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Volume 16 — Something New And More Of The Same Great Stuff 27 January 2012

by Allan Haley

You may notice something different in the last two issues of U&lc Volume Sixteen. The table of contents, that normally ran on page one of each issue, is moved back several pages to make way for advertising. Letraset, primarily known as the premier provider of dry transfer lettering the 1970s and 1980s, had acquired ITC just a couple of years earlier – and the ads were for the company’s new line of design software and plug-ins.

I remember the general manager of Letraset in North American at the time telling me that fonts were a “mature” product with little hope for growth. “The future,” he said, “is in software. ITC’s main function will be to serve as a conduit to provide graphic designers with Letraset design software.” He didn’t realize that fonts were also quickly becoming software available to a much wider audience than he imagined. Which is why the folks that founded Monotype Imaging purchased ITC, and its typefaces, in 2000, even though it was abandoned by Letraset and reduced to a shell of its former self. Today, new typefaces are added to the ITC Library on a regular basis and it’s fonts are seen in everything from websites to smart phones – in addition to traditional hardcopy environments.

Along with the increase in advertising, U&lc continued its tradition of announcing new ITC typefaces. After many years and very many requests, a suite of italic designs was announced for the ITC American Typewriter™ family. Two new scripts, the ITC Flora™, and ITC Isadora™ designs by Gerard Unger and Kris Holmes respectively, were also announced in the same issue. The ITC Giovanni™ family, from Robert Slimbach, was first shown in Volume Sixteen Number Three, and a revival and extension of William Morris’ Golden Type by a team of young designers, Helge Jorgensen, Sigrid Engelmann, Bildende Künste and Andy Newton, as the ITC Golden Type™ family was announced in Volume Sixteen Number Four.

Also featured in the pages of Volume Sixteen were articles on the lettering artist, Michael Doret, a retrospective by Steven Heller of the Broadway caricaturist Al Hirschfeld – and a piece that provided insight into the Japanese love of Roman letters.

Click the PDFs below to find out what else was in U&lc Volume Sixteen.

Low Resolution:

Volume 16–1 (Low Res).pdf (12.9 MB)

Volume 16–2 (Low Res).pdf (11.4 MB)

Volume 16–3 (Low Res).pdf (12.1 MB)

Volume 16–4 (Low Res).pdf (12.5 MB)

High Resolution:

Volume 16–1.pdf (62.5 MB)

Volume 16–2.pdf (60.9 MB)

Volume 16–3.pdf (62.7 MB)

Volume 16–4.pdf (65.2 MB)

 

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U&lc Volume Fifteen — Color! 28 December 2011

by Allan Haley

After 14 years of issues in just black and white, in 1988, color finally appeared on the pages of U&lc. It was only used on the first and last four pages of the publication, and its implementation was pretty timid – but it was a start. There were also four typeface release announcements in U&lc’s Volume Fifteen and a coterie of articles bejeweled with exceptional typography and brilliant illustrations.

After years of requesting, negotiating and downright pleading, we were finally given the OK to use color in the pages of U&lc. While we reveled in the ability to finally use more that just black ink, the first implementation of color could only be described as sedate. Future issues of U&lc, however, would take full advantage of the new capabilities.

The first of the “Letter” series, which traced the history of the letters in the Latin alphabet, appeared in Volume Fifteen, Number One, and the ITC typeface review board was announced in the following issue. Actually, ITC had a review board to help determine what typefaces were added to its typeface library from the very beginning but, because of growing reader inquiries about how ITC determines what typefaces to produce, we thought that it would be good to introduce the board members and explain the review process to the readers of U&lc.

Four sets of typefaces were also announced in the pages of Volume Fifteen: the ITC Panache®, ITC Jamille® and ITC Stone® families from Vince Pacella, Mark Jamra and Sumner Stone; and a suite of the first ITC Arabic typefaces from Mourad Boutros. Sumner Stone and Mourad Boutros continue to design typefaces for ITC and Monotype Imaging.

While U&lc featured the work of many illustrators in its pages, the drawings of Murray Tinkelman tended to show up with marked frequency. This was because Tinkelman is not only a terrific illustrator but also drew on some particularly intriguing topics for his work. His drawings of fellow illustrators, graphic designers, for the “Varoom, Varoom, Varoom, Varoom. Pussycats on Bikes?” article in the first issue of Volume Fifteen, is a case in point.

