Congratulations to Mr. Spiekermann. I’m optimistic that he may bring better font-rendering to the masses in his new position with Microsoft.

Funny.

His forehead needs a little more Photoshop’ing (yes, it’s now a verb).

Way to go, Erik!

I can see it coming now, but I’m not going to be the one to say it =P

And did you hear that Papyrus and Comic Sans were named the new national fonts?

What’s the shadow around his face?

;)

>His forehead needs a little more Photoshop’ing

Adding hair is pretty difficult in Photoshop ;)

@Lauren: no?! truly?! “comic sans” the new national fonts?!… like “Helvetica Serif”, isn’t it?

Type history in the making? I’ll be the one to say it!

April Fools!

>What’s the shadow around his face?

Flash photography, or a halo, perhaps?

If anyone can ‘find’ a better photo, please send :)

Be sure to check out Typophile’s lovely redesign. Stunning!

Ha ha you just had me for a minute there ;-)

There is a tiny black shadow under his face! (or not?) I see ti!

Typophile not so good as it appears… interesting “increasing” menu, but horrible background with floating articles.

Ha! Brilliant!
I suppose you’ve just invented a new font format: UnTrueType?

I honestly cannot believe I fell for that. Haha. Good one John; really good. :P

Dammit! I was all ready to put this into Wikipedia. When I was filling out the citation I realized what day it was.

This one beats them all.

I got really excited for about 30 seconds, and then I was like, “awwww….”

Related…

http://www.spiekermann.com/mten/2008/01/royal_designer_20.html

Haha!

I literally lol’d at “I’m not sure this is justified”

This is the best April Fool’s ever.. first the helvetica serif over at theserif now Sir Erik. Thanks John;-)

A little tutorial: PS — dupe image into an editable layer. Select Extract Filter. Draw over outline and close that. Fill with bucket. Check OK. Use History Brush to paint in holes.
Easy. And makes for a more convincing image.

BTW: Erik S does deserve a KBE…

Kniend, voller Respekt vor dem neuen Herren, tippe ich: Herzlichsten Glückwunsch zu Deinem Ritterschlag, Erik! Kannst Du denn überhaupt reiten?

Edit: Oh noes! Honest to god, i totally bought that! Damnit!

Not to spoil the joke, but isn’t Erik – as a German national – ineligible for anything other than just an honorary knighthood from Her Majesty? Perhaps a true British compatriot could answer this definitively…

On the subject of Her Majesty’s subjects worthy of honours, IIRC Matthew Carter is still a British national, despite his residence in that other Cambridge, on the American side of the pond. After all the good that his typefaces have done for the world, hasn’t he brought enough glory to the island of Britain? Several museums and cultural institutions seem to think so… I’ve even seen Verdana mentioned on British TV as on of the best pieces of British design ;-) Just how does one lobby Buckingham Palace for a Matthew Carter knighthood?

Coming back to Erik Spiekermann, I don’t know what his political inclinations are… but seeing as that Germany is currently under an umbrella government, couldn’t someone finally find room for him as the nation’s Minister of Typography? In terms of lobbying, I’ll be that Ms. Merkel’s chancellory in Berlin is a bit easier to e-mail than Buckingham Palace!

His head looks fake — like it was drawn into the picture.

He looks like he was drawn into the picture.

“I’m not sure this is justified”…

To which he replied, “Indeed it’s not, it’s flush-left.”

server latency

Sorry for the latency. Just Media Temple, my host, as usual. And they’re not answering my support query. Really is time to find a half-decent host.

Ha ha! I didn’t end up fooling anyone today and didn’t get fooled either (surprisingly)… Untill now. But then, I was wondering why there was a post on a Tuesday, coz there isn’t usually one till late wednesday. Then I saw his head and the date struck me.
Brilliant one though! Thoroughly enjoyed getting fooled! =D

The first thought that came to my mind was - Since when Her Majesty started appreciating and rewarding Type designers? It’s not that they’ve been inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, or something to get noticed by the Queen ;-)

and the Micrsoft part was funny too ;-)

Ha ha, I think I believed it for some time…yeah, I read that on second of April, not first :D

I was all ready to put this into Wikipedia. When I was filling out the citation I realized what day it was.

haha, Brilliant!…

Sir Erik’s middle name is Typography.

Lol. It’s unbelievable though. He will never work for MS and he will never bow down in front of an English queen.

Long live Herr Spiekermann. You’re a living legend!