PROJECTDUESOSOONWHAT?!

interesting infographics i came across today.
i particularly like chad hagen's work, solely because it represents absolutely nothing, but looks so gorgeous doing it.

also in love with this recently graduated parisian student's work.
stunning, and all handmade rather than using photoshop!
not to mention, the author of the blog points out how much he respects and likes to see a well-done book in a student's portfolio.
here's to making this process book exponentially better than the last!
(and to live bon iver..)

type in motion

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

typeface: the film

a little late on the draw, but hey. here are my thoughts on the film "typeface" that we watched a couple of weeks ago in type.

though the film was super depressing to me, i have a new found love for wood type and letterpress. the designs and texture within the wood is so beautifully translated to paper, i definitely agree with one of the people interviewed that said it's possible to recreate using filters, but nothing compares to the original. even though the film was super depressing in regards to how wood type and letterpress is viewed and used today, i have to say, i still have an interest in pursuing taking a letterpress class and really learning how to create some beautiful pieces using wood type.

HOLY MOLY, TAKE MY POLL-Y!

My poll is to the right on the sidebar. Just wanting to get your guys' input on cursing/curse words. How scandoscious!


PS. there are four polls total, some of them are quite far away from the others, I don't know why that happened. So make sure you answer four questions!

type poster inspiration

clarendon & robert besley

In typography, a slab serif (also called mechanistic, square serif or Egyptian) typeface is a type of serif typeface characterized by thick, block-like serifs. Serif terminals may be either blunt and angular (Rockwell), or rounded (Courier). Slab serif typefaces generally have no bracket (feature connecting the strokes to the serifs). Some consider slab serifs to be a subset of modern serif typefaces. Because of their bold appearance, they are most commonly used in large headlines and advertisements but are seldom used in body text. The exception is those that are monospaced, because of their usage in typewriters, but that is declining as electronic publishing becomes more common. As printed material began to branch out from the familiar realm of books, new typefaces were needed for use in advertising, posters, and flyers. Slab serif printing type was first commercially introduced by Vincent Figgins under the name Antique, with copies of specimen dated 1815 and 1817.[1] There are three subgroups of slab serif typefaces: Clarendon model: Clarendon typefaces, unlike other slab serifs, actually have some bracketing and some contrast in size in the actual serif. Examples include Clarendon and Egyptienne. The name Clarendon is now often used as a generic term for all bracketed slab-serif typefaces. Neo-grotesque model: The most common slab serif typefaces, Neo-grotesque have no bracketing and evenly weighted stems and serifs. The letterforms are similar to neo-grotesque or realist sans-serif fonts. Examples include Rockwell and Memphis. Italienne model: In the Italienne model, the serifs are even heavier than the stems, forging a dramatic, attention-drawing effect. Some Italienne slab serifs, such as Playbill, have a characteristic Western appearance, likely as a result of their frequent use in western-era posters. Typewriter typefaces: Typewriter slab serif typefaces are named for their use in strike-on typewriting. These faces originated in monospaced format with fixed-width, meaning that every character takes up exactly the same amount of horizontal space. This feature is necessitated by the nature of the typewriter apparatus. Examples include Courier and Courier New (both Neo-grotesque model) and Prestige Elite (Clarendon model). Clarendon is an English slab-serif typeface that was created in England by Robert Besley for the Fann Street Foundry in 1845. Due to its popularity, Besley registered the typeface under Britain's Ornamental Designs Act of 1842. The patent expired three years later, and other foundries were quick to copy it. The reason it was so widely copied is simple ó it was extremely useful. It provided the attention-getting boldness to highlight a word or phrase, yet at the same time was compact and easier to read than the fat faces and antiques of the period. It wasn't until sixty years later that the concept of a typeface family of different weights was developed with DeVinne and Cheltenham. Until then, Clarendon served as everyone’s all-purpose bold face. It can be used for ads, flyers, headers or even short text. Don't leave home without it. Clarendon is considered the first registered typeface, with the original matrices and punches remaining at Stephenson Blake and later residing at the Type Museum, London. Clarendon is considered the first to design a ‘related bold’ for emphasizing text. They were marketed by Stephenson Blake as Consort, though some additional weights (a bold and italics) were cut in the 1950s. It was named after the Clarendon Press in Oxford. The typeface was reworked by the Monotype foundry in 1935. It was revised by Hermann Eidenbenz in 1953. It has heavy, slab serifs and ball terminals on the arms of some letters. This stocky, functional, Victorian face can be seen in early advertisements as well as in dictionary entries. The font was used extensively by the government of the German Empire for proclamations during World War I, and was also common in wanted posters of the American Old West. Clarendon was used by the United States National Park Service on traffic signs, but has been replaced by NPS Rawlinson Roadway. In 2008, the typeface was utilized extensively by the Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain in the re-launch of their corporate identity. Clarendon can also be seen in the logotypes of corporations such as Sony, Pitchfork Media, and Wells Fargo. Many variations of the typeface, including the popular French Clarendon, appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century. Today most major foundries have their own digital version of Clarendon with dozens (if not hundreds) of other fonts influenced by the Clarendon style: Red Rooster’s Consort, PSY/OPS’ Oxtail, Adobe’s Rosewood, URW++’s Volta, Canada Type’s Clarendon Text, Parkinson’s Sutro, Font Bureau’s Belizio and Giza, to name a few.

History of the world.

January 29 – The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is published for the first time (New York Evening Mirror).

February 28 – The United States Congress approves the annexation of Texas.

July 4 – Near Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau embarks on a 2-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond

Biography

Robert Besley was born in England in 1794. Besley joined the Fann Street Foundry in 1838. The Fann Street Foundry was also home of typographer William Thorowgood, creator of Grotesque. When Besley created Clarendon he had it patented, as England just passed a bill allowing that. The typeface became so popular, though, that the copyright was soon broken by people creating knock-offs. Still known as the first Registered typeface. Besley also created a typeface he named after himself, Besley, as it was popular to do so in the time. He then went on to become the Lord Mayor of London in 1869. Besley died shortly there after in 1876.

Bibliography:

Faden, Alissa. "Font Facts." Princeton Architectural Press. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. <http://www.papress.com/t>.

Haralambous, Yannis, and P. Scott. Horne. Fonts & Encodings. Beijing: O'Reilly, 2007. Print.

Lawson, Alexander S. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: Godine, 1990. Print.