Interview with Papyrus creator, Chris Costello

Last week, we rolled out the first of a new series of features for the blog. This week, we roll out another one and I couldn't be happier. Chris Costello, the original creator of the type face "Papyrus" took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions (the questions I sent are grey and in italic).



Tell me a bit about your background and what you are doing today.

My background is in art and music. I started working with my father as a sign painter when I was in sixth grade. He encouraged me to pursue a career in commercial art instead of music, but he also helped me buy my first bass amp. I studied advertising, design and illustration in college then began working in advertising agencies after finishing school. Lettering and type design was always something I did when things were slow at work… Papyrus was conceived during a down period at my first agency job. I soon quit full-time work to freelance and began my illustration career while supporting myself through steady club and college gigs with the bands I played in. Then got married, had kids, needed more money, so I went back to work in book publishing then segued into my current position as creative director for an in-house marketing department. I still do freelance design and illustration.

Correct me if I am wrong here, but Papyrus was created back in 1983 for Letraset, right?

Actually, I submitted the design to ten major type companies in 1982. Compugraphic and Varityper replied with rejection letters (Ironically, Compugraphic was acquired by AGFA-Monotype/ITC who currently owns the Papyrus design). Only the noted type designer, Colin Brignall of Letraset responded with any interest. After meeting several of their guidelines, I was asked to create a complete character set with alternates, and Papyrus was released in the summer of ’83.

And, forgive my ignorance, but could you explain what Letraset is or was at the time?

Esselte/Letraset was a stationary supply company that produced vinyl "Transfer Lettering" sheets, otherwise known as "presstype".

What was the process for creating fonts at that time?

It was all done the old fashioned way: by hand, using pencils, paper, Rapidograph pens, white-out, and French Curves.

How long did it take you to create Papyrus?

It took about 6 months to produce the final art for all of the characters per Letraset’s request.

Were there parameters or objectives to be met with the font? Or maybe just, "what was the inspiration for Papyrus?"

I took a calligraphy pen and some textured paper and just started drawing "old looking” alphabets in many different styles. I was thinking about the ancient Middle East and I then began writing words, dates and phrases from the history of that time in all upper case lettering. I soon came up with what I thought vernacular writing may have looked like if the English language existed 2000 years ago. It probably would have been written on papyrus and figured that would be the perfect name for the font. I then started drawing letters and numbers (about thirty examples of each character in the alphabet) until I felt like I had a unified font set, then picked the best one of each character. I added a lower case set thinking it would make the font more versatile and have a broader appeal.

When you created Papyrus, had you any idea what the future held for the font? Was there a standard protocol or life-span as part of the Letraset thing?

I signed a 25-year contract renewable yearly after expiration. At 24 years old, it was like I got a record deal. I just signed and waited for fame and fortune to overtake me.

Papyrus has become very ubiquitous in design. Its popularity seems to be ever-growing and it can be seen in marketing material and packaging for a huge variety of products in just about any industry. We've seen it on tea, toiletries, soft drinks, yoga flyers, tech banners, and more. How do you respond to its apparent versatility and popularity?

I have mixed feelings. At first it was cool to see it in a few spots, especially CD cover designs and movie credits… then television, billboards etc. It started cropping up in the late '80s in National Geographic articles and a few magazine ads. My parents came back from Europe one year and showed me all of the brochures they found using Papyrus. But then I started seeing it in homespun newsletters, local bulletin boards, everybody's business cards, real estate and mortgage ads...basically everywhere. It had become diluted and lost its original appeal. I see design blogs trash it all the time, but it's not a design issue. I think after she was released with OSX system fonts, her design career was finished… she became the font for the masses.

You've seen iheartpapyrus.com. Can you freakin' believe how often it's being used?

Again, now everybody has access to it.

In general, what are your thoughts on Papyrus in advertising and design?

Today, it is so overused, I would not use it unless there was some very unique application that called for it. However, I recently needed to use it in an ad headline because the client’s logo was set in Papyrus (it’s everywhere).

Papyrus is shipped standard with the Mac OS. What sort of red tape, bean-counting nonsense did that require?

