The New Typography/64 – invitation, Society of Typographic Designers of Canada, Tony Mann, 1964

This invitation was designed to announce a talk on The New Typography, a subject closely aligned with the International Style then gaining traction in North America. Tony Mann’s decision to set the entire piece in one size and weight of Univers was both conceptual and practical. It reflected the modernist principle that typography should serve content through structure rather than decoration. The strict grid and uniform type reinforce that principle, making the invitation not only functional but a typographic statement in itself. The subtle use of orange in the invitation – a dominant element in C&B’s rebrand – hinted at the larger agenda.

Anticipating the capabilities of computer-based typesetting, this style of typography was intended to be set in a single pass on modern equipment. But in 1964, we were still a generation away from producing the fully assembled typesetting that we now take for granted.

Though framed as an event on The New Typography, the invitation also marked a quiet turning point in Canadian design culture. It was widely understood within the design community that Cooper & Beatty’s new corporate identity would be unveiled that evening. But Tony Mann, who had recently taken on the role of Creative Director, used the new identity to demonstrate the visual clarity and systemization at the heart of the International Style. It was a bold, strategic move that left a lasting impression.

Many now regard this evening as a key moment that led to the transformation of the Society of Typographic Designers of Canada (TDC) into the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), now known as Design Professionals of Canada (DesCan), — and helped lay the groundwork for the later formation of the Registered Graphic Designers of Canada (RGD). – Rod McDonald