YOU DON'T DO HEAVY METAL IN DOLBY

Stefán Kjartansson

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His newest typeface, Cinderblock, was perfect for creating a type-covered wall for the new Dolby headquarters. The font derives from the “You don’t do heavy metal in Dolby” scene in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. Designed to achieve maximum vertical coverage (it’s available in eight different heights, each version growing approximately 25 percent taller than the previous), Cinderblock was ideal for covering the 60-foot-wide wall. The piece is simple — painted in a graduated rainbow of color — yet striking. “I’m constantly aware of developing an inner voice that lives outside of current trends. It’s always some variation of geometry, white space, contrast, and simplifying the complicated,” Kjartansson says, explaining his aesthetic. And as far as this project goes, he happens to be a big Spinal Tap fan. “It’s one of few movies where I can quote whole passages.”

This particular quote has become an internal Dolby engineering term for anyone talking a lot, but not actually knowing what they’re doing. Even as a designer, Kjartansson says he can relate. “Design can be subjective, inviting very visceral opinions from clients.... But, graphic design does not have an inside joke that brilliant. Way to go sound engineers!”