What’s it all About?
about this site and its author
I love Typography (iLT) was born on August 8, 2007; I, on the other hand was born in 1969. iLT was born from a desire to bring the subject of Typography to the masses. All too often, articles on typography are rather bland and, although informative, do little to elicit feelings of wow.
So, iLT is designed to inspire its readers, to make people more aware of the typography that is around them. We really cannot escape typography; it's everywhere: on road signs, shampoo bottles, toothpaste, and even on billboard posters, in books and magazines, online...the list is endless, and the possibilities equally so.
Who are you?
Around here somewhere I should display a photo of myself. Once I have finished morphing my own photo with that of Johnny Depp's, I will place it here.
teaching my neighbour's 3-year old daughter, Nohana, how to distinguish Humanist and Transitional typefaces, from the book Type for Kids
So, what do I do besides writing iLT? I'm a graphic designer, web developer and writer. I have a passion for typography, and can really appreciate the words of the inimitable Eric Spiekerman, who said in an interview,
I can’t explain it; I just like looking at type. I just get a total kick out of it. Other people look at bottles of wine or whatever, or, you know, girls’ bottoms. I just get kicks out of looking at type. It’s a little worrying, I must admit.
and although, like many men, I sometimes look at girls' bottoms, I probably spend more time looking at type.
Where are you?
I'm from the UK, but now live in Japan. I view Japan as my home. I live in Kagawa prefecture, and am surrounded by rice fields and mountains -- a long, long way from Tokyo. I know little about Japanese typography, but I'm studying it, and hope to include articles about typography in non-Latin alphabets in future.
What can I do?
You can become a contributor or writer for iLT. Just send me a mail, and we'll talk about it. I'm also looking for translators, and editors for a Typographic Terms (glossary) section for the site. And, if you're feeling particularly generous, then you can contribute financially towards iLT (hosting, etc.). Just send $1m in unmarked bills to..., or simply donate an amount of your choice using that ugly yellow button below.
If you're a type designer and would like to see your font on the FontWall, or otherwise advertise on this site, then send me a mail.
I have intentionally omitted my entire life history; however, if you have a predilection for the soporific, and you'd like to know more about me, then just send me a mail. If you have typography-related questions, then feel free to ask; if you have questions concerning the meaning of life, quantum mechanics or string theory, then I suggest you Google it.
John D Boardley (Kagawa, Japan 日本香川県)
iLT
Me elsewhere:
Interview for SheUnlimited
Facebook
Twitter
—Karen Cheng
52 Comments, Comment or Trackback
Robert
Wow I didn’t read this until now. You’re doing an amazing job with this site. Even a few of our Type and Design layout teachers have used this website in some of their lectures. Keep it up!
Oct92007
johno (iLT)
Robert
Thanks very much. That’s good to hear. Perhaps you can persuade one of your teachers to write a guest piece for iLT. Thanks too for all your comments and contributions.
Oct92007
Cody
Your neighbor’s daughter is so cute! Hurry up and come to Tokyo. I need to have a nice long talk with someone (in English) that has design sense.
Drop me a mail when you aren’t swamped. Cheers
Oct112007
Hamish M
Japan,eh? That’s really cool, I’d love to travel there one day.
By the way, I like how that “A” model is in all three photos. Smooth :)
Oct122007
johno (iLT)
Hamish
You’re always welcome to come here. I hadn’t even noticed that about my cardboard and papier mache “A”. Well spotted.
BTW, I noticed something with your Typogrify plugin: when the penultimate word of the line is hyphenated, then no break occurs before that word, and so leaves the possibility of a widow.
e.g.
“…long-term
effects.”
Any ideas? Wonderful plugin though.
Oct122007
Robert
Johno
I’ll talk to one of my teachers about writing a lil’ something.
Oh and where did you get those paper mache letters, did you make them?
Oct122007
Kazuo
I love this site! Great work!
Oct122007
Hamish M
Thanks Johno, maybe I will visit someday :)
As for the plugin, thanks for pointing that out. I’ll look into it right away.