Nothing on my part. ITC owns the rights…I just collect the checks.

Do you receive royalties or anything for Papyrus?

Yes, it’s very complex. Because of all of the corporate buyouts over several decades, ownership of Papyrus has changed hands many times and I receive residuals from several U.S. and European font distributors as well as the original owners.

What are a few of your personal favorite fonts?

Gotham, Centaur, Porcelain, HTF Requiem, Bickham Script, Industrial, are a few that come to mind.

You have a wealth of experience as not only a typographer, but as a designer, an illustrator, and more. Where do you enjoy working most?

I really enjoy web design right now. Illustration was fun for quite some time, but it is very time consuming. Web design has more of an instant gratification thing going on… changes are easier to make, it involves non-linear thinking and it pays better.

Which of your creative endeavors are you most proud?

My watercolor and acrylic paintings, which few people have seen. I have created both traditional and experimental work and figured this is will be the next phase of my career after I get tired of what I am doing now.

Papyrus has an aged, but timeless look and feel. Do you think it will ever disappear out of our collective font folders anytime soon?

Probably not. Although many despise the font, right up there with Comic Sans, and Helvetica, I think even more people absolutely love it. I receive e-mails constantly from design and typography students who are writing entire papers on the font and want to know more about me and how I created it. I have also received commissions to custom design corporate logos using derivatives of Papyrus. People are even asking if I can create “cleaned-up” versions as well as different weights.

To me, Papyrus has saturated the design culture to such an extent, it will leave a legacy that may never die. How awesome is it to have made such a huge splash in the industry, and so early in your career?

I was just out of college when it happened, so I felt great about it. All my friends could not believe that they knew a “famous person”. I never imagined it would have gone this far, though. Now I have to hide my face in public.

Do you have any pearls of wisdom you can share with some of our readers, many of whom are also in marketing, advertising, and design?

As I thought back over my career and all of the companies that I worked for, I realized that some my best creative work was conceived during the times I spent at dead-end design jobs. Maybe this advice will help some young designers who are starting out at “Mr. Quick Print” or “Business Forms Xpress” (I remember living in Florida, working in somebody’s garage designing real estate ads for minimum wage with people who did not speak English… and no air conditioning). The lame jobs I used to hold were actually good springboards for the next steps of my career. Most companies hire you to be on staff and on call regardless of whether or not there is any work to do… from 9-5, they own you. At times, I would go months at my jobs without anything to do. You can only reorganize the reference library so many times before you go insane…I had to create or die. It was during those down times that I designed all of the fonts I currently have for sale, I designed several iterations of my own promotional materials and artist portfolios, created my personal website, taught myself how to use Dreamweaver and Flash, practiced my bass, created illustrations for my portfolio, wrote my college papers, did freelance work, studied economics, and whatever… all while getting paid to sit in front of a computer. Fortunately for me, all of my supervisors at the time were cool with this. I guess they figured, when it came time for me to put out, I was always there.

If you are in a dead-end job right now, just take advantage of the tools at your disposal and create some of your own inspired work that will eventually get you hired at your dream job. Oh yes…always dream to the point of fantasy and imagine yourself making it. I never stopped believing that I would be a designer and/or musician and left myself no other options for making a living.

***********************************
And what a great place to leave it!

I remember living in Florida, working in somebody’s garage designing real estate ads for minimum wage with people who did not speak English… and no air conditioning

Hell, I am eight years into my career and this is still the case!

I want to thank Chris Costello immensely for taking the time in writing such great answers. You rock Chris!

Visit his website at www.costelloart.com

More Hollywood Papyrus

I got a submission from John.



The subject read "hogzilla movie?" My first thought was that this might be some sort of biopic on the career of Rosie O'Donnell. The website describes it this way:

Nearly one year after the death of his wife, Chris Griffin, a hard working man of the land, finds himself desperately hunting the monster that murdered her.

It goes on a little but I'm still not 100% sure it isn't a Rosie biopic.

Thanks for sending, John!

Watch your emo

it might sneak up on you and force you to suck.

