Even if your are into typography, attending other design events should come in handy, especially since types are usually an important part. To smoothly sail through the hundreds of events around the world, at the beginning of this year Dezeen launched an online guide to the key architecture and design events in 2013: World Design Guide. It’s easy to use, saves time, and you can search for events by date, name or location. There’s even a secret bonus to this map of events: learning some geography. As we’re approaching the end of May, today we take a closer look at some of the events taking place in June. It should give everybody enough time to pack and plan in advance. In June, it looks like Europe will be the main attraction for designers. The Balkans get busy with a couple of design weeks. Belgrade Design Week (Serbia) is a three-day-long conference with speakers from south-eastern Europe and beyond, plus workshops, master classes and design exhibitions. In Sofia (Bulgaria), their Design Week will include city-wide talks, exhibitions and installations providing a platform for Bulgarian designers to present their work and an insight into the design scene in the Balkans. In Basel (Switzerland) you can join Design Basel/Miami, a collectors’ fair that features selling exhibitions by galleries from around the world plus one-off installations, talks and events. This event conveniently coincides with the Art Basel fair. In Berlin (Germany), it will be time for DMY, when graduates and young brands from over 30 countries present work in the hangars of the former Tempelhof airport. There is also a topical program of talks and lively parties. Design Week Kortrijk (Belgium) takes place towards the end of June and is the largest exhibition of graduate work by design students in Flanders, plus Belgian companies and industrial designers showcase their latest products. London Festival of Architecture starts in June, but ends in July. It’s a playful two-week programme of events, installations and exhibitions that show what architects have to offer to London’s communities. How about heading south? Barcelona Design Week is part two of Barcelona Design Festival, promoting design to the public through talks, exhibitions and open studios with a focus on Catalan designers and companies. At the end of May, beginning of June, is time for Habitat Expo, Mexico’s largest design fair encompassing products for hospitality, offices and the residential market. It also features a conference programme about Mexican interior design. Forget about weeks, Austrians like to organize Design Months. It happens as we speak in Ganz. This annual festival has a more international emphasis this year. Attractions include fashion shows, concerts and installations. Romanian Design Week takes place these days in Bucharest. Ştirbei Palace hosts a central exhibition while student shows, workshops and parties take place around the city. But there’s much more. So, pack those adventure fonts, and start designing your summer.    

Our increased appetite for big screen and small screen entertainment has only been doubled by our appetite for typography in this field. In today’s round-up we stare into the small screen, that’s how we brought together a few classic sitcoms, a couple of new and very popular ones, plus enough TV series to keep us hooked for years (sometimes decades) in a row. Now let’s see how those headline fonts make promotion run smoothly: Sherlock Doctor Who Elementary Arrested Development Cheers Friends Episodes 3rd Rock from the Sun The New Normal Curb Your Enthusiasm The Office Seinfeld The Big Bang Theory  

Have you ever taken the… derailed typography train? Have you ever tasted typography? You know, literally. If no is the answer, wait until you finish reading this weekly round-up. We also have mind-blowing typography art projects, tutorials (lots!), golden rules, and even sculpture, although there are no sophisticated fonts in sight. Enjoy! 85 Amazing Typography Tutorials Check out these pretty amazing typography tutorials from around the web. We talked about some of them before, but this article manages to bring an impressive number of really good ones together. Now, learn how to design a headline typeface, create isometric 3D lettering, smelt your favorite font and much more. You’re bound to find something that can help you raise your type skills to the next level. You might want to bookmark it. Web Designers Should Focus More On Typography Some say that the only typographical questions that most web designers face is what font they have to use for their design. This article tries to tackle this issue. It looks like choosing the right typeface and manipulating correctly the font size, weight, line height and other rather less important attributes is not enough. To be a good web designer you need to have a good understanding of typography and how it works. Read on and find out more. To Eat With Your Eyes: 40+ Delicious Food Typography Designs This is the work of designers who, obviously, want to trigger cravings with food and types. Of course, most food typography is purely for artistic purposes, but every once in a while you may come across a title font that would be perfect for a project you’re tinkering on. This is one good sized portion of inspiration. A few are actual fonts that you can purchase - fonts that the designer created with real food and photographs. 25 Mind-Blowing Typography Art Projects Here you have a killer roundup of art projects that take typography into unexpected territory. At some point you’ll come across a music video for "Dream," by Husbands. Take a look at the diversity of typefaces and backgrounds used — they range from ornate script, to Western-style slab serifs, to cool European grotesks. AND this video was NOT made on a computer. Find out more about it with behind the scenes clips. Quite impressive. Enjoy! Golden Rules for Typography This article talks about some golden typographic rules for those who want to create a difference online. With hordes of websites available on the web space, it’s difficult to make your site stand out from the crowd. Typography is essential. Agree? Then read on. Book Sculpture Illustrates OCD With A Derailed Typography Train Check out the typography and detail that went into this extraordinary train design created by Thomas Wightman. It’s almost hard to believe that all this came out of a book. It makes you realize how versatile books are, and how nice it is to give them a second use. However, aside from breathing new life into this old book, the project also illustrates the effects of OCD on a person’s life. It uses the metaphor of a derailing train to show what it’s like. Quite impressive.

