Christopher Hjort (born 15 December 1958) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

typographer Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), an ...

and

graphical designer Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

. In 1990, Hjort and three colleagues founded ''Gazette'', which has grown into one of Norway's largest professional companies in the fields of graphical design,

web design Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code a ...

modern typography Modern typography was a reaction against the perceived decadence of typography and design of the late 19th century. It is mostly associated with the works of Jan Tschichold and Bauhaus typographers Herbert Bayer, László Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitz ...

, information, and

corporate communication Corporate communication is a set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating favourable point of view among stakeholders on which the company depends. Riel, Cees B.M. van; Fombru ...

more generally. At Gazette, Hjort has been co-founder, co-owner, and currently works as advisor. He has also been actively involved in developing the company's ''Gazette Bok'' publishing group, which serves as an outlet for various publishing ideas that evolve through Gazette's different business connections. Through Hjort's connections and initiative, Disney artist

Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created for Di ...

used Gazette Bok for publishing his

The Pertwillaby Papers ''The Pertwillaby Papers'' is an adventure comic drawn by Donald Duck artist Don Rosa in the 1970s. The comic is about the adventures of Lancelot "Lance" Pertwillaby and his friends and colleagues around the world. History Rosa started drawi ...

and The Adventures of Captain Kentucky books. Hjort is also a rock historian and researcher. In 2000, together with American Doug Hinman, he published ''Jeff's Book'', an acclaimed annotated chronology of Jeff Beck's career, followed first in 2007 by ''Strange Brew:

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

and the British Blues Boom 1965–1970'' and then by ''So You Want To Be A Rock'n Roll Star:

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

Day-by-Day 1965–1973''. These books have also been edited, designed and laid out by Hjort. Of ''Strange Brew'',

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...

magazine wrote that "If you’re into vintage British blues and rock, you need to add this masterpiece to your collection", while

Mojo (magazine) ''Mojo'' is a popular music music magazine, magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Ascential, Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer. Following the success of the magazine ''Q (magazine), Q'', publisher ...

stated that the book was "meticulously compiled...an info-freak's dream".

Classic Rock (magazine) ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 60 ...

felt ''So You Want To Be A Rock'n Roll Star'' was "convincing and exhaustive, it’s the ideal accompaniment for working through (or even starting) your Byrds collection", while

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

wrote in its review that "this is an awe-inspiring work of scholarship". In 2009, Hjort’s book on the Byrds was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Association For Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound Research.The Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2009 Winners: ARSC Awards for Excellence, Best Research in Recorded Rock and Popular Music Hjort has also worked as a semi-professional guitarist, and toured and recorded two albums with ''Bygg Band'', Norway's first

cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

and

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

group. The band's second album was recorded in Crowley, Louisiana, in 1984, together with cajun and zydeco legends Link Davis Jr. (sax), Michael Doucet (fiddle), and Cleveland Chenier (rub board). Hjort's interests include collecting guitars and rock music literature.

Bibliography

* Christopher Hjort and Doug Hinman (2000): ''Jeff's Book: A Chronology of Jeff Beck's Career, 1965–1980: From the Yardbirds to Jazz-Rock'' (Rock'n'Roll Research Press, ; 256 pages, sold out) * Christopher Hjort (2007): ''Strange Brew: Eric Clapton and the British Blues Boom 1965–1970'' (Jawbone Press, ; 288 pages, more than a hundred photos) * Christopher Hjort (2008): ''So You Want To Be A Rock'n'Roll Star: The Byrds Day-by-Day 1965–1973'' (Jawbone Press, ; 336 pages, about a hundred photos)

External links

Itera Gazette, OsloBygg Band

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjort, Christopher 1958 births Norwegian designers Living people