the week in type

Let’s begin with something tougher than steel from H&FJ. Meet the just-released Tungsten. [insert superlatives here]

Would be great to see a few more weights added. She’s condensed without feeling cramped, and described by its makers as a

compact and sporty sans serif that’s disarming instead of pushy — not just loud, but persuasive.

Erik Spiekermann remarked on twitter, finally an answer to Compacta! Much needed. Absolutely! In my own work, I can see Tungsten singing alongside something like Logo Jnr Black. If only Tungsten had been drawn before the release of Kill Bill. I haven’t spent long with Tungsten, but I’m fast developing a crush. Buy it, use it, love it.

This wonderful video from Brent Barson for Typophile Film Fest 5:
http://www.vimeo.com/6382511

Type attire

Veer is giving away a zip-up iconic Kern top (worth £69) until the end of October (offer not valid in the US), when you buy any image or typeface at veer.com.

I bought one of these from Ugmonk:

Great project from Autobahn for the Leidsche Rijn festival. I think I’m going to be shopping for huge slabs of polystyrene.

The making of a type sample:
http://www.vimeo.com/6407368

Audible type

Make yourself a fresh coffee, put your feet up, then click play. Jonathan Hoefler and Steven Heller on The Leonard Lopate Show:

Type links

Ikea Verdanarama
Dmig2 published
CSS text-area
VFB-QuickLook Plugin
Rendering Fonts in Today’s Browsers
Inset type in PhotoShop
Fun With Vintage 70s and 80s Porn Logos
Mixing type
An interview with Jason Santa Maria (Typedia)
10 Common Typography Mistakes
Continuing Studies in Typography
Bulletproof @font-face implementation
Video & audio from the the 2007 ATypI conference in Brighton

Some nice letter- & type-rich letterpress posters from Cloudy Collection — featuring designs by the likes of Marian Bantjes and Nate Williams:

An interesting project from Isaac Weeber. The Depth of Typography:

Events

September 29 Live Designcast: Fonts That Click: The Present and Future of Using Type on the Web, with Christian Schwartz.

The next Go Font Ur Self begins in October. See the site for specific dates and venues (Australia).

A pretty impressive sub-pixel typeface:

If you’re wondering how a font could possibly be sub-pixel, then just remember that each screen pixel comprises three subpixels (most often RGB).

What a team: Martin Majoor (FF Scala, FF Scala Sans, et al.) & Jos Buivenga (Museo and Calluna), working together on Questa, a ‘ballsy’ Didone:

New typefaces

Fertigo Pro Script from Jos Buivenga:

Vekta from Neil Summerour of TypeTrust. Three familes under one roof:

Climbing up MyFonts’ list of Hot New Fonts is Sascha Timplan’s St Atmos:

Semilla from Ale Paul of Sudtipos:

Cordial Bloom and its layers of OpenType goodness:

Be sure to watch the slideshow.

New from Fountain Type, drawn by Göran Söderström, is Heroine Pro.
Here’s the trailer (trailers for font releases — I like that):

Lovely, isn’t she:

Bonesana from the publisher Gestalten:

There’s also a very nice interview with Bonesana’s designer, Matthieu Cortat.

Web typography

Typekit + Outras Fontes. Lovely:

The Fonts Web Trend Map. Find out who’s talking about type:

Ascender Corporation announces that Georgia & Verdana are to be extended. Note the Georgia small caps (about time too):

We love typography

Interesting to read Ellen Lupton’s Type Hunger piece for Print magazine, and thrilled to see she’s a WLT visitor. However, I’m a little surprised by her criticism that we (WLT contributors) are confusing lettering and type.

It’s just about impossible to pick a single image from even the most recent WLT posts; but I’m going for this little gem from @stewf. What a fantastic logotype:

Be sure to check out the the Chromeography Flickr pool.

Ok, I can’t resist. Here’s one more, found by Paul Hunt, designed by Martin Plonka:

A few words on grids

My radar is picking up an increase in grid-based design chatter. The recent release of Stéphane Curzi’s Baseline CSS framework is part of that chatter. There’s nothing wrong with grids (on-screen or on-paper); in fact they are the invisible skeletons to which most good designs cling. However, it’s all to easy to take the grid is god route, sometimes forcing elements to stick to the grid when they’re not happy doing so. I have no intention of turning these thoughts into an essay; it’s just that the eye, not the pixel needs to be the final arbiter of what’s right. A classic example (there are many) where the grid (in this instance the baseline grid) fails us, is in a line of text with an unusually high proportion of letterforms with descenders (or ascenders); with all that extra ink below the baseline (or x-height), the interlinear spacing will appear shorter. In this instance it’s prudent to add a little more interlinear spacing (or leading) to compensate. Grids are guides, not ‘dictators’. Just a thought.

And on a lighter note, a variation on a Müller-Brockmann theme. (That will give Antonio, over at AisleOne, nightmares). And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, then Cheese or Font? might do it.

Type education

I’m trying to set aside a little time each week to contribute to Typedia. Why not do the same. Even if it’s just 5 minutes — a Typedia Thursday (or Tuesday [though the day needn’t be dictated by alliteration]). Just browse through the Good Deeds, and select one.

You don’t have to be an expert to contribute; but if you do contribute frequently, you’re sure, not only to educate others, but to educate yourself. You can follow the hashtag #good_deed_of_the_day via Twitter.

Work with Kari & Justin on the upcoming iPhone & iPod Touch FontGame is going really well (though it’s much more work than I’d anticipated). More news on that soon. In the meantime, here’s a little sneak peek:

There are still some of the Typographic Restraint letterpress prints available. Hurry while stocks last; it’s a signed & numbered, limited edition of 99. I’m also working with Stefan Hattenbach on an upcoming screen-print. You’re going to love it. Anyone recommend an exceptional screen-printer in Japan?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all your comments and emails. Apologies that I can’t respond to them all. Have a great, great weekend.