MetaFilter posts tagged with typography

Talking about Type

Mngo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:42:41 -0800

Type Design on the Radio. TTBOOK (previously) does an hour-long program about typography (podcast here, RM stream here). Segments include interviews with Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones of Gotham fame (they say their "Obama Font" worked best of those in the campaign; others agree), a Verdana-centric interview with Matthew Carter (he comments on the IKEA kerfluffle), and interview Kitty Burns Florey, author of Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Handwriting . The podcast link will age out, but archives should be available here as a stream. The discussion is very non-technical.

Gimme a ...

HumanComplex — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:48:07 -0800

The Daily Drop Cap is an ongoing project by typographer and illustrator Jessica Hische. Each day (or at least each WORK day), a new hand-crafted decorative initial cap will be posted for your enjoyment and for the beautification of blog posts everywhere.

Which One Is the Original?

netbros — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:47:49 -0800

So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica? Take 20 logos that were originally designed in Helvetica, and redo them in Arial. Some people would call that blasphemy. Instead, call it a challenge: can you tell which is the original and which is the remake?

One space after the period, please.

thebestsophist — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:32:51 -0800

Read Between the Leading, is a podcast for those with a love of good design and typography hosted by two students from SCAD. Season two just started with an interview with brand designer, David Airey, previous episodes of RBtL include discussions on information visualization, the future of web design with Jason Santa Maria (previously), speculative work and why graphic design is serious business (previously). So far, the show has 22 episodes, including:

An interview with John Boardley from ILoveTypography (previously: 1, 2, 3, 4).
Stephen Coles of Typographica (previously: 1, 2, 3)
Nick Sherman from MyFonts (previously: 1, 2, 3).
Veronika and Jose from TypeTogether, whom worked on expanding the character set for Helvetica.

If that's not enough typography for you, many other new type oriented sites have cropped up the last few months, including Typedia, a new resource for anyone trying to look for background information on a typeface or type foundry. WeLoveTypography, a sort of FFFFound for type, and read about major progress in web typography and how the web is expanding beyond Arial, Georgia, and Verdana.

Design Do's and Don'ts

netbros — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:16:27 -0800

The Design Cubicle articles focus on design tips and resources on all subjects of design; ranging from print, web, logo, branding, advertising and marketing. Popular articles include 10 Common Typography Mistakes and understanding the importance of good type skills; and 12 Common Photoshop Mistakes and Malpractice. The strategies behind designing a successful and memorable logo involve a process which progresses through various stages of listening, research, development, feedback and changes. 11 Steps of a Successful Logo Design Process.

the bee's knees

quoquo — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:49:23 -0800

A talented Slovenian typographer creates the first handmade subpixel type family, ever.

Helveticise your web experience

acb — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:19:04 -0800

Love Helvetica and modernist typographic design? Seen the film? Now, with the power of browser userscripts, you can have the 20th-century high-modernist experience in your favourite web applications. Scripts exist to Helveticise Gmail, Twitter and Google Reader, and work with a variety of modern browsers. Of course, you'll need to provide your own copy of Helvetica; Arial is not quite the same.

Amass Blog

OmieWise — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:31:26 -0800

AMASSBLOG my name is james phillips williams. most everyone calls me jp. i have been a designer in new york for 20 years. i started this blog at the urging of my friends and fellow designers who were familiar with my manic collecting. my collections are varied but generally have to do with typography or design.

Ornate Letter Directory

yegga — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:51:30 -0800

Ornate Letter Directory

Ikea de-Futurafies

joeclark — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:26:20 -0800

Ikea de-Futurafies. You may have noticed something at once familiar and unfamiliar about the 2009 Ikea catalogue: The company switched from a custom variant of Futura to the font you stare at all day in your browser, Verdana. And type nerds are losing their shit! Verdana is now being used company-wide – even for double-page newspaper ads and illegal urban graffiti campaigns. “They want to be able to give the same visual impression both in print and the Web,” says a report.

Times New Starling

ocherdraco — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:32:14 -0800

The unexpected (possible) history of the world's most famous typeface. Mike Parker, former head of typographic development at Morgenthaler Linotype, has challenged the standard history of Times New Roman. The typeface, Parker claims, wasn't designed by "the great persuader" Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent of Monotype in 1931, but rather thirteen years earlier by an American, William Starling Burgess, an airplane and yacht designer, published poet, and naval architect who married five times and whose daughter, also named Starling Burgess, described him as “a bird of paradise in a family of English sparrows.” By the time of that statement, she no longer shared his name, but had become the celebrated children's author Tasha Tudor. (via)

The London 7/7 Memorial

joeclark — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:23:57 -0800

Stelae for 7/7. The London 7/7 Memorial consists of “52 pillars (or ‘stelae’), cast in rough textured stainless steel, each representing one of the victims” of the 2005 terrorist bombing attack. Typographer Phil Baines (profile) explains the development of the rough-hewn yet “British” typeface, based on “the 19th-century, untutored signmakers’ sansserif you see on buildings around the city,” that is moulded into the living steel.

