The language of law is essential. Without its precise and detailed descriptions of rules, agreements, and inventions, modern life would be chaos. But legal language is seldom designed to be fun. Atlanta artist Staci Janik, though, has managed to put the whimsy in legalese through her work for the new Dolby headquarters in San Francisco.
Janik, who teaches typography along with practicing graphic design, got the assignment of taking the text of an early Dolby patent and making something visually arresting and even amusing from it.
“One unique challenge was forcing myself not to spend too much time trying to personally understand the patent language,” Janik says. “For me, good typographic design is a critical interpretation of a message’s meaning, so it took a bit for me to loosen up and have fun with it.”
“The goal was to make the type contrast with the language—so visually, you have this neat thing to look at, even if you decide not to read it,” she says. “Eventually I was able to use certain fonts and words to give subjective cues for the interpretation of the patent without being too complex.”
The 36 original art installations that Dolby has commissioned for our new San Francisco headquarters were chosen to celebrate key milestones from our history and to inspire future invention, says Vince Voron, Vice President and Executive Creative Director. The patent-wall art represents the important role that innovation, intellectual property, and creativity play at Dolby.
Janik’s creative take on a patent is featured, appropriately, on the floor that houses the Dolby legal team.
Janik is used to projects with significantly less text, so the sheer scale of this commission was daunting. “I’ve never had to organize or communicate with so much type at such a large scale. … It was a good challenge.”
“I’m interested in language and how ephemeral it is. I like seeing how that changes when you design something—like the patents—with so much information. The language is captured visually and becomes observable. In this case, some people will have to see the patent wall every day, and what does it become visually to them?”
Janik strives for balance in her work—50 percent whimsical, 50 percent methodical. “I try not to be too serious, but I also try not to be too playful. So there is a little bit of restraint in everything that I do.”
Nineteen artists from around the world are contributing pieces to the new Dolby building, and Janik has enjoyed seeing what her colleagues have created. “It has been exciting to see each individual piece that was commissioned come to life, and I am so thankful to have been asked to participate.”
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