ABOUT

Design Indaba is an annual gathering of the most innovative minds in global design. But design isn't the preserve of an elite few - it's a powerful and democratic force for positive change. Put simply, design can create a better future.

We decided to demonstrate this tangibly by telling the story of typographer Matthew Carter and his task to create a new, more efficient, typeface for AT&T telephone company's phone books. The end result, Bell Centennial, saved space, and thus paper, and thus trees.

By telling the same story side by side, the piece works both as a long copy and a short copy ad. The viewer experiences the typographical efficiencies of Bell Centennial first-hand as a double-page spread printed on telephone book stock and inserted into popular press.

The ad went on to win the coveted Black Eagle and Gold Eagle at the Independent Newspapers Eagles Awards and was a Cannes finalist.