Google Earth Typography

parudox — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:26:25 -0800

The alphabet in satellite imagery of Slavonia. [via]

Type Tart Cards

carsonb — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:32:02 -0800

Tart cards [NSFW] are the means by which many London prostitutes advertise their services. Step into almost any central London phone box and you can contemplate up to 80 cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged.... [Wallpaper Magazine] asked designers – from students to superstars – to find the tart hiding in every typeface and create their own graphic numbers.... all 450 cards can be viewed here. [NSFW]

In among this plethora of brilliant, witty graphic designs we would like to highlight the serious issue that lies at the heart of the world of tart cards – the plight of trafficked women in the sex industry. It is a subject touched eloquently on by Mike Dempsey of Studio Dempsey, who is a volunteer at the Helen Bamber Foundation which helps rebuild lives broken by human rights violations. While our exhibition is an ode to the graphic qualities of the tart card phenomena, Dempsey's design is a pertinent reminder of the sinister world that lies beneath every card.

Read Mike Dempsey's letter and design.

You've Been Served

netbros — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:43:43 -0800

The Served is a family of sites that brings you a steady supply of top quality creative work in specific categories: Fashion, Industrial Design, Photography [some nsfw], Typography, and Motion Graphics. All projects are streamed directly from the owner's portfolios in the Behance Network, along with proper attribution and a direct link to contact information.

The Journal of Business and Design

netbros — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:02:49 -0800

@Issue: is the online blog of The Journal of Business and Design. Topics of recent interest include Drawords, an ongoing caption this drawing project, and Typography in China, an explanation of the availability of Chinese typefaces. Also, @Issue interviews an iconic group that includes captains of industry and design.

Typographic Mobiles

netbros — Sat, 30 May 2009 10:55:09 -0800

"I want our type to jump, scream, whisper and dance..." Ebon Heath and His Visual Poetry. "When I close my eyes I can see the words of great poets like Rakem or Tupac flying thru the air and dancing with the same physicality my body instinctually feels. My mobiles attempt to create a visual sense of rhythm and flow that is alive, not contained." This interview with Heath breaks down his Stereo.type and Purge projects. From the folks at Yatzer.com.

Penrose Review of Graphic Arts

the cuban — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:15:57 -0800

From 1895 to 1982 the Penrose Annual showcased typography and graphic design.

SHAPES AND COLORS

The Whelk — Sat, 09 May 2009 20:38:07 -0800

Graphic Design Is: 50 Designs About Graphic Design

The H&FJ Institute for Unapplied Mathematics

netbros — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:27:28 -0800

Joe Palca, a science correspondent for NPR's Morning Edition, was meditating on the best way to convey the magnitude of the world's largest known prime number, 2^43112609-1. He contacted H&FJ at Typography.com to discuss the implications of typesetting a number with more than twelve million digits. Crunching of numbers and fonts ensued.

You Are My Type

netbros — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:23:09 -0800

The Ministry of Type is a weblog about type, typography, lettering, calligraphy and other related things. The FontFeed, from the folks at FontShop, is a daily dispatch of recommended fonts, typography techniques, and inspirational examples of digital type at work in the real world. Articles of interest in the archives include: Passenger and pedestrian symbols created in the early 20th Century; as part of the Isotype project set up by Otto Neurath to provide information to the often-illiterate proletariat. Central to banknote designs are Guilloche patterns, which can be created mechanically with a geometric lathe, or more likely these days, mathematically. Travel posters promoting travel to exotic eras and destinations, such as the Crimson Canyons of Mars, Tranquil Miranda, or the Winter Wonderland of the Ice Age. It’s not just the latest font technology, but also the most advanced, poised to replace the old TrueType and PostScript formats. Embrace the open type hype. The best contemporary handwriting typefaces in various writing styles — from print to cursive, simple to swashy. Sometimes, flat just doesn’t cut it, and we need to find other, more attractive ways to present designs. Tutorial: Photorealistic Perspective

Andy Smith draws real good

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:01:15 -0800

Can't talk, too busy looking at Andy Smith's art and typography

I had always wanted to do this

Rinku — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:26:48 -0800

Make your handwriting into a font with Yourfonts. Download the PDF, draw your alphabet, scan and upload, then download the finished result. Examples. Via Drawn!

Post No Bills

camcgee — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:38:09 -0800

"The Journal of Urban Typography is dedicated to the documentation and study of signs, word fragments, and typography created with utilitarian intent in urban environments." Just a Tumblr site but interesting nontheless.

Alchemistry

cthuljew — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:24:16 -0800

Despite some rather interesting biographical information, Iridius’s interest in typographical symbols is noteworthy, especially the section on alchemical ones.