Click the PDFs below to find out what else was in U&lc Volume Fifteen.

Low Resolution:

Volume 15–1 (Low Res).pdf (13.9 MB)

Volume 15–2 (Low Res).pdf (14.3 MB)

Volume 15–3 (Low Res).pdf (13.9 MB)

Volume 15–4 (Low Res).pdf (12.7 MB)

High Resolution:

Volume 15–1.pdf (61.9 MB)

Volume 15–2.pdf (69.1 MB)

Volume 15–3.pdf (65.0 MB)

Volume 15–4.pdf (61.2 MB)

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Rabenau 15 December 2011

by Allan Haley

Axel Bertram’s Rabenau™ typeface family – over 20 years in the making – masterfully combines neoclassical, baroque and calligraphic design traditions. Rabenau is harmonious, versatile and rich in typographic refinement.

Bertram has developed alphabets for magazines, television, branding – and even typewriters. However, none of these designs has been available commercially, as all of them are custom typefaces drawn for specific projects or corporate clients. In the mid 1990s, in addition to his on-going freelance projects, Bertram began work on a personal venture, which has culminated in the Rabenau typeface family.

Gestation, Evolution, Collaboration

Initially, Bertram intended simply to create a typeface for his own use in book design and related projects. Over several years, as he used the typeface, Bertram continued to refine character shapes and proportions, subtly adjusting individual letters. He reconsidered the structure of every detail, from counters and stroke terminals to serifs, in the interest of making the design appealing for a wide range of applications.

Well into the project, Bertram began working closely with calligrapher and type designer Andreas Frohloff, a collaboration that ultimately expanded Rabenau into a family of 16 designs – completing the transformation from a labor of love, to personal statement, to commercial product.

A Family For All Seasons

Bertram and Frohloff have given Rabenau a broad repertoire of weights and styles. The regular, book, semibold and bold weights each have italic complements. Four condensed designs, in addition to three very bold “poster” weights and a “shadow,” give the family remarkable versatility. Pronounced stroke contrast is maintained throughout the heavier weights, providing a distinctive sparkle, even at large sizes. Rabenau’s large x-height, bracketed serifs and ample proportions also ensure exceptional performance at small sizes.

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U&lc Volume Fourteen — Cool Covers, More Families & Daniel Pelavin 30 November 2011

by Allan Haley

There were only three issues of U&lc in Volume Fourteen but, from cover to last page, each was packed with great content for lovers of type, lettering and typography.  New typefaces were announced, more “families” were written about, antique crafts were celebrated, and an illustrator – soon to become a type designer and illustrator – was introduced to the readers of U&lc.

The Cover of U&lc Volume Fourteen, Number One, is the result of a three-month labor of love. The accompanying feature on the work of Ray Morrone should be a delight for lovers of type, lettering, and Spencerian scripts. What he produced with a Gillott® 290 pen was pure magic. An article on antique type specimen books and the annoucement of the ITC Pacella™ typeface family also make this issue a great read.

The illustrations of Daniel Pelavin are showcased in Volume Fourteen, Number Two. The next time Pelavin is written about in U&lc is when his first commercial typeface, the ITC Anna™ family, was announced. Pelavin continues to draw alphabets and create dynamic illustrations today.

Volume Fourteen, Number Three, carried the first U&lc cover designed by me. OK, the terrific illustration is from painter, Robert Heindel whose exceptional work is synonymous with the world of ballet; but the little typography in the upper right corner of the page is mine. The ITC Tiepolo™ family from Cynthia Hollandsworth and Arthur Baker also made its debut Volume Fourteen, Number Three. They drew many more typefaces. I didn’t do any more U&lc covers.

The dancing d’Amboises, Brothers Grim and hockey’s Gordie Howe and sons were featured in the Families to Remember series in Volume Fourteen – along with the ITC Eras®, ITC Benguiat® and ITC Korinna® typeface families.

 

Click the PDFs below to find out what else was in U&lc Volume Fourteen.

