My copy of Elliot Jay Stocks’ new magazine, 8 Faces, just arrived in the post this morning. I was lucky enough to snag a copy during the short period before it sold out. Given the nature of the online typography community, I had a feeling the limited print run would be snapped up in short order. There is still a pdf available for purchase if you’re interested.
The magazine is devoted to typography, asking eight leading designers which typefaces they would use if they were limited to just eight for the rest of their lifetime. It features interviews with Erik Spiekermann, Jessica Hische, Ian Coyle, Jason Santa Maria, Jos Buivenga, Jon Tan and Bruce Willen & Nolen Strals. It also features an introduction by John Boardley and artwork by Able Parris (available for download).
I’ve had the pdf sitting around for a couple weeks, but have avoided reading it, because I wanted to see the magazine in print first. Can’t say that I’m disappointed for waiting, there’s been a lot of care and effort put into it. Elliot has written an article about his experiences with getting it published. The magazine is gorgeous and I’m looking forward to sitting down and reading the entire thing.
Paul Shaw picks the ten typefaces of the decade.
It is not a list of my favorite typefaces, nor is it a list of the most popular typefaces. Instead, it is a list of typefaces that have been “important” for one reason or another. However, I am not going to provide my reasons. Instead, I am going to let the readers of this blog see if they can figure out the contribution that each of these ten faces makes. This list is not definitive. It is only a suggestion. There are several other typefaces I reluctantly jettisoned because I wanted to keep the list small.
As with any such list, there are bound to be those who agree and disagree with the typefaces. He provides the rationale for each of his choices in one of the comments.
I am not a big fan of a number of faces on my list–some I detest and others I just find ugly–which is why it is not a list about popularity or about aesthetics but about something more elusive. There is a bias in my list toward typefaces that are functional, experimental or somehow the “first”.
Typekit and Google have teamed up to create the open-source WebFont Loader. The software can make use of Typekit’s extensive library, Google’s new collection of webfonts or it can be self-hosted.
The Beauty of Typography: Writing Systems and Calligraphy of the World. An extensive introduction to a number of non-Western writing systems.
This recent image of typesetters, from Shorpy, reminded me of a photo that I took at the National Print Museum in Dublin awhile back. It was of a boy’s indenture agreement to serve as an apprentice compositor in a Letterpress shop. Highlights of seven years service include: no fornicating, gambling or frequenting of ale-houses. I’ve transcribed the document and made the text available.
A beginner’s guide to OpenType, a good overview if you’re not familiar. Being a late-comer to the world of print design, I have to admit that I’m a fan of OpenType and what you can do with it in InDesign.
So you need a typeface? A fun flowchart for picking a typeface from Julian Hansen.
For his new book, Al Gore wanted some tweaks to the typeface.
“You see, Al is really involved with the project and we spend a lot of time working together in the publisher’s office. When he was reviewing the proofs, he had a comment about the typeface. Basically, he wants you to change the numeral one.”
As a result, there is an updated version of Brioni now available.
5 Dutch Type Designers was the first FontFont specimen, published in 1990. There’s a PDF of the original Dutch version available for download, as well as some commentary and recollections.
A Typeface for the Underground takes an in-depth look at the history of the Johnston typeface used by Transport for London. You might also be interested in Ken Garland’s book, Mr Beck’s Underground map, detailing the history of a design icon.
Ministry of Type takes a look at the typography and layouts of Playboy, particularly those from the 50s and 60s. The magazine has put about fifty years of archives online, although the interface is a bit kludgey.
Mistakes in typography grate the purists from the NYT.
“I think sometimes that being overly type-sensitive is like an allergy,” said Michael Bierut, a partner in the Pentagram design group in New York. “My font nerdiness makes me have bad reactions to things that spoil otherwise pleasant moments.”
I’m not at the anaphylactic stage of typographic allergy yet — more the sniffly, dry and itchy eyes sort of thing.
Letters from the Hellbox is an irregular column from Martin McClellan on typographers.
I was watching My Man Godfrey and was struck by the title sequence and its use of typography. Older films generally have the credits first, this one is no different in that respect, but the integration into the film is quite phenomenal — the camera pans across a cityscape, with the cast, crew and title, displayed as blinking signage. The film is now in the public domain, and available for viewing on Google video or download from the Internet Archive.
On a somewhat related note, I thought the title sequence for Bored to Death was quite well done. Although, it’s more in the vein of typography as illustration.
Update: Added graphics from two title sequences. Also thought I’d take a moment to mention Christian’s Movie Title Stills again, which I linked to earlier.
