TypograFriday: “Unchanged since 2002. Now completely new.”

In case this is the font-iest of blogs you read, let me be the first to break it to you that Typographica is back! Their opening salvo, a return of the “Oscars of type Design,” their Favorite Typefaces of the year feature (see also 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 entries), is terrific and their new layout marvelous.

This is one of a handful of blogs that were in my very first blog bookmarks folder, that inspired me since waaaay back in the day. I know I teased them for not updating (and url vagaries) in my eulogy of SpeakUp and now I feel like crap about it. But as Stephen Coles writes in his very read-worthy note about the relaunch [please note that his links in this passage constitute the A-list of type blogs/forums today! Bookmark’m!]

It wasn’t just that our attention was diverted — other type bloggers took the reins and did it better, more beautifully and comprehensively, with more brains, more fervor, and more expertise. And, of course, there’s really no reason to go anywhere else to discuss type with knowledgeable peers than Typophile.

The new typographica, then, is not trying to compete with its supercharged grandchildren as another type blog, but as a “vehicle for typeface recommendations and reviews.” I couldn’t be more excited. Four of our favorites from this year’s favorites list (other than Archer that we already established is next on our must-have list!) … after the jump.

Modern Suite — When sorting type cases in letterpress class, I ran into some serifs like Scotch Modern here, and could think of no digital type that could replicate their feel. I actually bugged my Toronto designer friend, who is one and a half weeks into new fatherdom, to let his know Nick Shinn was talking in his town next week. I am intensely interested in this sort of revival of something nearly lost to history, for which there is no clear demand for a revival (unlike for instance Gotham and their ilk which clearly relate to a contemporary trend)

Mary Read — We make wedding invitations, and one thing you may not know about contemporary brides, or at least the ones that want custom design, is: overwhelmingly they reject scripts as old-fashioned and end up wanting clean sans serifs. We however keep wanting them to want scripts, and as such always have an eye out for scripts that can capture the contemporary bride’s heart. This one, with its calligraphic, grafitti, and angular influences, is a sure winner. If you want to see it in action, it’s featured all the heck over the brand-new Uppercase magazine (more on that later) to delightful effect.

Lakeside — Another way to sneak scripts onto the plate of today’s bride is to use a vernacular sign-painterly script that feels straight out of a 50s vacation brochure. And while we have a few of these already, Lakeside (and fellow 2008 list-featuree House’s Studio Lettering) take connected lettering scripts to a new level of quality. It’s lovely and effervescent and does not feel like a font at all.

History — OMG this type system is so far off the hook I can’t even explain it. A monoline humanist sans that you can add weight, serifs, slabs, swashes, dots and dozens of other things to. The PDF of the type specimen shows it off rather compellingly/extensively, but you really should play with it for yourselves.