the Episcopal Church Foundation, as well as serve a growing number of corporate, non-profit, and advocacy concerns. We look forward to all the challenges and opportunities 2011 will bring!

Fathom's new studio—complete with letterpress, design pit, and production area.

After relocating to Mechanicsburg PA from Harrisburg, Fathom has operated from temporary quarters in a Victorian house on Main Street. But the vision had always been to transform a 1950s outbuilding into “Garden House” where creatives could collaborate, clients could strategize, and where Fathom’s photography and letterpress ventures could find a home. That vision seemed a tall order for a one-story, 15′ x 30′ cinder-block shed with rotten floors and a leaky roof…especially during the Great Recession.

However, patience and creativity are always the friends of a limited budget, and 20 months after the move, the job is now done. Special thanks go to Ryan Gerber, who helped clear debris and build the floors, and to Scott Boggs, who helped at every stage of construction. Both of these fellows are talented designers and brought their sensibilities to the job site. A good deal of their input helped to shape the project.

Natural light and natural materials give Fathom's new offices a warm, organic feel.

The entire space was designed to be energy-efficient as well as cost-efficient, reusing existing architectural assets whenever possible. The cinder-block walls were injected with non-expanding foam comprised of agitated white glue…fluffy, heavy stuff injected into the open wall channels. The ceiling features stained roof beams with exposed sheep’s wool insulation, made in PA. As fire-retardant as fiberglass, sheep’s wool is just as insulating and has natural humidity regulating properties (it absorbs water vapor on humid days and releases it on drier days). It also looks neat. The southern gable of the building was replaced with thick acrylic sheets to bring southern light in during darker winter months. This lightwell also naturally illuminates a small storage area and provides a place where Fathom’s old metal sign can be displayed. All existing windows were also boxed in with acrylic to dramatically enhance insulation properties and deaden sound. Two home-made skylights on the ridge of the roof provide additional light. The floor of the office is insulated and clad in renewable cork—warm underfoot, durable, and organic. Near the letterpress, however, a large rubber pad made of recycled car tires provides added padding and resiliency. The entire space is heated and cooled via a highly efficient, 18 SEER heat pump. A small air circulator over the design pit distributes heat and cold. Circulation is augmented via a home-made ceiling fan made of a old wooden swamp-boat propeller and an industrial motor.

A bright, dynamic space, packed with functionality.

Rotten floor joists were the inspiration to create a “design pit” in the center of the space. Here, a “design bar” accommodates up to four freelance creatives on aluminum bar-stools. Also, a client meeting area is in the pit, flanked by samples of Fathom’s print design. This tall, flexible space can also be used for photo-shoots as required.

At the rear of the space, a second platform carries a functioning Irish woodstove, a production area with cleverly stacked digital printers, lots of storage, and a large desk.

As we like to say, “Limitations breed inspirations.” Limited space and a limited budget enabled the creation of a Fathom office more functional and efficient than any to date. While many of Fathom’s clients live far afield, we hope that this tour helps you envision “where we’re coming from.” And to any clients who find themselves nearby: feel free to stop in and say “Hello.”

Quick. Easy. Feathery.

How does it work? Simple:

1. Click on “Contact Us” and then click on the button showing the bird lugging a big envelope.

2. Now, select the files you want to send, tell us who you are, and click the “Send It!” button.

Whammo!

You can send us up to 2 GB at a time using this method. (While you can send us hundreds of individual files, we recommend that you compress your files into a single archive. Not only does it help save the earth from wasteful e-pollution, but it enables us to download your files in one easy step.)

No more CDs being overnighted or using limited (and sometimes confusing) free online services.

Should you think of anything else Fathom can do to make working with us a little easier, please let us know. If your list is too big to email, you can now use our DropBox!