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kottke.org posts about typography
Craig Oldham’s Nudist typeface is flesh-colored with
Craig Oldham’s Nudist typeface is flesh-colored with some bits pixelated out. Other “weights” include a fig leaf version and a black censor bar version. Entirely SFW.
Short post about the favorite letters drawn
Short post about the favorite letters drawn by H&FJ type designers, including the awesomely named Sulzbacher Eszett character.
The designers at H&FJ are often asked if there are particular letters that we especially enjoy drawing. Office doodles testify to the popularity of the letter R, perhaps because it synopsizes the rest of the alphabet in one convenient package (it’s got a stem, a bowl, serifs both internal and external, and of course that marvelous signature gesture, the tail.)
I would love to see a collection of those office doodles.
Typographica’s list of their favorite typefaces of 2007.
Typographica’s list of their favorite typefaces of 2007. Some great work in that list. I also enjoyed Mark Simonson’s explanation of the difference between a font and a typeface:
The physical embodiment of a collection of letters (whether it’s a case of metal pieces or a computer file) is a font. When referring to the design of the collection (the way it looks) you call it a typeface.
Oh and also good was that they were thoughtful enough to wait until 2007 was actually over to make their selections.
Interview with Susan Bradley, who did some
Interview with Susan Bradley, who did some graphic design and designed a typeface for Pixar’s Ratatouille. I enjoyed her response when asked about “one thing everybody should do today”:
Something backwards or something analog you’d normally computerize.
You can find out more about Susan on her site. (via waxy)
Check out these “flair” typefaces from the 70
Check out these “flair” typefaces from the 70s.
They were very big around 1970 or so. Bookman set the example, even though it’s from much earlier. By the mid-seventies, they were adding Bookman-style swashes to everything. They were usually called Whateverthefontwascalled Flair.
Scroll down the page for samples of Univers Flair, Franklin Gothic Flair, etc.
All but a few of the title
All but a few of the title sequences of Woody Allen’s films are set in one typeface: white Windsor on a black background.
A photographic tour of some unique lettering
A photographic tour of some unique lettering and signage in Brooklyn. Seems to have skipped Dumbo & Vinegar Hill though. Here’s another collection of old NYC signage. And don’t forget Forgotten NY (via quipsologies)
I feel like this happens to a
I feel like this happens to a lot of authors…the covers of their books end up being the opposite of what they should be.
Does one’s choice of typeface affect the
Does one’s choice of typeface affect the grade you get on a college paper? Papers written with Georgia and Times New Roman (serifs) got As while those with Trebuchet (sans serif) got Bs.
Video interview with Michael Bierut about typography
Video interview with Michael Bierut about typography and design. (via typographica)
The goal of Oded Ezer’s Typosperma Project “
The goal of Oded Ezer’s Typosperma Project “was to create some sort of new transgenic creatures, half (human) sperm, half letter”. (via buzzfeed)
In light of the Mitchell Report, Yanksfan
In light of the Mitchell Report, Yanksfan vs Soxfan has proposed a record book annotation system so that sports fans can tell which records were set under the influence of which substances. The asterisk is for straight-up steroids and some of the other marks are as follows:
! = Amphetamines
$ = Gambling
|| = Cocaine
~ = Alcohol
. = Dead ball era
∞ = Wore glasses
† = Crazy religious freak
X = General douchebag
Trajan is the movie font
The Goodie Bag podcast has an entertaining little video on Trajan, the font used ubiquitously in movie credits and posters:
Like indoor plumbing and toga parties, Trajan hails from Rome. Matter of fact, you can find almost 2,000-year-old inscriptions on Trajan’s column, where they have totally off-the-leash keggers on Saturdays… Russell Crowe has co-starred with Trajan three times now.
This reminds me of Red is Not Funny, J. Tyler Helms’ illustration of the wide use of bold red letters in distinctly unfunny comedies. (via cameron hunt)
Eric Gill was a respected British artist
Eric Gill was a respected British artist and typographer — Gill Sans is his most famous typeface — but according to his diaries, he also regularly engaged in sexual relations with his sisters, his daughters, and the family dog.
For some of Gill’s fans, even looking at his work became impossible. Most problematically, he was a Catholic convert who created some of the most popular devotional art of his era, such as the Stations of the Cross in Westminster Cathedral, where worshippers pray at each panel depicting the suffering of Jesus.
