From retro showcard display designs, to modern reworkings of classic typefaces, to virtual clones of antique fonts, there are more typeface revivals available to graphic designers today than ever before. Maybe Fred Goudy was right, “The old guys stole all our good ideas.”
Typeface Revivals February 8th, 2010
They’re electronic devices – not books February 1st, 2010
E-books are the hot new electronic device. For those unfamiliar with the frenzy of these new electronic marvels, an E-book, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “an electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a personal computer or hand-held device designed specifically for this purpose.” An E-reader is a lightweight device specifically developed for downloading and displaying these materials page by page. Amazon’s Kindle™ E-reader was the first on the market, Barnes and Noble followed with the Nook™, and there are now over thirty more in one stage or another of development.
Handwriting Fonts January 25th, 2010
Handwriting fonts are hot. In our digital world of zeros and ones, on and off, black and white, handwriting fonts are a bit quirky. They evoke quickly written notes — but more deliberately than a scrawl. We sell a lot of handwriting fonts on Fonts.com and we are considering adding more to our offering.
Unlearned Typography January 18th, 2010
If you think about it, the craft of typography is little more than the combination of three simple things: attention to detail, common sense and visual acuity. Sure, there are typographic rules and guidelines, but they are, for the most part, just based on what is sensible and pleasing to the eye. Learning to identify the parts of a character may increase a designer’s business vocabulary, and knowing the lineage of modern Garamond designs may aid in the choosing of a good modern revival of the face, but the real key to typographic success is basically just “sweating the details” and a simple coordination of mind and eye.
“What’s new?” January 11th, 2010
“What’s new?” We’re asked this question daily. A friend might find out about a new love interest. A relative could learn about a new limb on the family tree.
Want to be able to tell a fellow designer what the hot new typeface is? It just might be possible.
It’s about Papyrus – again January 5th, 2010
It is abundantly clear that the cognoscenti of the type and graphic design communities love to hate the Papyrus™ typeface. While not as reviled as the Comic Sans® typeface, Papyrus receives more than its fair share of bad press.
Sure, it’s overused, but that doesn’t make it a bad design – just popular. And Papyrus does tend to show up in less than stellar graphic design solutions – but, if this is the reason for supposedly sophisticated designers reviling the design, it smacks of elitism.
A Must Read August 27th, 2009
What do designers need to know in order to work with both Latin and Arabic typography? Plenty.
For a myriad of reasons, the western world has become aware of and, hopefully, more sensitive to the Arabic culture. As a result, graphic communicators in the western world are being asked to add insight into Arabic culture and graphic communication to their creative palette. This, however, is clearly easier said than done.
Triumphing over Technology August 10th, 2009
Fonts for metal and early phototypesetting machines like the Linotype and Monotype had to be created within a crude system of predetermined character width values. Every letter had to fit within, and have its spacing determined by, a grid of only 18 units. This meant that if the ideal proportions of a particular character did not fit within a subset of these 18 units, it had to be altered so that it did.
Typography For Everyone August 4th, 2009
There a hundreds of Web sites dedicated to improving typographic communication. Some are directed to graphic designers, some to students, some to Web designers, but today I ran across the first (to my knowledge) typographic guide dedicated to lawyers.
Font Software: Pirates & Innocent Victims July 20th, 2009
Most graphic designers don’t deliberately steal fonts. But there are a number of ways that a graphic designer can run afoul of ethics and the law when it comes to fonts – without even being aware of these pitfalls. One of the most prevalent is purchasing fonts from a site that sells them illegally.