Oct122007
Hamish M
Hmm, I can’t seem to recreate the problem, John. Do you have an example somewhere?
Oct132007
johno (iLT)
Hamish
Actually, the only example I can find so far is in the Thinking With Type Book Review article, around paragraph 7. It ends,
I wonder if it has something to do with the href?
Oct132007
Kazuo
Only now I read the last paragraph about quantum mechanics and string theory, I’m not a typographer or graph designer but a physicist and my research interest is QFT (Quantum Field Theory), if someone are interested the site of ‘t Hooft have a lot of good resources:
http://www.phys.uu.nl/~thooft/theorist.html ^_^
Oct142007
Carman
John, You are great!
Oct142007
johno (iLT)
Kazuo
Always good to have a Physicist on-board. That link is a good one, and a nice introduction for non-scientists. Thank you.
Carman
Thank you, but you must be confusing me with another John. I know I mentioned Johnny Depp in the article, but this John — the one typing this — is exceptionally un-great. Hope all is well in HK.
Oct142007
Paul M.
John, nice living room! Do you have any photos from Japan you can share with us?
Oct152007
johno (iLT)
Paul
Thanks. I have some on FaceBook (feel free to add me, and I’ll ‘add you back’); and a few on Flickr.
Oct152007
Sahil
Hello John,
Me and a couple of my friends have been going through your site and we must admit it’s really an eye-opening experience to see that so much goes into something like typography. It used to be one of those things we all took for granted, save for a few seconds just before we finalized the ideal “formal” font for a seminar report or a thesis.
Now though, we’ve started an on campus monthly newspaper and so we look at fonts for headers and sidebars and captions. We’ve come to learn about ‘screen fonts’ and ‘print fonts’ and all those little things you never thought you’d know about.
Anyway I’m just writing to say that I can hardly believe that a site as beautiful and organized as this is only three months old. But then again, so is our newspaper. So a pat on the back to you. We are in awe.
Also, I should tell you that we’re from a college in India called the Indian Institute of Technology. And basically we’re just writing in to say that you’re getting popular in this part of the world as well, despite the Snake-Charmers and Elephants. (a not so subtle jab at the Indian archetype!)
Cheers and keep em coming.
Nov172007
johno (iLT)
Sahil
Welcome to iLT. Thanks for your kind words. Send me a copy of your newspaper/newsletter. My mail address is jboardley {aaaat} gmail.com.
I’m pleased iLT is going down well in India; I’m honoured. Take care.
Nov182007
Andy Giaquinto
Lovely typography, but I spotted the book shelf!
Hope you are well, I’m with Jo -isn’t it amazing that you know each other!
Did you know that Sylvie is expecting a baby.
Hope to meet up soon, Andy
Nov232007
johno (iLT)
Andy
How great to see you here. Wonderful. Yes your bookcase is in Japan!
It’s a small world indeed. Say hi to Jo for me.
That’s good news for Sylvie. See you soon, Andy. I’m still a huge fan of your work and I’ve learned a great deal from you.
Nov232007
Gia
Type for Kids…haven’t read that one yet, maybe I’ll “surprise” myself this Christmas. Your blog is great…I can only hope I get insanely rich one day to be able to buy all these amazing fonts…they’ll be all miiine, all miiiiine *evil laugh*
Nov302007
Remi
Fantastic site your have here! Finlay someone that’s letting the masses know how important typography is! I am studying design in Norway, part of the course is typography and i absolutely love it! Keep on the fantastic work!
Dec82007
johno (iLT)
Gia
Thank you. On Sunday, there’s a special Christmas Sunday Type article that will list some more type-related gifts; some expensive and not so expensive ones.
Remi
Welcome to iLT. Do you know any good Norwegian typography sites? Good luck with your studies.
Dec82007
chermaine
Hi Johno,
I am currently persuing a degree course in graphic design in Malaysia.I am earger to learn about typography. I must say that this website is awesome. Interesting content and i can see the effort you’ve put into this site. Keep up the good work =)
Dec192007
johno (iLT)
chermaine
Thanks for kind words, and good luck with your degree. I hope you’ll share you love of type with others :)
Dec192007
13dots
Very good website! Thx!