It's not often I get to do one post about two things that are very close to my heart. It is a blessed day however, as I just saw Papyrus in this amazingly asinine news clip:



This "emo" thing kills me. Like, we're all trying to be different... in exactly the same way.

It's the pop-culture emo shit that is the problem. Real emo, and the slacker mentality came by way of thrift and achieving as little as possible. Emo shirts were ironic and original because they were actually found in thrift stores. Hair was actually messed up out of laziness.

Now, it's all about going to the mall to pay top dollar for clothes that look like their from a thrift store. You buy jeans that have already been torn. People spend money on hair products they then use to spend time applying to their hair to suggest an expertly crafted "bedhead".

"We're all trying to be different... in exactly the same way. It's very expensive to do so. Aren't I original?"

Oh and here's another video on emo kids cutting themselves. These newscasters are so in the know and must be really good at their jobs to bring us these hard-hitting stories that, other than for kitsch value, I have absolutely no interest in watching.

Let's hear it for girl pants, huh?!

oh and if any emo kids are reading, email me. I have a bunch of pills and razor blades you might want.

Punk Rock Papyrus

A submission from Shaun:

Saw this web ad for a punk show. Thought you might enjoy it!

Wow. Pardon me saying so, but that look's like somebody barfed into a photoshop file. I'm just the Papyrus lovin' dog to go lappin' it all up!

Hey ya'all. That's today so don't dilly dally. Get your ass to Smalls!
(wherever the hell that is)

Thanks Shaun! Keep 'em comin'!

Advice for designers setting out for the working world

To all recent design graduates, and those that are about to graduate, buy some boots. The shit gets pretty deep.

While there is no educational program in the world that can prepare you for the culture and inherit politics that await you in the marketing and design world, there are some consistencies that we as designers (or any professional) will certainly face. From getting a job, to losing a job, or having a job that's just awful, to eventually being laid off, you will very likely experience at least one, if not all of these:

1. All I can find are jobs that require at least one (two, three, etc.) year(s) of experience.

How do you deal with it?

Well, you kind of have to come to terms with the fact that some companies simply do not want to hire graduates. It sounds like discrimination but it's just one way a private company protects itself from having to deal with your "adjustment." You may fare well, you may find it agonizing (which might be wholly the employer's fault).

The fact is you may have to settle on a less glamorous position. It will likely be with a small company, perhaps as the sole designer. It may be an absolutely thankless, mundane job. If it's in your field, or at least close though, do all you can with it. Just keep your head up, and when the chance comes to jump to something better, take it.

2. People I've graduated with begin earning more.

How do you deal with it?

This will happen for a lot of reasons. Sometimes, it all actually does boil down to what your employer can afford to pay. If you work for a small company, and a fellow graduate got a job at a larger one, he may end up getting a raise before you or that's larger or whatever. Large companies often have a protocol they follow pretty strictly when it comes to performance reviews and pay increases. They also probably have the money for it.

The key thing is that if you feel you should be making more, you will have to ask for it. In the worst case scenario, you will find yourself at a company that doesn't bring up the subject of a raise, and you never get up the nerve to ask. Don't wait around and allow anyone to take advantage of you. If you're confident in your work, ask for the raise. If you can't come to an agreement, you may want to look for something else.

3. Some dude (or chick) just doesn't like me.

How do you deal with it?

This happens from time to time. People take up some personal issue with you and it makes you uncomfortable, and it isn't conducive to the work. If they're senior to you, they may have faced a lot of abuse in their time in the field and you'll just have to earn some trust. Other times, they are just out-and-out threatened by you and what you are capable of doing. They will try to silence you or get rid of you altogether. This business is wrought with ego.

If you find yourself in a situation like this, your best bet is to play nice. Kill them with kindness (without kissing their ass or anything). Hopefully, they are just slow to warm up to people, and the relationship will improve. If it does not, keep playing nice. Working together requires you to leave your personal issues with people behind to meet your colleagues half-way. If you can demonstrate to your superiors that you do, and have brought only positivity to the table and this so-and-so continues to undermine you, then hopefully, that will be what gets noticed and the right thing will be done to rectify the situation.