If you’re a beginner who wants to start working on types, but feels a little bit lost, you just opened the right post. Today we’ll talk about a couple of resources that should get you started. Yes, you’re right, the history of typography begins with Gutenberg, but has its roots in handwritten letterforms, which takes us back longer than we’d like to admit. But if you want to start as soon as possible and make the most of your fancy computer, you’ll have to forget, at least for now, about pen, ink and stone and move fast forward to nowadays and focus on new fonts. If you design types, people will call you type or font designer, just to make sure you’re slightly different than the other designers in town. To proudly wear this name, you must become a highly skilled and knowledgeable professional who knows about type history and typeface anatomy. Excellent question! Typeface anatomy describes the graphic elements that make up printed letters in a typeface. That’s the very short version. Next? Read a book. Preferably on designing type, like this one by Karen Cheng, professor in the Visual Communication Design program at the University of Washington in Seattle. She teaches type design and typography, but she’s also an active practitioner. Her design work has been published by the American institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), Communication Arts, Print, Critique and ID Magazine. "Designing Type" is an essential book explaining the processes behind creating and designing type. It was born out of necessity. The lack of a specific and comprehensive guide to type design has long been a frustration for typographers, graphic designers and students. This book finally brought new depth and insight to the art and process of developing a typeface. Because it is illustrated with type specimens and diagrams demonstrating visual principles and letter construction, this book is ideal for beginners. It also discusses structure, optical compensation and legibility, with emphasis on the often overlooked systematic relationships between letters and shapes in a font. A wide range of classic and contemporary typefaces are analyzed, and examples of student work, progress sketches and final type designs are used to demonstrate core issues. In conclusion, this is a valuable reference for both experienced professionals and novice designers. Now try to attend an workshop. Nothing compares to practical experience. On typeworkshop.com you can ask questions, but don’t miss the workshops when they happen. To attend an workshop that is open to anyone, just subscribe to the mailing list and you’ll get a message in advance. If the talented people behind typeworkshop.com have the far-out idea of organizing a workshop themselves, you’ll also be the first to know. Until then, though, take a look at these sketches specially made to explain some basic issues in type design. Take a look at the assignment which is easy to do at home. It’s a project to make a modular typeface, create all letters out of two different shapes. Just do it. We’ll be back with more. In the meantime, if you’re an experienced type designer, what’s your best advice for beginners?

Street names! Such a big part of our daily lives, with their stories, our stories, history, charm and nostalgia. And, yes, typography too. That’s why today we randomly picked a few cities and their most common ‘street’… type. We tried to cover as much of the world as possible in a blog post. We stare at them every day, but do we ever think about the types or is it all just… geography? Now street name plates take center stage, ahead of graffiti fonts and the like. Let’s stroll!  Berlin New York New York 2 New York 3 Rome San Francisco Prague London London 2 London 3 Cork Hong Kong Sydney Oslo  

Summer is here, and, what do you know, the weekend is here too. What a lucky coincidence! Since you’ll have plenty of time to read in the sun, you may want to check out our weekly round-up too. In the menu today: a fresh slab serif font, a ‘lorem ipsum’ collection, typographic illustration by Timba Smits, the font and the city (you’ll see), and a squeeze of inspiration. Sweet Examples Of Beautiful Typography - 31 Prints It all starts with the author’s belief that web typography has its limitations and it isn’t yet understood and used to its full capacity. However, typography in prints has reached its maturity and there are no limitations to it. Agree? If so, then you’ll enjoy this article displaying 31 beautiful typography prints to be admired. Great source of inspiration also. Nexa Slab Typography Meet Nexa Slab! This is a geometric slab serif font with a design based on the best-seller Nexa. Find out more about what it contains, what makes it ideal for the web as well as for print, for motion graphics, logos, t-shirts, etc. It is serious without being rigid and inflexible, systematic without being monotonous. Though it may seem at first glance to be more suitable for short, direct messages, in the hands of a master designer it can create exquisite and harmonic designs. So they say. See for yourself. Read on! 9 Funny Lorem Ipsum Generators I’m sure you’re already familiar with the standard Lorem Ipsum text generator website. What this post is telling us is that ‘lorem ipsum’ text does not need to be dull, hence this surprisingly inspiring collection of funny lorem ipsum generators that might also add a little hilarity to your design prototypes. Try it in your next design. See who picks up it. Good luck! Typography Inspiration Here you have some fresh stunning findings From Up North. Words and letters for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!  Famous Cities Get Their Own Fonts Remember our Wednesday inspiration post? It was about Street names and the types various cities around the world use. This time, a real estate company shows its creative side with a brilliant ‘What Font is your city?’ infographic. They basically match 10 US cities with their font equivalents. Each city is accompanied by its own font and the name of the designer behind it. I wonder which one is into… graffiti fonts. Anyway, it’s a smart and fun project. Take a look! Gorgeous Typographic Illustrations for Wired Magazine You’re about to discover the work of Timba Smits thanks to French type designer extraordinaire Jean François Porchez and… this article in The Font Feed. The article Rory Sutherland knows how to save marketing published Tuesday on Wired features a dozen of his entirely typographic illustrations. Using an bright colour palette, Timba updates a vintage Americana carnival-like style to visualise quotes from the author of the article. By the end you’ll definitely head to Timba Smits’ website to discover his other typographic, design and illustration work. Enjoy! Typography Quote of the Day: Process of Type Design Last, but not least, we finish our weekly round-up with the typography quote of the day. It’s on the process of type design. BTW, what was your favorite typography story this week? Share with us!    

