Experimental typeface inspired by the work of Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964). Drawn in 1990 by Tobias Frere-Jones; now one of the co-owners of H&FJ.
I love how this face captures the orthogonals of the De Stijl movement, of which Rietveld’s famous Red Blue Chair was one of their icons.
Wish this Rietveld type were available somewhere.
Found via a book that I used to have – it vanished into a murky, dusty pile many, many years ago
Another Metropolis remix (above).
The complete, newly restored Metropolis (1927) will be showing locally at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, September 11 and 12, 2010.
Found via Alex R. Trujillo
‘Abbot Nicolaus Telegdi purchased the Vienna Jesuit press in 1577 and started to work immediately with its own worn typefaces. His first works were publications of his own speeches.’
Amondó Szegi’s take on Telegdi’s types are a well-worn set of fonts. With some kooky dingbats.
The Caslon family took type to much bolder heights in the 19th century. And a copy of their 1841 specimen book can be perused thanks to Google Books.
Go here.
Found via I love typography
‘I’m a Sexy Font’ poster, created by Obtenebratio
Back in the early 1990s, the Carol Twombly-drawn Adobe Caslon was one of the first font packages I ever purchased.
I’ve been in love with it ever since. I use it on just about everything – including this blog’s title, my own logotype. I’m a font designer myself, but still don’t consider my own letterforms to even come close to what was accomplished with this particular interpretation of Caslon. [Read more →]
‘How much should a revival of a typeface look like the original? Well, just as with performing an old song – an analogy Matthew Carter has made – there is something you have to like in the original in order want to revive it. And you can’t depart from the original too much, or you lose the charm of the old song that appealed to you in the first place.’
Over at I love typography, a look at William Berkson’s Caslon revival – and the work involved in such an endeavor. Read more here.
Available thru The Font Bureau.
‘A revival of classic eighteenth-century type by William Caslon, featuring shorter descenders, and higher contrast giving the face a more useful, modern quality.’
I was lucky enough to see the Replay type family in production. And a got to play with some of the beta versions; used one for a fashion logo.
Stefan Hattenbach has been working on this beautiful Caslon update for a few years now. And like all his fonts, there is brilliance in the details.
Replay is available exclusively through Veer.
“Caslon’ is an example of what became known in the commercial world of the 20th century as a ‘brand’: a family name that was not only widely recognised by customers but which stood as a guarantee of long-standing integrity.’
William Caslon’s types keep making a comeback.
One of the first revivals was made in the late 1800s by Chiswick Press, London.
Full story here.
‘It was Benjamin Franklin’s favorite typeface, and the first printings of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were set in Caslon.’
I am a history junkie.
And I loved the scene in HBO’s John Adams miniseries when Adams disputed the accuracy of the above painting (video, below). And how Ben Franklin’s approach to French diplomacy was more . . . ardent, than formal.
(I also loved how the miniseries used titled camera angles – like the United States was founded by villains from the old Batman tee vee series)
William Caslon’s fonts were the typefaces of the American Revolution.
Here’s some great reads on early American documents – as handy PDFs.
And here’s a link to John Adams on DVD.
Pages from Recueil d’Alphabets à Dessiner by René Henry Munsch (1951).
More here.
Found via Biggest Apple
Part one
‘Fry travels across Europe to find out how Gutenberg kept his development work secret, about the role of avaricious investors and unscrupulous competitors and why Gutenberg’s approach started a cultural revolution.’
Stephen Fry loves design. That’s one of the reasons he’s really cool. [Read more →]
‘I could not be happier about this, or any more proud to live in a city that recognise the importance of preserving this kind of work.’
Vintage signs unearthed and preserved in Copenhagen. Details here.
Found via Martin Klasch
‘The Who came to see me for a job. Then Cream. Then the Stones. And then The Beatles.’
Pictured, cover for Elton John’s 1975 concept album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by designer/illustrator Alan Aldridge.
Aldridge interview here. Book, The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes here. Babel track, below.
Elton John: Tower of Babel
‘Nuit Blanche explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection’
A film by Arev Manoukian. Making of video here.
Los Angeles is famous for its billboards.
Pictured: 1925 promotional art for the Los Angeles real estate market by A. Asanger – from one of my favorite, inexpensive design resource books: Advertising Art in the Art Deco Style.
‘The film’s title is an allusion to Tatlin’s Tower. This animated short by Theodore Ushev is like a whirlwind tour of Russian constructivist art and is filled with visual references to artists of the era, including Vertov, Stenberg, Rodchenko, Lissitsky and Popova.’
Brilliantly done! From 2006.
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