4. I know what the right thing to do is, but no one will listen to me.

How do you deal with it?

You just deal. The advertising industry relies heavily on titles. "I'm the Senior Vice President of Executive Management Integration." Really? They have that? Huh? Wonder what that pays...

Like in #3, sometimes you just have to keep pluggin' along, doing the right thing, and wait it out. Voice your opinion. Don't cram it down anyone's throat though. You might find that you share your thoughts, it's shot down, and then later someone else implements what you said and takes credit for it. That's ego for ya. It happens. But don't be disillusioned. You have your whole life for that! Just stay optimistic. Someone will eventually notice you're on the ball.

5. My boss plays favorites and my only motivation for working is out of fear.

How do you deal with it?

Almost every designer I've met has had a story like this. The boss seems to play favorites. You'll think he or she is mad at you because they refrain from speaking with you or giving you work. One day you're golden, the next week your not, and back and forth and you're never sure why. People seem to band together against each other. There are cliques. The topic of "firing" or "losing people" is all the boss can do to increase productivity.

This is a toxic work environment. They are out there and you have to watch for them. Part of allowing ego to control motivation requires you to behave childishly, and people who are old enough to know better are just as likely to behave in this manner - even your boss or superiors.

Don't let anyone break your spirit or manipulate you into thinking you don't know how to do your job. Look around online to see if your situation seems to match that of a narcissistic workplace. If so, lay low, do as your told, and in your free time, do everything you can to find a better job.

6. I just got laid off.

How do you deal with it?

That's awful. It will happen. When it does, even if it's personal, don't take it personally. Keep the sunny attitude as best you can. Avoid bridge-burning. You may want to get some things off your chest by telling someone off or worse. Your best bet is to write it down. Write it like an email you might send but don't. It will help you process it. Remember that in your field, as with any, it's a small world. If you can humbly, and honorably walk away from a job with a smile, you've passed the first test. I mean, you're not dead. It's not the worst that can happen.

The second test, of course, is finding a new job. If you've worked there long enough, you may qualify for unemployment compensation and that will help to keep you on your feet. Take the time to find a new way to present yourself. You have more experience now and your portfolio should be revised accordingly. Learn some new software. Stay in it. Focus on what you'd like to do next and how you can best present to your new boss that you are well-qualified to do just that.

Hopefully, it won't be long until you find something. If you passed the first test, try tapping into people at your last job. They know you! They might also know of the perfect few places for you to start and can put in the good word. Get yourself out there on all the online job boards. Headhunters use those religiously. If need be, broaden your job search beyond the city in which you live. You want to be where the work is. The key is to stay positive.

The need to dance

The Georgia Dance Conservatory (hearts) papyrus. I think we had this on here before but only in website form. This is dance central in downtown Marietta, Georgia.



And check this out! They been doing it for 50 years.



Their legs must be so tired.

Makes me think of this Jerky Boys prank (mp3).

Forget having a roni, this is what love is like

Annie, a new submitter was kind enough to send this:



photo courtesy of flickr

Papyrus loud and proud, ladies and gentlemen.

Thanks ANNIE!

On another note, sold a shirt. That makes like, 2 so far for the CafePress store.



To those of you bought them, please write in to let me know what you think of them or how I might be able to improve what's there. Better still, send me pictures of yourself wearin'em.

Almost Paradise

From logopond.com:

Our initial concept was to use a palm tree as the letter "I" in PARADISE. However, we found that Cheeseburger In Paradise's web site had already thought of that. So, what else is related to relaxation and pampering? Flip Flops!

Flip flops indeed! But what's with the dis for Papyrus. Don't harp on the success of yer logo without mentioning tranquility inherit to Papyrus. That is a tranquil, tranquil font!

Check out that LogoPond. It is a sweet little website.

Some like it wet

And Papyrus, like soap, makes water wetter. For all you wetlands fans, here's another hot site to hit as you troll the swamp blogs.



The environment is like, totally gay for them wetlands- about as gay as I am for Papyrus.