Last Monday, we introduced you to a few resources that should come in handy if you happen to be a beginner interested in designing type. Today we continue with more useful resources for those new to typography. Online Tutorials Never underestimate the power of tutorials! They are made for users who don’t have the time or the money to attend workshops or design schools. Yes, there are more reasons, but that’s not the point. You can even read them on your mobile device on the bus. So, handy is an understatement. You could start with this series of tutorials published on Noupe.com a couple of years ago. This crash course in typography aims to underline the fact that typography is one of the most important elements of any design project. And that being intimidated by typography is not an option. The first part deals with the ‘Basics of Type’ and it will teach you the difference between typefaces and fonts, weights and sizes, how to classify type, the anatomy of the typeface, what are the four basic classifications for Sans-serif and so on. In part two, it’s all about ‘Paragraphs and Special Characters‘. The discussion continues with paragraph composition and using special typographic characters, like ligatures and hyphens. Next, the tutorial dives right into basic typographic layouts, and how to decide on a typeface for your project. Then comes the bit about body copy. That’s what makes up the majority of many websites and it requires you to consider two separate parts: character styles, and paragraph styles. It comes without saying what good paragraph styling can mean to readability and therefore, the amount of time someone is willing to spend reading your copy. In the fourth part you’ll learn how to effectively combine typefaces. This is a skill best learned through practice. But first, check out the principles covered in this tutorial. You’ll have the tools you need to try out combinations while making educated guesses about what will and won’t work together. The last tutorial of the series will teach you how to pull it all together. You’ll combine more than two typefaces for things like navigation, image captions, fonts for paragraphs and headlines, as well as for other common type elements, like pull quotes and by-lines. Not Just Another Book You might want to add this classic book to your list. The fifth edition of ‘Designing with Type’ has been completely redesigned, with plenty of new information and images. All these new additions make this best-seller an even more valuable tool for anyone interested in learning about typography. This edition has been integrated with a convenient website, designingwithtype.com, where students and teachers can examine hundreds of design solutions and explore a world of typographic information. Great resource to educate and inspire a new generation of designers. If you’re an experienced type designer, what’s your best advice for beginners?

The types used by venerable universities is probably not one of the decisive reasons for your choice, but you can’t deny that a good type in the right place can work miracles. We brought together logos from all around the world. They are the types that students will see everywhere for a few good years, not to mention that they will be on their diplomas for eternity. Notice how playful the types in newer universities can get, and the special attachment old universities have to their mature types. Don’t worry, they’re not all Old English fonts. It’s a pretty interesting trip. Take a look! In your opinion, which type has graduated with distinction? Do you have a favorite uni logo? Share! Berkeley Princeton Sapienza Napier Oxford Liverpool Exeter Cambridge Brown NYU Drury Goldsmiths Sydney Hong Kong Stanford Sorbonne

Summer is here! And there’s probably no coincidence that most of the pieces in our round up are colorful, vibrant, and oozing inspiration. You’ll meet a new font, some flowery typography, retro ‘photography meets typography’ project, beer… types, tips on classifying fonts, proverbs and types that tackle sensitive issues. Let’s take a closer look: New Handwriting Font is a Thing of Beauty This new Sketchnote typeface, created by Mike Rohde, the author of The Sketchnote Handbook, is designed to be practical, to convey the human character and quirks of Rohde’s normal handwriting and hand-drawn lettering with the benefits inherent in digital fonts. The family is comprised of four fonts: Sketchnote Text in regular, bold and italic, plus Sketchnote Square, with some cute illustrations thrown in for good measure. Take a look! What do you think? Colorful Typography Print by Katie Daisy This collection of unique typography art pieces by Katie Daisy is quite sweet, inspiring for those into flowery, colorful, springy inspiration. Typography meets Retro Photography Here’s some more inspiration. For those who don’t know, Stéphane Massa-Bidal is Retrofuturs, and ‘Space Relationship’ is a new series that throws the viewer in a retro-futuristic universe. Enjoy! The Magic of Typography This is not just an article praising typography, it actually comes with some basic tips to improve your web design typography. Useful for beginners and fans alike. Typography Gives Ale Bottle Designs Added Flavor Check out these unique beer labels designed by Scott Greci! Ranging from the classic to the quirky, each label’s font effectively conveys the unique characteristics of each beer. Attractive, attention-grabbing beer bottles, great source of inspiration and… thirst. The Proverbs Typography Project This Project by Michael Masinga uses old proverbs that provide insights on life and the way one should behave and act to live a good life. But before you get to the meaning of the words, enjoy the beautiful typography. Creative Use Of Typography Tackles The Issue Of Child Abuse Here is the latest Childline video on the tough subject of child sexual abuse. Typography plays an important part. Emotional, creative and inspiring. Take a look! A Short Diving into Typography: How to Classify the Fonts In this article you have a clear and concise classification of fonts. There’s nothing too complicated and it is well-explained. Don’t worry if you have another classification or you find another article that delimitates the fonts into different categories. As the authors suggest, maybe you should just consider the classification of fonts as a tool or a guideline, not as a rule. Except for the common accepted classification of fonts: sans serif and serif fonts. Check it out, it might come in handy. How about you? What great read did you come across this week? Share! And don’t forget to have a fabulous weekend!      

