Give me my Fix

January is certainly the month of lists, and here’s MyFonts list of their Top Ten Fonts of 2007. My personal favourites are these two. The first is a ‘handwriting’ font inspired by a handwriting sample from the 1930s. Mark van Bronkhorst turned it into a font and named it Sacre Bleu:

The next is Jeremy Dooley’s (Insigne Foundry) Aviano and Aviano Sans, the rich- and rather dignified-looking all-caps display faces.

One List to Rule Them all

Of course the real list (the list we’re all waiting for) is Typographica’s favourite typefaces of 2007.

Typographica’s review of our favorite typefaces of 2007 is in production and we’ll publish it far more promptly than in past years. Keep your refresh fingers pushing and your feed readers running — the article will grace this space very soon.

If you can’t survive the next few days(?) until Typographic’s best of 2007 list, then you can get your fix through past lists: 2006, 2005 and 2004. That should alleviate the withdrawal symptoms until the next one.

Here are a couple of my favourites from 2005-2006:

Omnes by Joshua Darden:

and Zingha by Xavier Dupré:

One of my regular sources of inspiration is AisleOne, and I found this site on his links list. There’s some fine work to be found on the ISO50 web site; I particularly like this rather edible looking poster:

And here’s another rather comfortable and inspiring example from AisleOne:

The next item is here, not because I’m suggesting you buy this calendar from Linotype (though you can if you really want to, of course), but rather here to inspire. How about making your own type-calendar. A different type for each month, perhaps; or type treatments like those below. I like May:

If you make one that you’re particularly pleased with, why not submit it as a wallpaper.

Moving Type, created by Seb Lester, was featured in the 2007 Typophile Film Festival, and demonstrates the varied emotions that type elicits. I mentioned above the rich-looking Aviano. There are other types that shout corporate, while others exude confidence and elegance, or conjure up whole eras. I’m sure you can think of many such examples.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nOiNG2TCeXQ
And here’s one of Seb’s typefaces, Neo Sans–also used for this article’s header. Thanks, Seb.

Readers’ Type

It’s really encouraging to come across the work of iLT readers. Nour is a regular reader and was inspired to have a go at type design upon reading Alec’s So You Want to Create a Font series (part 1 | part 2).

Many seem to be put off by the amount of work involved in creating a font. However, what’s to say that you ever have to complete and publish it. Why not create just the lowercase–or even a few letters–for your own use. In the process, you will learn a great deal about how type works, and your good type radar will become that much more sensitive. So don’t be put off by font creation software, discretionary ligatures and kerning–take up your pencil and paper and get drawing. You won’t regret it. If you do have a go, be sure to let me know.

Coming up…

I have so many articles prepared, that I’m really not sure which to post first, so just this time, I’ll let you decide:

Here are your options:

1. An interview with Ellen Lupton;

2. Talking About Type (a kind of essay about type the way we talk and write about it);

3. Type Terms–Transitional Type, part 3 (part 1 | part 2).

All of the above will be published, but it’s for you to choose the next one to be published on Wednesday or Thursday.

And finally…

Well, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing (kerning, gardening, washing the car…), have a great Sunday.

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