Low Resolution:

Volume 14–1 (Low Res).pdf (14.3 MB)

Volume 14–2 (Low Res).pdf (12.1 MB)

Volume 14–3 (Low Res).pdf (14.5 MB)

High Resolution:

Volume 14–1.pdf (64.1 MB)

Volume 14–2.pdf (58.3 MB)

Volume 14–3.pdf (71.0 MB)

 

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Comments {1} | Posted in Type for Mobile, Type for Print, Type for Web

U&lc Volume Thirteen — Three Special Typefaces 28 October 2011

by Allan Haley

ITC announced three new typeface families in the issues of Volume Thirteen of U&lc. In addition, four new additions to the Families To Remember series were published and the Milestones series continued with a feature article on Monotype’s Stanley Morison. Examples of great illustration also continued to enliven the publication.

The ITC Goudy Sans®, ITC Gamma® and ITC Slimbach® typefaces made important debuts in the pages of U&lc. With the announcement of ITC Slimbach, ITC introduced a new typeface designer – as well as a new typeface family – to the graphic design community. Robert Slimbach’s self-stated goal in drawing his first commercial typeface was “to design a contemporary text typeface with a progressive look; a typeface which was a balance of innovation, clarity and legibility.” From this beginning, Slimbach has become one of the luminaries of the craft of type design. He has won many awards for his typefaces, including the rarely awarded Charles Peignot Award from the Association Typographique Internationale, and repeated TDC2 awards from the Type Directors Club.

ITC Gamma takes its name from the third letter of the Greek alphabet. Coincidentally (or not), ITC Gamma is the third ITC release from the type designer Jovica Veljovic. His earlier ITC Veljovic® and ITC Esprit® typefaces were based on classic roman letterforms. Such is the case with ITC Gamma, but the crispness and obvious calligraphic influences of Veljovic’s previous typefaces have been replaced with softer, more studied, shapes.

One of the most original and distinctive sans serif typefaces of the early 20th century was drawn by Frederic Goudy. In 1929, the Lanston Monotype Company challenged Goudy to create a sans serif different from the norm. Drawing from Roman lapidary inscriptions, Goudy crafted a type design that was less formal than existing sans serifs, with a cursive italic rather than the more common obliqued roman.

In many ways, Goudy’s sans serif was more modern than the geometric designs of the time. Well-known typographer and typographic historian Robert Bringhurst wrote, “ITC Goudy Sans is the spiritual father of several recent sans serifs, including Erik Spiekermann’s FF Meta® and ITC Officina™ Sans typefaces – and like them, it is not quite as sans as the name suggests.”

The ITC Goudy Sans family has had four distinct “growth spurts” over the years. Goudy originally created the three designs of heavy, light, and light italic for metal typesetting. Many years later, Compugraphic Corp. revived Goudy’s original work for photocomposition. Several improvements were made to the original design, and three more faces were added to the family. In 1986, ITC re-released the design under a license agreement with Compugraphic, and the family was enlarged again to its present size of four weights and corresponding italics.

Click the PDFs below to find out what else was in U&lc Volume Thirteen.

Low Resolution:

Volume 13–1 (Low Res).pdf (16.3 MB)

Volume 13–2 (Low Res).pdf (16.2 MB)

Volume 13–3 (Low Res).pdf (16.2 MB)

Volume 13–4 (Low Res).pdf (14.5 MB)

High Resolution:

Volume 13–1.pdf (69.9 MB)

Volume 13–2.pdf (70.9 MB)

Volume 13–3.pdf (77.3 MB)

Volume 13–4.pdf (69.7 MB)

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Comments {3} | Posted in Type for Mobile, Type for Print, Type for Web

Monotype Imaging co-hosting “The New Web Typography” event with AIGA Chicago 3 October 2011

by Bill Davis

Attention all design professionals in the Chicago area! Monotype Imaging is proud to be a co-sponsor of “The New Web Typography” — an evening seminar to be held this Thursday, Oct. 6. It promises to be an inspiring and educational session to explore the world of Web fonts and typography on the Web.

Hosted by AIGA Chicago, this event will feature a panel discussion moderated by Bill Davis of Monotype Imaging with Jackson Cavanaugh of Okay Type, Erik Vorhes of VSA Partners, David Demaree of Typekit and Nick Sherman of The Font Bureau.

This event will be held at The McCormick Tribune Campus Center on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago from 6–10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011.