Did you know this quote from Steve Jobs, where he shares his passion for typography? If you didn’t, take a look below! Besides being quite impresses by all this, we realized that people don’t talk as much as they should about calligraphy these days. For those who need a bit of clarification, calligraphy is a type of visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a broad tip instrument or brush in one stroke. Classical calligraphy differs from typography and non-classical hand-lettering, though a calligrapher may create all of these. Of course, modern calligraphy ranges from functional hand-lettered inscriptions and designs to fine-art pieces where the abstract expression of the handwritten mark may or may not compromise the legibility of the letters. But it still is basically about the beauty of creating characters at the moment of writing. Take up a course! There are a ton of courses out there. You can find one for beginners, but there are plenty for those who want to improve their calligraphy skills. If your job involves lettering (engravers, masons, sculptors, artists, draughtsmen, typographers & printers) and you feel it might help, trying a course that suits your level might be like renewing the passion for your trade. Museum Courses It’s not only colleges and universities that offer courses and classes in calligraphy, museums are another place you should check. Like this one: Pen Museum in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Their classes are suitable for everybody, from people who have a general interest to those who make hand-crafted cards, historians and teachers. Those who are interested in a career in advertising, design or graphic art might want to consider such a course too. And if you’re torn between fonts and calligraphy, you can always choose to create some adorable Calligraphy fonts. Another great plus is the informal atmosphere. You’ll probably be introduced to the broad-edged pen, receive advice and information about cartridge inks. You’ll be shown a range of different types of fountain pen with an explanation of how they are re-filled, plus advice on care and maintenance. Of course, you’ll also have the opportunity to try out a range of fountain pens and dip pens to assist them in deciding which one is suitable for you. Correspondence Courses Believe it or not, this actually works. The Calligraphy Correspondence Course at The Society of Scribes and Illuminators was originally part of the Roehampton University programme. The course was devised to answer requests from those who wished to study calligraphy seriously but were unable to attend full-time courses. Since 1987 it has been helping many calligraphers worldwide. This kind of course can be invaluable for those beginning to study calligraphy seriously as well as for those wishing to realise their full calligraphic potential. Check out there page for details. Next week we’ll back with more tips for those interested in calligraphy. Stay tuned!    

These troubled times require suitable types, a must in every ‘revolutionary’ tool kit. And what better way to display them than by conquering the public place? Color and unrestrained imagination in the streets, where many battles are fought and revolutions are won. For those who want to use some graffiti fonts in their next project, wherever that may be, here you have a collection displayed in a city, street or on a wall near you: Taipei Pigs RIP Ruby Toronto Mel Smoking Eye Love Yes Rio Jamie Explode Change Share your favorite graffiti!  

This week we go back to basics… again. But we mainly focus on summer and the harvest of typography projects that make the most of food, T-shirts and paper. You’ll see! In other words, we have animated typography, 3D types that pop out of the page and English idioms ready to be served (literally!). Well, you’ve got the picture. Let’s move on:  The Principles of Typography: Back to Basics They say content is king, typography is the crown and design is the throne. What do you say? Whatever the answer, this article juggles with some basic principles. Hopefully you already know that typography enhances the readability of information on a web page, yet — quite ironically — it also helps users avoid reading. But no more spoilers, go back to basics. Read on! Why Do Web Designers Need To Pay More Attention To Typography? What is one of the most common tasks people perform on their computers, tablets and phones? Reading, of course. And this article gives web designers five suggestions on how they can improve the look, feel and readability of their pages. It might come in handy. English Idioms Recreated With Food Typography This is fun. The many faces and… tastes of typography are quite popular these days with projects that combine food and types. ‘_____ as _____’ series is London-based designer Christine Kawasaki-Chan’s latest lettering project, where she recreates English food-related idioms using typography and food items. Hungry already? By the way, what other idioms would you like to see recreated? TypographyShop: Clothing and Art for Type Nerds Here’s another project that plays with types in unexpected places. Designer Patrick King made this collection of T-shirts for designers and typophiles. Take a look! Anything you like? Which one would you wear? Any favorite fonts you’d like to see on your favorite T-shirt? Animography Aims to Bring Animated Typography to the Masses We came across this type foundry created by Jeroen Krielaars, a graphic designer who runs the Amsterdam-based design studio Calango. Animography declared aim is to make life a little easier by offering animated typefaces delivered in neatly organized After Effects files. You must agree that animation and typography has always been a tricky combination. Hundreds of hours go into designing a family of type, a process that is, at times, highly exact. Oh yes, the types are scalable. Don’t be shy, take a look around. Intricate, 3D Typography That Pops Out of The Page This is absolutely lovely, a project by typography artist Yulia Brodskaya. She makes her words come to life with… paper, thus combining her interests in paper crafts, hand-made objects and typography. From personal projects to advertisements and packaging, her work creates an added texture to any product. Enjoy! And, of course, don’t forget to have a fab weekend!  

