The catalogue of the fifth edition of the Fernand Baudin Prize is not only dedicated
to the Award Winners but also to Fernand Baudin, the Belgian typographer
which name has been associated with the Prize. Designed by
Coline Sunier
and Charles Mazé, Award Winners of the
Fernand
Baudin Prize 2011 with the book Louie Louie, the catalogue is
composed of two parts. The first book—the
Dossier Fernand Baudin—will likely become a new reference work on Fernand Baudin, and the
second part is a booklet presenting the nine prize-winning books.
Fernand Baudin (1918-2005) is a Belgian typographer, or “typographiste” as
he liked to call himself. Teacher, author and lecturer, his extensive
study focused on the history and teaching of writing and publishing. He
was involved in various professional institutions such as Graphica Belgica
Prize, Rencontres de Lure or Association Typographique Internationale
(ATypI) of which he was the vicepresident. His two authoritative books are
La Typographie au tableau noir (Paris: Retz, 1984) and L'Effet Gutenberg
(Paris: Éditions du Cercle de la Librairie, 1994).
Drawing from Fernand Baudin's collection kept in the rare books and
manuscripts section at the Université libre de Bruxelles, this
Dossier
Fernand Baudin gathers texts written or translated by Baudin,
previously unreleased or published in various journals, or read in
conferences, covering a period going from 1958 to 1998. Presented in a
chronological order, this selection of texts conveys a panorama of his
various activities, the ideas he developed and advocated, and gives a
glimpse on the network of friendly and professional relationships Baudin
established during his entire career.
Through their chronology and the history they depict, the fac similes
naturally offer an insight on the technical evolutions in the field of the
graphic industry, a particular concern for Baudin. When taken as a whole,
they allow highlighting Fernand Baudin 's position on the role of writing
in the printing process, from the author 's draft to the final, published
edition via all the intermediary stages.
This
Dossier Fernand Baudin refers to the “Dossiers” prepared by
Fernand Baudin for the Association des Compagnons de Lure between 1969 and
1975. These
Dossiers include documents and contributions
selected by Baudin. Each opus is dedicated to a single subject or a single
theme, such as writing or layout. In
Dossier Layout (1972),
Baudin gathers and annotates a selection of working documents sent by
graphic designers and typographers. This method was employed in a separate
section of the catalogue, the booklet presenting the nine books awarded
this year with a Fernand Baudin Prize.
Specifically for this publication, two typefaces were created: “Fernand
Baudin Bille” and “Fernand Baudin Feutre”. They are digital
interpretations of Baudin's ballpoint pen (
bille) and felt pen (
feutre)
handwriting.
