Happy TypograFriday! It’s been a few weeks, type fans, but the type world went and moved on without us. In case you missed its debut a month back, there’s a new typophile magazine in the world. 8 Faces is a project of British designer Elliot Jay Stocks, and it’s a very approachable magazine for people obsessed with letterforms. The 1000 copy print run sold out in two hours, but there is a PDF edition available too.
The magazine is primarily long interview/profile pieces with luminaries in different subsections of the type world such as veteran designer Erik Spiekermann, superhot letterer Jessica Hische, webtype expert Jason Santa Maria, and quality freefont pioneer Jos Buivenga. Earls asks good questions, and they give interesting responses.
For as timeless (or even classical) an art form as type design is, there is a recurring discussion of the very interesting times we are in, in terms of webtype formats, technologies, pricing models and so on. One needn’t be a total typophile to appreciate it; it’s probably the clearest resource I have seen for where the present and future of webtype.
And the title of the magazine comes from a spread that ends each interview, where the designer answers the eternal question: if you could use just 8 typefaces for the rest of your life, which would you choose? I love hearing people’s answers to these sorts of questions (and if you do too may I suggest Types Best Remembered/Forgotten? And because we aren’t holding our breath for Earls to profile us, we’ve preemptively answered the question for ourselves.
Kirsten: I use the same five almost all the time… Futura, Avenir, Helvetica, Century Gothic, Cursive Handwriting
Jessica: Some obvious. Some cheesy. Some very similar to others. Some I really like, but haven’t yet had the pleasure of using. Futura (obviously), Avenir, Clarendon, Century Schoolbook, Cooper Black (that’s right, I said it), Mrs. Eaves, Rockwell, Neutra
Owen: Sentinel (I was going to say Clarendon, but the folks in 8 Faces #1 convinced me that Sentinel supercedes it now), Neutraface, Knockout, Omnes Pro, Futura, Freight (love the versatility of the whole family but even if it was just Freight Micro it might make it onto the list anyway), Bodoni, AGaramond
Samantha: Estilo Text, Vendetta, Neutraface, Clarendon/Sentinel, Futura, Garamond, Omnes Pro, GarageGothic (good thing we’re married)
There will be a second issue in a longer print run before Christmas, themed “You.”
We’re pleased to share, Design des Troy cards will soon be available in two more stores. One is San Francisco-via-Brooklyn handmade supershop Rare Device, and the other is Portland, Oregon shop Pigeon Toe Ceramics. Lisa Jones of Pigeon Toe makes deliciously exquisite planters and pots (you can buy them at Rare Device, among other shops, and one is featured here in the bottom row), which helped inspired this week’s Schmetsy about the mysterious beauty of succulents and air plants.
There are days when writing a blog is a little tough — days when it seems like there isn’t anything new or cool out there. And then there are days when you see something like this, and it is so cool that it more than makes up for the days that were less than inspiring. It is a collaboration between the fantastic Canadian band Arcade Fire and artist Chris Milk, and built with the help of some of the minds at Google. I don’t want to ruin it by talking about it too much, just take a look.
After you watch it, you can learn more about the project here.
My sister’s friend needed recommendations for prints for her baby girl’s room. I thought that sounded like an excellent idea for an Etsy Schmetsy, so, here you go Lisa.
We know it can be difficult to sort through the huge selection of handmade stuff on Etsy, so if like Lisa you’d like our help selecting, or if there is a Schmetsy you’d like to see, please let us know. you can comment below, or send us an email. Click here to see all of the past Schmetsy.
Happy Monday! Kat Heye’s is one of my favorite illustrators. She’s got such a knack for knowing when to stop drawing/painting…a skill I admire so much. Enjoy!
Check out Kat’s flickr site here.
Personal website here.
Happy Monday! Brandi Strickland, a multi-media artist, and also one of the two people behind “the paper whistle” site has some really lovely collage pieces that I’m really enjoying. Hope you do too!
Check out Brandi’s flickr site here. Personal site here. Company site here.
We went to see Stefan Sagmeister talk at the Levi’s Workshop last week — sort of amazing, really, that one of the most famous designers in the world spoke to an audience of maybe 200, for free. For those who are unfamiliar with our profession’s enfant terrible, he’s a smart and humorous designer with a refreshingly honest standpoint.
What you may not know is that after seven years of running his studio, he took a full year off for inspiration and exploration, and intends to do this every seven years. He justifies this decision admirably well, and as he is prone to saying, Having guts always works out for me.
He showed slides of a few of the projects from his second one, from which he recently returned, from Bali. His first, where he stayed in New York, he considers mostly a failure. And yet, a page from a diary from that first year headed Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far has provided him the content for dozens of high-profile projects for a variety of clients over the last several years (plus a very-cleverly designed book and community-participatory website).
Some of the entries are thought-provoking like koans, like Jenny Holzer truisms. Others are shockingly banal, at least when you’re expecting Holzer-level thinking. But the typographic settings of them (often made with collaborators such as Marian Bantjes) are always interesting.
Oh in case you’re wondering: this Absolut ad isn’t Sagmeister but a complete (if well-executed) ripoff of his style.
You’ve most likely seen Coralie Bickford-Smith’s lovely Penguin clothbound classics. And while they are beautiful, I think Ms. Bickford-Smith has outdone herself with the new covers for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books. Spend some time at her site looking around at some more of her work; she has a real knack for creating covers that work really well in a series and are desirable art objects individually. Hers are the sort of book covers that make you want to own the book regardless of the content.