"Calligraphy trains not only your eye and hand, but your mind as well." Margaret Shepherd Today we’ll talk more about the steps you can take to further your calligraphy education. Last week we browsed through courses you can attend, this week we take a closer look at books, societies for calligraphy and Chinese calligraphy classes you can check out. Who knows, in the end, you might even be able to add your own calligraphy fonts to our collection. The Society for Calligraphy A Society for Calligraphy is always a good place to start your journey. This particular ‘society’ is in Southern California. It is a non-profit educational organization which promotes the study, teaching and practice of calligraphy and related disciplines. Sounds ideal, right? It also encourages the exchange of ideas through speakers, program meetings, workshops, its journal and bulletin, the annual retreat and regional groups. So, there you have it, meetings, resources and information to digest over long periods of time. You can search for a ‘society’ closer to you, but by all means keep track of as many societies as you want. For those who wish to join the Society right away, click here. Learn Calligraphy: The Complete Book of Lettering and Design This book, written by Margaret Shepherd, also known as America’s premier calligrapher, shows you that calligraphy is not simply a craft you can learn, but an elegant art form that you can make your own. The beauty of calligraphy resides in the simple fact that it remains perennially popular. Whether it is Roman, Gothic, Celtic, Bookhand, or Italic style, calligraphy conveys class and elegance. Margaret Shepherd makes this ancient art form accessible in a completely hand-lettered technical guide that will provide context for calligraphy as an art, give detailed technical advice on choosing pens, paper, and inks, setting up your workspace, mastering various pen angles, along with step-by-step illustrations to guide you as you practice. The book also explain which alphabets are appropriate for different forms of writing. For example, the Roman alphabet works well for short, unpunctuated passages, while the Italic alphabet is more suited to informal everyday communication. You’ll find out how to personalize your lettering by using variant strokes and interpreting how you would like the words to look on the page. Inspire you with carefully chosen illustrations and examples, which bring letters to life. Calligraphy and Chinese Brush Painting Classes Chinese Calligraphy and language classes happen in countries around the world. Like this one, at the Confucius Institute for Scotland, where you can attend a five week course if you want to start or continue to develop your artistic calligraphy/brush painting skills. Beginners start with the practice of basic strokes and simple characters and then progress to more complex calligraphy and brush painting. Because they work with small classes, there is plenty of personal attention and printed handouts are provided for home practice. Do you know of any classes or books beginners should definitely take a look at? Please, share!    

Who doesn’t need a bit of music in their life? We certainly do need it. That’s why, this Wednesday, we pressed play, and their he was, the one and only, David Bowie! We browsed through his records, compilations and live albums, and came up with the selection you’ll find below. Check out the types used over a period of more than 40 years. Talking about futuristic fonts. But not only. And don’t forget to press play too! Enjoy! Space Oddity Absolutely Rare Black Tie White Noise Hunky Dory Zeit Young Americans Changes David Bowie Diamond Dogs Live Rehearsal 1976 Heathen The Man Who Sold The World Ziggy Stardust Aladdin Sane The Next Day The Next Day What’s your favorite Bowie type?

You’ll be swimming in tutorials this weekend, because we came across 90 of them. For those who prefer other recreational activities, we have a short history of typography, lyrics onto walls, types as art and striking typography to spread witty messages. Let’s stroll: 90 Top-Class Typography Tutorials Here you have some of the best typography tutorials on the web, because, honestly, you can never stop learning about typography or improving your skills, right? You’ll learn how to design a headline typeface, create isometric 3D lettering, smelt your favourite font and much more. You’re bound to find something that can help you raise your type skills to the next level. Bookmark it now! Sam Winston’s Typography For the "Memory Palace" exhibition at V&A, in London, Sam Winston has created this typography piece of art based on a text by Hari Kunzru specially written for this occasion. Read the article and browse through the pictures to discover more. In London Hotel, Artist Paints Beautiful Typography Of Britpop Lyrics Onto Walls Illustrator, designer and mural artist Tobias Hall has painted a typography-based mural in Camden, London, to pay tribute to the birthplace of Britpop. The mural is within Holiday Inn. Why Camden? This is the place where Britpop originated. Hall chose lyrics from three well-known songs as the words on his murals. He then added playful, bespoke lettering to each alphabet in order to bring them to life. Modern fonts, within limits, of course. Check out the article to see the result. A Brief History of Typography 1928 - 1980 We just found out that at Monotype’s "Pencil to Pixel" pop-up exhibition in New York City last month, 3,400 students and professions learned about the history of typography. Artifacts demonstrated how metal type was historically designed, made, specified by designers, and set by typesetting companies — and translated into today’s font menus for individual users. This article has some interesting quotes and close-ups of some of the artifacts that were on display as well as some typography history. Enjoy! Re-Brand Campaign Uses Striking Typography To Spread Its Witty Messages "Silver in the City" is an unconventional gift store that has recently launched an attractive re-branding campaign. Created by Young & Laramore, the project is centered around striking typography, witty slogans and skillful use of color. Playful, stylish, not to mention that the humorous and unexpected copywriting makes one feel that shopping there would be a fun experience. Click on the image if you want to see more  images from this creative re-branding campaign. Typography 3D Projects Time for some inspiring 3D typography now! Neon lights and traditional elements was the main source of inspiration for this piece. Read the article and find out about Tiger Beer, how this piece of digital art came into being and more. Enjoy! And have a great weekend!            