These details of Gill’s private life were revealed in a 1989 book by Fiona MacCarthy…here’s a NY Times review of the book soon after it was published.
In the past few weeks, I’ve seen
In the past few weeks, I’ve seen several people mention the 50 Years of Helvetica exhibit at the MoMA along with some variation of “Woo! I might need to take a trip to New York to go see this!” You should know that this exhibit takes up just a small corner of the Architecture and Design Gallery on the 3rd floor…it’s essentially a case and a handful of posters and other specimens. If you’re in the museum already, definitely check it out, but you’ll be disappointed if you make a special expensive trip just to see the Helvetica stuff.
The 2008 version of Pentagram’s big-ass wall calendar
The 2008 version of Pentagram’s big-ass wall calendar is now available, featuring the typefaces of Matthew Carter. If that’s not to your liking, there’s always this calendar by Massimo Vignelli set in, you guessed it, Helvetica.
Jon Hicks has a nice slideshow of
Jon Hicks has a nice slideshow of typography from the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (via waxy) Design Observer did a piece on the typography of Order of the Phoenix becoming its own character.
It is The Daily Prophet which emerges in this film as a secondary character, performing interstitial cameos made all the more exhilarating because the camera sweeps in and out, ricocheting off the page, magnifying and dramatizing a typographic vocabulary that combines a slightly mottled, letterpress-like display face with great portions of illegible calligraphy.
FE-Mittelschrift
Erik Spiekermann on FE-Mittelschrift, the typeface used for German license plates.
The official typeface for our license plates is now called FE-Mittelschrift, with FE meaning it is Fälschungs-Erschwert, i.e. difficult to forge. Apparently car thieves, terrorists and notorious law-breakers had been exploiting DIN’s geometric construction principle and turning E into F or 3 into 8 etc by simply using a bit of black tape or white paint.
Here are all the alphanumeric characters:
Note the tamper-resistant differences between the 6 (no notch) and 9 (notched), the E & F, the I & 1, the O & zero, the P & R, and so on.
Short video piece about fonts and typography,
Short video piece about fonts and typography, featuring Steven Heller, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones. (via quipsologies)
This past weekend, Tobias Frere-Jones led a
This past weekend, Tobias Frere-Jones led a typography tour of lower Manhattan for the AIGA, which I’m sad I missed (out of town guests + didn’t get a ticket in time). Luckily several people have uploaded photos from the tour (set 1, set 2, set 3, set 4), including a shot of one of my favorite lunchtime destinations, the Cup & Saucer. Love that sign (see close up).
Long piece about the changes being made
Long piece about the changes being made to the typography of the US highway signs, switching from Highway Gothic (on which Interstate is based) to Clearview.
The newly designed US$5 bill is the
The newly designed US$5 bill is the worst one yet…the phrase “typographic train wreck” comes to mind. The purple 5 in the lower right, while useful, is one of the most amateur design choices I’ve seen on something that’s destined for such a wide market. (thx, tom)
Justin Quinn’s wonderful typographic art (more here).
Justin Quinn’s wonderful typographic art (more here).
Hand Job
The Morning News has a gallery of pages from Hand Job (@ Amazon), a collection of hand drawn type, and a short interview with its author, Michael Perry. It looks like a gorgeous book; you can find more images from it on Perry’s web site, which is sure to get an unusual influx of visitors searching for non-typography-oriented happy endings..
Tickets for Helvetica’s multi-week run at the
Tickets for Helvetica’s multi-week run at the IFC Center in NYC are on sale now.
Tauba Auerbach: startling starting staring string sting
Tauba Auerbach: startling starting staring string sting sing sin in i. More of her typographic work here.
New web site for Hoefler & Frere-Jones,
New web site for Hoefler & Frere-Jones, the noted and celebrated typeface designers, including a weblog. Subscribed. Oh, and the browser fonts of choice for the meticulous duo? “Lucida Grande, Lucida Sans, Verdana, Georgia, Helvetica, Arial” (thx, jonathan)
Cartype: “A comprehensive collection of reviews and
Cartype: “A comprehensive collection of reviews and study of typographical applications of emblems, car company logos and car logos with images, comments, links, car company information and general interest.”
NYC font fans rejoice…Helvetica (the movie)
NYC font fans rejoice…Helvetica (the movie) will be starting a run at the IFC Center on September 12. My short review of the film is here.
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