AIGA Chicago web fonts event on October 6, 2011

For more information visit: http://www.aigachicago.org/events/new-web-typography.

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U&lc Volume Twelve: The Danger of Predictions 21 September 2011

by Allan Haley

Ed Gottschall’s editorial column in Volume Twelve number One of U&lc stated, “… As ITC moves through its 15th year, it is appropriate to consider how the world of typography has changed since 1970 and where we believe it is heading by the year 2000.” Gottschall goes on to write about how he believes that millions of people in offices around the world will be using typefaces like the Helvetica® or ITC Garamond™ designs, instead of typewriter faces. While Gottschall was correct about that prediction, he could not have known that Monotype Imaging would also acquire ITC in 2000.

In Volume Twelve Number Four, Gottschall provided an additional view into the future in his “ITC’s Technology Update.” In the article, he writes about over two-dozen companies that were on the cutting-edge of technological change in graphic communications. Of these, only six are still in business. Apple® was one of the six – but it was only given four lines of copy in the 1985 article.

Three new typefaces were also announced in the pages of Volume Twelve, the ITC Mixage™, ITC Élan™ and ITC Esprit™ designs. They are all around today.

Steven Heller, who was recently awarded Smithsonian Institution’s National Design Award for “Design Mind”, and attended the White House luncheon hosted by Michelle Obama, along with fellow NDA winner – and Lifetime Achievement recipient – Matthew Carter, was one of the contributing writers to Volume Twelve. Heller continued to contribute to U&lc for many more years.

Click the PDFs below to find out what else was in U&lc Volume Twelve.

Low Resolution:

Volume 12–1 (Low Res).pdf (15.3 MB)

Volume 12–2 (Low Res).pdf (16.7 MB)

Volume 12–3 (Low Res).pdf (16.1 MB)

Volume 12–4 (Low Res).pdf (17.0 MB)

High Resolution:

Volume 12–1.pdf (69.3 MB)

Volume 12–2.pdf (77.1 MB)

Volume 12–3.pdf (73.8 MB)

Volume 12–4.pdf (76.3 MB)

 

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@Font-face: Brand Identity for the Cross-Device Digital Medium 24 August 2011

by Alan Tam

Face it – the explosion of rich multimedia, social networks and mobile applications have left you up in arms in establishing a consistent brand, let alone an identity, across a vast and fragmented digital medium. The abundance of rich video content, the extensive and complex array of mobile apps across mobile OS and marketplaces, and the proliferation of social media and networks (like Facebook and Twitter) have made it increasingly challenging to establish a cohesive and consistent, yet distinctive identity and brand online.

With the introduction of HTML5, organizations are presented with a plethora of new and exciting opportunities to address and tackle the challenges. One of the most simple, prominent and elegant components that will be supported in HTML5 is Web fonts via @font-face with CSS3. Web fonts are already supported in browsers today via @font-face with CSS (to learn more about the history and current implementations of @font-face, click here). Web fonts are by far one of the easiest and most crucial elements that can help organizations achieve a consistent brand online across platforms and devices. If fact, if you distill the essence of a brand or identity down to its most basic level, it starts with the typeface. The type builds the name, the type builds the logo, the type builds the brand and identity.

While delivering a consistent brand across mediums in the non-digital world has been achieved through hundreds of years of technology and development, the same cannot be said for the digital medium – yet. HTML5 will be the first vehicle that will standardize the proliferation of Web fonts via the @font-face CSS across digital mediums, across all devices and platforms. Through @font-face, Web fonts will enable brands to establish and deliver a consistent identity online that extends from the desktop to tablets to mobile devices in various use cases that can include the following:

In addition to broad and consistent reach across devices, the adoption of Web fonts also brings the following benefits to the use cases:

  • Full searchability by Find (ctrl/command-F)
  • Accessibility to assistive technologies like screen readers
  • Text is translatable, through in-browser translation or translation services
  • CSS has full ability to tweak the typographical display: line-height, letter-spacing, text-shadow, text-align, and selectors like ::first-letter and ::first-line

While HTML5 nears final ratification, it can be assured that the surge of innovation will drive accelerated adoption and implementation of the new standard by Web browsers, leading first with mobile and tablet platforms and followed shortly by the desktop. This will be one of the first, if not the first, web standard that will be driven from mobile to desktop as consumer engagement with digital content shifts (or has shifted) more toward tablet and mobile devices than the desktops, creating an even a greater sense of urgency for businesses to develop and extend a consistent brand and identity across the fragmented mobile environment.