With Halloween looming around the corner, it crossed our mind that the hard working font designers out there might need some inspiration. For them - but also for everyone else’s viewing pleasure - we’ve been rummaging through the www for this eclectic collection of 13 (boo!) straightforward, sublime, vintage, ugly, poor taste or ‘you name it’ fonts that should be a good start for your next design. Unless you just want some free ready-made Gothic fonts and Halloween dingbats. Either way, browsing though the selection below should help you make up your mind. The Wicked Style The Happy Ghost Fake Ceremony   Circus should work too   Vintage Halloween Classy The Scruffy Ones Glossy Same Old Same The Twists Beware! Stating the Obvious? Classy 2 So, what suits your Halloween better? And last, but not least: have a great time!          

Have you noticed it’s autumn? Or you’re still daydreaming about summer? Either way, it’s good to know that we’ve been keeping an eye on the online, and we’ve just picked some of this week’s most interesting articles about typography, design and the like. Remember? In other words, it’s weekend, it’s harvest time! What is Swiss Style Typography? And what do you know about it? The kind of question that always comes in handy. Do you know for instance that though this famous design style isn’t originally Swiss-made, the touch of the country is still present even to the smallest detail of the design? Well, now you know. But you’ll find out more exciting insights if you read this particular article. The history of famous… types: fascinating. Wanna bet? 10 Super Useful Tools for Better Web Typography You’ve probably heard before the one about web design being 95% typography, right? Well, the good thing is that with the growing popularity of web fonts and modern CSS techniques, web designers should find this task easier, especially since posts like this one roundup super useful tools to help me, you, them create better typography. Good luck! Scrabble Typography Edition Chances are you are both into typography and word games, so this special edition Scrabble set should be to your liking. It features fifteen fonts never before seen on the classic board game. Of course, it doesn’t come free of charge, but it might be the perfect gift for certain font enthusiasts. The Top 40 Typography Apps Typographers, here you have some of the most essential font apps that can make your type-oriented life a little easier and in some cases a lot more fun. The app world is brimming with ways to improve your typography skills, so make the most of it. Fingers crossed! And don’t forget to have fun too. 7 Tips to Load Google Web Fonts Faster Here’s something for the ‘practical advice’ section. It starts with a simple question: How can you make Google Fonts load faster on your site? The answer comes with revealing screenshots and details. Bookmark it! Amazing Typography Print Designs of 2013 Let’s end in style, with some of the best typography print designs of 2013. You’ll easily notice they are outstanding in appearance and superb in nature. Inspiring material. Enjoy! Have a great weekend!    

As promised before, we’re returning with an update on new books about design, in general, and types in particular. After browsing through the virtual shelves, we’ve picked a couple of titles about typefaces that changed the world, those in the urban landscape and last, but not least, those in magazines. These are fresh titles discussing old and new fonts alike. Handle with care. And curiosity. Enjoy! Design Museum Fifty Typefaces That Changed The World This book, published in September 2013, under Typography & Lettering, explores 50 of the most influential typefaces out there, in the world, and shows them in use on posters, perfume packaging, buildings and more. Written by John L Waters, it is an insightful exploration of the digital revolution that has made typesetters of us all as we define our identities through the typefaces we choose to communicate with the world. Believe it or not, this is book of stories too. For instance, you’ll find out the one of Gotham - the typeface used in Obama’s first presidential campaign. Needless to say, the book is full of visual treats too. All in all, it sounds like a must for all typography afficionado. The Field Guide to Typography: Typefaces in the Urban Landscape Also published in September, "The Field Guide to Typography" is a comprehensive celebration of the expanding typographic world written by Peter Dawson and Stephen Coles. It explores and explains the myriad typefaces that we see around us in our day-to-day lives, from airplane liveries to computer screens, from billboard hoardings to signage systems. The book managed to bring together over 120 typefaces old and new, common and unusual with photographic references to help font spotters identify particular typefaces in the wild. Accompanying background information explains the origin, usage and key features of each typeface, and Field Facts provide little-known nuggets of information to expand your typographical awareness. So, this book has two major qualities: it is attractive, but also informative. It works as a visual reference for novice font fans, but also experienced designers. The Modern Magazine: Visual Journalism in the Digital Age: Visual Journalism in the Digital Era The last ten years of magazine publishing have been rather troubled, but this was also a period of rapid innovation, providing a vital record of the eras diverse visual trends. "The Modern Magazine" is not a surprise, it’s a necessity given the present global situation of magazines publishing. It explores the issues now facing the industry, examining changes to the basic discipline of combining text and image for the global, Internet-savvy consumer. And it features some of the best editorial design, looking in particular at how magazines have adapted to respond to digital media. The book looks at key developments in the field, interviewing a broad range of specialists to discover their understandings of the current state of the industry and how different areas of publishing influence each other. Again, you’ll have the pleasure of browsing through great visuals and genuine insight into the process of magazines creation. Great resource for designers, as it also discusses new developments and trends, links to blogs, and more.    

