New York City. Subway systems. Type. This book is a triple-threat.
Posted by January 27, 2010 permalink
Ever wanted to match Helvetica with a Japanese typeface equivalent? Johan Prag has written a little piece over at his blog to help you in making that decision.
Posted by January 21, 2010 permalink
I crafted a new wordmark for a personal “brand” (of sorts). I was using just a symbol (which I liked, and still do), but something was bothering me about it, and I still do not know what, exactly, it was.
Here it is, and I hope you hate it.
Posted by December 6, 2009 permalink
For those of you in Canada—Helvetica is now available via iTunes. Now you can download it and show all your family and friends. Because everyone loves watching films about type.
Posted by August 25, 2009 permalink
I’ve been itching to design type for years. I’ve always found the thought to be extremely exciting—and at the same time, quite daunting. I’m not the most gifted bezier curve wizard, and I know this will prove to be a big stumbling block to overcome if I were ever to become serious about it.
One area of typography I’ve long had a genuine love for, is the hand-made aesthetic. I love the human, often childlike quality of it. Hand-drawn type (whether rendered from a true font file, or created using custom artwork) can breath life into an otherwise run-of-the-mill layout.
So, I thought—why not mix the 2? A strong desire to (eventually) design and distribute my own typeface collection, and my appreciation and attraction to cut-out letterforms.
The above image is just a peek at what will eventually become an EPS typeset based on a classic face from 1898: Akzidenz Grotesk. My plan is to design a series of EPS typesets, all based on classic type—Futura, Garamond, Frutiger. I’d also like to include several typeset versions of several more contemporary families, such Gotham and Interstate.
Where will it lead? Who knows—but I love doing it, and right now, that’s all that matters.
* Update: I was asked if I would be releasing the EPS set once complete. My first thought was “no, I want to wait until I have a full series ready”. After giving it some thought, I’ve realized that I’ve been provided with enough free assets over the years, and that those assets didn’t just design themselves. So, if anyone is indeed interested in obtaining a copy of this first initial typeset—email me, and I’ll send you a copy once ready. It will contain all characters, both upper and lowercase, with several variations—and the standard punctuation, numerals, and extra characters. It will be exactly how I would expect and want a set to be if I were to use one.
Posted by August 12, 2009 permalink
Lettering & Type is a smart-but-not-dense guide to creating and bending letters to one’s will. More than just another pretty survey, it is a powerful how-to book full of relevant theory, history, explanatory diagrams, and exercises.
“Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals examine classic design examples as well as exciting contemporary lettering of all stripes—from editorial illustrations to concert posters to radical conceptual alphabets. Featuring a foreword by Ellen Lupton and hundreds of images and examples of work by historical and contemporary designers, artists, and illustrators, including Marian Bantjes, Stefan Sagmeister, Matthew Carter, Christoph Niemann, Steve Powers (ESPO), House Industries, Christian Schwartz, Margaret Kilgallen, James Victore, Abbott Miller, Sibylle Hagmann, Ed Fella, and many more.”
Posted by July 19, 2009 permalink
Type has always been my favourite visual design element—so seeing a showcase site like TypeInspire will usually give me a charge…
Posted by July 12, 2009 permalink