Dec242007
Ryan
Great site, and great shirt (“antislip” in the first photo). I have the same one; my brother bought it for me while he was in Japan.
Anyway, definitely adding you to my RSS feeds.
Jan22008
Becca
I love this website, so much good info out there. How did you do that :) at the end of the page?
Jan82008
johno (iLT)
Ryan
Well spotted. We are t-shirt brothers. I bought mine in uniqlo; I guess that’s where your brother bought yours :)
Becca
Thank you! How did I do what? Lulu is lovely, BTW.
Jan92008
jln
I’ve always been a stickler with fonts, from my days in middle school (Times New Roman is for conformists!) to my obsession for Georgia, and now my love affair for Calibri, Cambria, and the other new Vista fonts. To know that there’s some people with a much more developed and sophisticated sense of typography is so refreshing to hear! Your site has been a joy to not only read, but just to look at - not just the lovely fonts but also the great color scheme, layout, and intelligent ad placement!
Are you still active in the web design business? I would love to see examples of your other work.
Jan292008
Mutahir
Hello John,
A superb website with not just a great layout and design but very carefully written content. You are doing a great job and can probably get a book published on fonts.
I am also interested in Typography and will email you with questions I have in mind. :)
Keep up the Good Work.
Regards Mutahir
Jan302008
Maira
Hey,
Brazilian reader number 1 is back and glad to confirm rumors about a real person being behind this website… world seems safer now, I guess. :)
You have been making a wonderful job, man. (It’s funny to feel glad about someone you dont know…)
Anyway, Ill keep dropping by every now and then. sayonara!
Feb72008
Sophie
Hello,
Here is what I started typing in the mail message section before checking this one :
“Thanks for this excellent blog, full of interesting info and interviews.
Here is a suggestion: I would like to know more about Japanese type design. Both on the artistic and technical side. From the complexity of designing a kanji type (do they design 3000 signs ? or are fonts mainly hiragana and katakana ?), to the similarities and differences of type use and design…”
Ok, now I see you are living in Japan! Well, I look forward to reading what you will share with us about that subject. よろしくお願いします。
Feb82008
johno (iLT)
Sophie
I am planning a post on that topic; it’s in draft right now, and is tentatively entitled Spare a thought for Japanese type designers. There are Hiragana and Katakana fonts. However, good Japanese-language typefaces have in excess of 10,000 characters.
Thanks for stopping by and contributing, and keep your eyes peeled for that Japanese fonts article.
In the meantime, you might enjoy this interview: Akira Kobayashi: transcending typo boundaries.
Feb82008
Karambir singh rohilla
dear sir/ madam
i am typographer from india /delhi. i have design aprox 200 nonletin font regards
Feb212008
johno (iLT)
Karambir
Do you have a link to those fonts?
Feb212008
Stephen Tiano
John,
Given the great success you’ve already had, you certainly don’t need accolades from me. Nevertheless …
I received a blogging “Excellence” nod from Mark Long of TSTC’s Publishing Blog.
Although these “Excellent Blog” awards are informal, it was still nice for me to get some recognition.They work in a “pay-it-forward” kind of way.
Then it becomes my turn to name ten excellent blogs. For me, that was easy. I mean, the very reason I have a blogroll on my own blog is to gain fast access to blogs that I regard as excellent reading and that I want to keep up with on a regular basis. Naturally, one of the blogs I named was I love typography.
Now, John should you choose to accept the assignment, it’s your turn. Steve
Mar12008
Mike
John,
I have always had an interest in typography but never really had anywhere to turn to in order to get any information that I was extremely interested in. You state that your site does little to elicit the feelings of wow but I think this may be the reason I like it so much.
I don’t have to come here and listen to someone’s life story to read up on some information, it is just straight to the point. Obviously I am not completely heartless because I did go to the about section and read up on you.
Anyway, your site has given me enough information and confidence to start messing around with some amateur typography posters and the like. I will readily admit that I am not that great yet, but your site gives me a starting point and a frame of reference to get started on, and I thank you for that.