Have you ever been asked to do some types for… music? I’m talking about the word itself here. Because the truth is that this particular one carries the sweet burden of sound that needs to be turned into visuals. You have to admit that it can be quite a challenge, although probably not as hard as setting types TO music. But let’s not slip into surrealism, and stick to collecting some inspiration for creating types that ring more than just a bell. Probably the most common association people make is between funky fonts and music, but there are infinite possibilities. The examples below should give you a good idea of what imagination can do for those who have design skills and a good ear for music. Let’s see, because music does have a special way of creeping up on a designer’s mind. Enjoy! If music is good… Musical Bauhaus Music Bands Playing Objects Music for the Soul Music Vision Grammy Typography - Radiohead’s Thom Yorke Grammy Typography - Stevie Wonder Electronic Music Feel the Filth Typography is like Music Colorful Music  

Games that help you learn the history of typography, beer coasters designed as conversation pieces, typography to help people understand dyslexia, hand-made typography projects, fonts that kill designs, and more in today’s round-up. Sophisticated fonts and creative restlessness run through these past couple of weeks. Take a closer look: Learn the History of Typography Through Type:Rider Even if you’re one of those ‘font fanatics’ who knows Gary Hustwit’s Helvetica by heart, you’ll still learn something while playing Type:Rider. Not to mention that it comes with lots of fun on the side. Available for iOS and Android, the game guides players through the history of typography as two dots travelling over different font characters, solving riddles and unlocking the history behind typefaces. The app is a clean-cut ode to the more attentive and beautiful side of typography. Once the player has explored all of the game’s ten worlds, the power-up pages come together to form an e-book for future reference. Fingers crossed! For Lovers Of Beer And Typography: ‘Beer Press’ Coasters This is a good example of someone combining four passions - design, typography, letterpress and beer - into one product: ‘Beer Press’ coasters. These six drink coasters are also sleekly designed conversation pieces. Each coaster is imprinted with a different typographic beer-related design, and delicately handcrafted by a vintage 1960s letterpress. It surely adds a new dimension to the banal ‘having a beer’. Cheers! Graphic Designer Uses Beautiful Typography To Help People Understand Dyslexia Ever wondered what’s it like to be dyslexic? You can find out by reading this book. Using stylish typography, graphic designer Sam Barclay forms passages from the book ‘The Small Pleasures of Life’ to express how a dyslexic person would struggle with reading. Have a look! Handmade Typography Projects That Will Inspire You It’s always a pleasure to see artists combining analog and digital workflows, isn’t it? The imperfect lines created by a designer’s hands lends a certain uniqueness to a project. While the digital workflows an artist employs provides a level of polish and control, allowing a project to have a truly professional and deliberate look. In this post you’ll get to see some great hand-made typographic projects. Enjoy! Fonts that Kill Designs - Typography Mistakes to Avoid This article tries to identify some of the common typography mistakes designers make in the font selection process. It even goes through the methodology of selecting fonts. In the sea of fonts out there, this set of tips comes quite handy. Playtype Typography Posters This Danish concept store has an impressive collection of posters and other various products devoted to all things in the matter of printed letters and words. Check out how some typefaces are turned into bonafide works of art. It must be love. For typography, of course. Doing Responsive Typography Responsive typography makes it possible to serve typographic compositions that adapt to fit their various environments, resizing, reflowing as necessary to best serve the reader, whether they’re viewing the content on a phone, a cathode ray tube, a large display, in print, or something in between. In this article, a simple example of responsive typography is taken apart to see how it actually works. Exploration never hurt anyone. Go for it!

Today we’re doing a different round up, as we’re taking a closer look at interesting graphic design articles too. You’ll find tips, tools, tricks, but also some typography goodies. We couldn’t help it. Always ready for some funky fonts. By the way, do you know the scent of Helvetica? Helvetica The Perfume: The Scent of Nothing Good packaging sells. Agree? At least that’s what the author of this article thinks after experiencing Helvetica The Perfume. The temptation to buy a bottle just to stare at is strong. But see for yourself what great website, good design, nice colors, and great packaging can do. From Idea to Product: The Graphic Design Process A picture is worth a thousand words, but have we ever given it that many? Here’s an interesting conversation with two experienced freelance graphic artists about what it takes to make a great design. Please comment below if you want to share your own experience. Cheers! 5 Tips on How to Design an iPhone App Icon An icon is actually really important because good design can get the user to try out an app, and besides, this little image is the first thing they will see any time they use the app. Therefore, the icon design should be approached very carefully because it truly is the face of the app. Now here are some useful tips to help you with it. It’s all in the details, and you - as a typography fan - know this already. Wink wink. Six Best Free Online Graphic Design Tools OK, you can’t entirely recreate the power of Photoshop with an online editor or mobile app, yet powerful and free image editors available offer more features than the majority of non-professional photographers need. Here are several great image editors and other design programs that are available online through your browser and are completely free. Rejoice! In Graphic Designing, Let The Brain Do Its Trick What is the term brain storming and why it is used here and what it has to do with graphic designing? The answer might seem obvious, but this article could help a bit more for those really into it. 18 Insanely Addictive Font Games This is the fun part of our round-up: font games! This selection of online and mobile font games will help test and expand both your knowledge and identification skills. You know, exploring the history and use of typefaces, as well as typographic theory doesn’t have to be boring. Let the game begin! Web Design Quotes: Wisdom Inside We like quotes too. Maybe because they can express what we know, recognize, feel, believe, think, accept, imagine, hope, fear, desire, acknowledge, and/or have experienced as a life truth. The best thing about quotes is that they can answer the question we have, in a way that we want. So let’s see what ‘wisenheimers’ got to say about web design. Grab some wisdom. And have a fab weekend!

