the mehallo blog. beta.

Designer Erik Spiekermann on what it’s like to be a typomaniac

Extra footage from Gary Hustwit’s Helvetica film. I still use Spiekermann’s Stop Stealing Sheep as the introductory text in my beginning typography courses.

Tags: design, education, thoughts, typography by steve
2 comments  . . .   

‘Foo-der-ah’ – as one of my students once called it. Paul Renner’s Futura is everywhere – and here’s a write up in idsgn’s ongoing know your type series.

Or – if you really want to get your hands dirty – snag a copy of the expanded edition of Christopher Burke’s wonderful biography of Paul Renner – detailing the creation of Futura – how knock offs were released before he even finished his drawings, his arrest by the Nazis, other fonts, sketches, experiments  . . .  But even more, the book details philosophy, beliefs and how they contributed to the creation of types that are as fresh today as they were in the 1920s.

Did you hear that IKEA???

Tags: cool finds, design, design history, education, fonts, typography by steve
1 comment  . . .   

Here’s a link to a cool collection of typographic wallpapers designed by Arno Kathollnig/Typoatelier. Including a fun ((t+y+p+o)-o)+e= version (pictured above) featuring my very own Jeanne Moderno fonts.

Tags: cool finds, design, design history, typography by steve
2 comments  . . .   

I miss these icons. Susan Kare developed them – and the standard city-named fonts – for the original Apple Macintosh in the early 1980s.

I particularly like the alert message guy in the right corner – a playful bitmapped take that has a similar feel as Oskar Schlemmer’s 1921 bauhaus icon.

My grungy Alta California font was inspired by Kare’s original San Francisco font; which, unfortunately hasn’t been available on a Macintosh for many years. I have a great respect for her ability to convey so many many different letters within a small 72 dpi black and white space. Unfortunately – thru gratuitous use – San Francisco did sort of become the Comic Sans of its day. Sort of.

Check out Kare’s online store for some fantastic tees and notecards. Rad digital art from a simpler era. An era that didn’t need gradients and drop shadows in order to dazzle.

And drop by the Japan-based Vintage Mac Museum to see some of Kare’s original icons in action.

Tags: cool finds, design, design history, fonts, typography by steve
3 comments  . . .   

If you’re one who thinks there just aren’t enough font resources worth blogging about, Johno of I Love Typography begs to differ.

His newest endeavor – the Type Daily news aggregator – will embed you in a universe of lettering arts. A one-stop-source for typography, fonts and lettering; just about all the major resources are there.

Pop by and fill that typographic need you know you have.

Tags: cool finds, design, fonts, typography by steve
Comments Off on Type Daily launches

Via design*sponge

Words and Eggs has posted a bunch of cool type images, linking to some really cool design blogs. (Yes, I’ve been in quite the type mood this week – with a little bit more on the way)

Via Typoretum

Tags: cool finds, design, fonts, typography by steve
1 comment  . . .   

Writer Ian Peacock looks at the ‘hidden power of typography’

Via the Times of London

Plus, here’s that wonderful Typographics video that’s been bouncing around, produced by Boca and Ryan Uhrich  . . .

Tags: design history, fonts, typography by steve
1 comment  . . .   

Typography on the web is about to change dramatically. Several entities are involved. I have a bunch of my fonts about to launch with Typekit.

And here’s a really good rundown by Elliot Jay Stocks, posted on the i love typography blog.

Tags: design, fonts, typography by steve
6 comments  . . .   

i’m digging all this
I’ve had these merchandise ideas for a few years and just never got around to building them until recently. Production issues always held me up   . . .  so did fulfillment, pricing   . . .  inventory   . . .   [Read more →]

Tags: fashion, fonts, mehallo merchandise, originally posted on my myspace blog, typography by steve
2 comments  . . .   

Swiss International Style guru Massimo Vignelli has released a new book on using type in graphic design. In it he explains in concise detail how it’s done. And as with all his work, it’s precise, clean, neat. Also, it’s free.

Download here: The Vignelli Canon [PDF]

Tags: cool finds, design, education, originally posted on my myspace blog, typography by steve
1 comment  . . .   

This summer I moved a bunch of my fonts over to MyFonts.com. They have a been a great resource for really interesting fonts, many from independents (like myself) that don’t always make it on to mainstream radar – or get lost in very large catalogs.

Today I found that one of my newest – Escoffier Capitaux – is profiled in the Fall 2008 edition of In Your Face; written up by Joshua Lurie Terrell, founder of the Typographica blog. See: 1st column, part way down.

I’d love to see it being used in a menu somewhere. I’d been tinkering with it on and off for the past 5 years or so.

Tags: culinary, fonts, mehallo merchandise, originally posted on my myspace blog, typography by steve
6 comments  . . .