Mar22008
ramya
dear john
i read your article ‘ariel vs helvetica. i feel that some of the letters you have used to show the difference are wrong. i’m sure the ‘helvetica J’ (red) is not the one which you have shown. please confirm whether it is correct or not. otherwise the article is very helpful.
regards, ramya.
Mar142008
Nana
Thank you for such a great website! I didn’t know that you’re in Japan! I’m from Tokyo, living in Minneapolis. I’m an identity consultant/designer, but do some translation work here and there. I take it you have a lot of Jp-Eng/Eng-Jp help, but maybe I could give you a hand some time. よろしくお願いします！
Mar202008
DamionKutaeff
Hello everybody, my name is Damion, and I’m glad to join your conmunity,
and wish to assit as far as possible.
Mar222008
Roberto Leal
Your Blog is my daily read, well when you do write. I must give you thanks for keeping up the task of writing; it shows that you are dedicated. Though I am not a Type Designer, I am fascinated by a person’s penmanship which I believe is a true art.
One thing I try to better whenever I get the chance is my Penmanship, it has evolved through the years and maybe one day I would like to see it as a Font Family. But from reading your posts I noticed that it would be a lengthy task to achieve that. But who knows, I could hire someone.
You live in Japan you say, I dream of living in Japan. I love their Art of Calligraphy as much as I love writing. Do you have samples of Japanese Calligraphy? Well I am glad there is someone out there who loves Typography as much as you. Keep up the good work.
Cheers from Belize.
Mar252008
Magnus
Hi John.
I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your website and all the effort you put into it. I recently started up a Swedish typography/graphic design blog and I just made a post about yours.
As well, I wanted to ask you if you know of any books you could recommend to an ambitious young graphic design student.
Thank you and keep up the good work.
Regards,
Magnus
Gothenburg, Sweden.
Mar292008
Chris
Hi John, great site. I’ve spent the morning sifting through it instead of working. I’m a graphic designer from just over the hills in Ehime, so it was surprising to read you’re in Kagawa.
I’m heading to Design Festa in Tokyo in May, but I was wondering if you know if any other upcoming design events here in Japan?
Cheers, Chris
Apr112008
johno (iLT)
Chris
Small world. I don’t know of any upcoming type-related events in Japan. You’ve just missed Christin Schwartz in Tokyo. Feel free to drop me an email any time: jboardley{AT}gmail.com
Apr122008
Quakeulf
Keep up the good work! <:3
Apr132008
johno (iLT)
Quakeulf
Thanks. Great image in your websight’s header. Is it your work?
Apr142008
AD
I would love to see an outline of trends in typography throughout the 20th Century!
Apr152008
Stephen Tiano
Months ago, maybe as far back as Thanksgiving or so, I received a phone call from someone—believe it or not, I was so busy at the time that I did not take care to get the guy’s name—who identified himself as a Paris-based freelance writer preparing an article on trends in typography for PRINT magazine. I don’t remember where he said he became aware of me, but I was one of a number of people he said he was interviewing over the phone.
This writer said it would be months before the article came out. But I keep checking the latest issues of PRINT to see whether the article is in it yet—so far, no dice—and whether I’m quoted at all.
But judging from the impression I retain of this interview—tho’ I cannot recall anything that he specifically asked or that I answered—it may be the kind of article that touches on the current end of typographical trends.
Apr152008
Quakeulf
Yes, it’s all my work on my own homepage. I know the site design itself is a bit lacking as of now, but I don’t have much time to make a better design, but I wish!
Thank you for your comment, the same to you! This site is wonderful, I check it every day.
Apr162008
Jonathan Concepcion
Hi Johno,
Since this site was launch I was very amazed of the content and also the design. I just want to say please keep up the good work. Cheers!
Apr202008
fluffless
Hi!
johno, I’m leaving a comment to let you know I’ve just sent you an email about translations (same email address as the one I’m using to leave the comment) so that you know what to search (I’m guessing you are getting a lot of email messages)
I love iLT :)
Apr202008
David Windham
nice work
May42008
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