It’s not because winter is here, and because in some parts everything is already covered in white, it’s because rummaging through black and white typography sometimes can be more refreshing and inspiring than you can imagine. It all makes more sense, the types jump off the page and their striking beauty is matched only by the message they convey. Here and there you’ll come across fine shades of blue, and grey, but you’re really on B&W soil. Distorted fonts or not, they’re all black and white in the beginning. Aren’t they? Enjoy! By the way, feel free to share your favorite B&W typography designs. We’d love to add them to our collection. Ink Art or Science Black & White Good Advice League Nike You Lace Raw Simple Berlin Punk Mancini Paris

It’s December already. So much to do, so little time. But hey, in these merry busy times, we’re pretty sure you’ll find time to take a look at some of the most important online articles on typography published in the last couple of weeks. Beautiful typography, amazing calligraphy and calligraphers, tools to identify fonts, and more. Enjoy! The Most Beautiful Typefaces From This Past Month Maybe not ‘the most’, but definitely some very handsome ones. Here’s another fantastic batch of type. For your inspiration, of course. 4 Great Tools for Identifying Fonts & 3 Bonus Font-Related Goodies If you agree that the font you choose can add to the impact of your copy, then you’ll find this post most useful. These tools are a great resource for designers, and can help you save a lot of time in identifying the typeface you’re looking for. Take a look. You might want to bookmark it too. Playing With Type. For the Love of Wood Type Inspiring article written by Lara McCormick, the author of Playing with Type: 50 Graphic Experiments for Exploring the Creative Impact of Typographic Design Principles. She is currently the chair of graphic design at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. For the love of wood type, take a look. Websites Using Beautiful Typography You’ve got to agree that a lot of thought, experimentation and trials go into type design, thus, for a successful and cohesive web design, the principles of typography are important to understand. So, here’s a guide to help you get started in learning the different aspects of type design, and a showcase of websites using beautiful typography. The Secrets of Great Web Typography This article focuses on how to craft typography for the web. It explores ideas on making good decisions with type, and how sweating the details of typography, browser idiosyncrasies and delivery is actually part of the design process. Brian Warren runs through some ideas and lessons learned along the way. It’s all about attention to detail and a passion for the craft, right? 15 Must Follow Calligraphers on Dribbble Calligraphy is a rather exclusive art, something not many people do or are able to do because it takes a great deal of skill. In an effort to bring some awareness to this fine art, this article gathers 15 great Calligraphers that you should follow on Dribbble (or just follow in general). Follow them or just enjoy their work. And don’t forget to share your own favourite articles of the week. Oh, and make your December amazing.      

Special characters, redesigned famous logos, typefaces made of paint stroke, and much more. Plus another list of some of the best fonts of this year. Keep them coming! Enjoy! The Designer’s Guide to Special Characters When it comes to clear writing, the importance of the mechanics of spelling, grammar, and proper punctuation are always stressed. However, for some reason, the importance of using the correct typographic special characters is often overlooked. So, it’s time for designers to stand-up and use the right typographic marks for the job. Here’s a quick run-through some of the important symbols you should be using. You’ll also find a handy table of common typographic marks for reference. Infographic: 16 Different Elements of Typography What makes up a letter? Diane Kelly Nuguid put together this infographic to provide insight into the 10 different parts of a letter in typography. For beginners, but not only. Definitely something to keep for future reference. 85+ Redesigns of Famous Logos Here is a vast collection of some of the world’s most renowned logos, revamped from different perspectives. You will find fonts twitched, while some artwork or text replaced. Despite being redesigned, some logos still hold the essence. What do you reckon? Do they convey the same message? Or at least a similar one? Graphic Design Studio Creates a Gorgeous Typeface Made of Paint Strokes Here’s a great studio experiment created by London-based graphic design studio Sawdust: a gorgeous paint typeface. Using acrylic paint, by folding clear strips and manipulating shadows, designers Rob Gonzalez and Jonathan Quainton examine ‘dimensionality’. Pursuing personal work and having fun even while producing content for the commercial world? Sounds like a win win situation. Quickest Way to Get List of Font Names in any Font Family There are many ways to get a list of fonts names for a font family on iOS, for example: looping or via block. However, here is another approach, that promises to be much quicker, with just two lines in the LLDB debugger. Take a look. The Best Fonts of 2013 It looks like 2013 has been a bumper year for type design, that’s why in this article you’ll find a rather interesting list of the best fonts in the last 12 months. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice there are no winners for December. With the month only half-way through, there’s still plenty of time for new designs to appear. Check out the selection and nominate your own winners. Thanks! And have a fabulous new week!