Monotype Imaging has been on the forefront of delivering desktop and Web fonts to brands, enabling them to extend their trusted identity consistently across digital and non-digital mediums and across a variety of use cases. Take a look at some of the market leading brands who are already leveraging Web fonts today:

Honda CR-ZHonda CR-Z
Hershey'sHershey’s
HyundaiHyundai
TCBYTCBY
TravelSmartTravelSmart
PoweradePowerade
Coke and PepsiCoke & Pepsi
TobleroneToblerone
McLarenMcLaren
Historic Hotels of AmericaHistoric Hotels of America

And many more!

To learn more about how Web fonts can help your business or to choose the Web fonts best for you, please visit webfonts.fonts.com.

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U&lc Volume Eleven: Two Important Firsts 23 August 2011

by Allan Haley

Volume Eleven of U&lc is chock full of great examples of typographic design, calligraphy and illustration. In addition, the first commercial typeface of Jovica Veljovic was announced in Volume Eleven Number One and ITC released its first typeface that was the result of a collaboration of artistry and technology in Volume Eleven Number Four.

Jovica Veljovic was living in the former Yugoslavia when Aaron Burns, the president of ITC, met him. Upon seeing the young calligrapher’s work, Burns immediately realized that he was in the presence of exceptional talent and encouraged Veljovic to take up typeface design. The ITC Veljovic™ typeface family was first of many he drew for ITC. In his storied career, Veljovic went on to develop typefaces for Adobe and Linotype. Although he spends much of his time today teaching typography and type design near his home in Hamburg, Veljovic continues to add to his body of work. Monotype Imaging has recently made his newest designs, the ITC New Esprit™, Libelle™ and Veljovic Script™ typefaces, available.

The release of the ITC Leawood™ family was another milestone for ITC. It was the first ITC typeface design where software technology played an important role in the development process. Canadian designer Leslie Usherwood had drawn only a few italic and roman characters for Leawood before his fatal heart attack in 1983. Designers at Usherwood’s studio, however, were able to complete a basic character set in light and bold weights of the family. ITC turned these renderings over to URW, a German firm that developed one of the first digital font production technologies. With close design direction by ITC, URW’s technicians, using the company’s Ikarus™ software, finalized the four-weight family of ITC Leawood.

With articles on William Dwiggins, Frederic Goudy, Eric Gill and John Baskerville, my “Typographic Milestone” series was also in full swing in Volume Eleven. During the next few years, over a dozen more biographical sketches of significant contributors to the typographic arts were added to the series.

Click the PDFs below to find out what else was in U&lc Volume Eleven.

Low Resolution:

Volume 11–1 (Low Res).pdf (14.3 MB)

Volume 11–2 (Low Res).pdf (13.8 MB)

Volume 11–3 (Low Res).pdf (19.6 MB)

Volume 11–4 (Low Res).pdf (15.1 MB)

High Resolution:

Volume 11–1.pdf (76.9 MB)

Volume 11–2.pdf (50.2 MB)

Volume 11–3.pdf (88.7 MB)

Volume 11–4.pdf (70.8 MB)

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Comments {2} | Posted in Type for Mobile, Type for Print, Type for Web

Branding Through Custom Typography by Steve Matteson – a free HOW DesignCast 12 August 2011

by Mark Larson

Steve MattesonPlease join us Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 4:00 p.m. eastern time for a presentation from renowned type designer Steve Matteson. Steve serves as our creative type director and may be best known for typefaces he has designed for Microsoft and Google.

Typefaces are a critical tool for creating a brand voice. Used properly, type will maintain a positive connection between a product and a user – particularly in an interactive setting. Steve will discuss why type is important, the type design process and challenges faced in creating typefaces for electronic media.

Steve had the honor to give this presentation at the recent InHouse Managers Conference in Chicago, and has been asked by HOW to deliver an encore.

The presentation will begin at 4:00 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, Aug. 16. Register here.

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