What the work is
A body of graphic design work centred on experimental typography: record sleeves, magazine art direction, FUSE, FontFont, and bespoke typefaces including Times Modern, New Deal, and Industria.
How it was made
Brody made work through experimental typography rooted in Dadaist and Pop Art methods. He designed record covers for post-punk artists, art-directed The Face (1981–1986) and Arena (1987–1990), co-created FUSE (1991) as an interactive magazine with Jon Wozencroft, and co-founded FontFont (1990) with Erik Spiekermann.
What works
Brody’s method—using self-made sans-serif forms, Dadaist disruption, and Pop Art framing—produced legible but destabilising visual systems. FUSE succeeded by packaging typography as both subject and object: each issue included essays and new fonts. His magazine work established rhythm, hierarchy, and tension as editorial tools.
What does not
The material does not establish Brody’s work as industrial design, architecture, illustration, or motion-based. It does not cite client names beyond Fetish and Stiff Records, nor specify software, tools, manufacturing processes, or budgets.
What it influenced
FUSE redefined typographic standards by treating type as mutable, contextual, and interactive—not just functional. FontFont institutionalised independent type design. Times Modern updated a legacy newspaper font for new media conditions.
Is it worth your time
Yes—if you need to understand how typographic experimentation became a structural tool for editorial and digital communication in the late 20th century.