Type News: Cause & Control
You can’t contain the Type News, you can only hope to speed it up! What.
Sprouting type
Nate Piekos and his Blambot joint are known for authentic comic book and illustrative type. The latest addition to their massive collection of energetic display faces is Monsterific — a chunky and condensed all-caps headliner. It’s just rough enough around the edges to provide handset spontaneity, while oozing a classic seventies horror film vibe. If that wasn‘t enough, there’s also plenty of hot interlock ligature action!
Berlin-based Fatype is the typographic home of Anton Koovit and Yassin Baggar. Specializing in custom type solutions, their latest commercial release is the unassuming and rather idiosyncratic Aleksei. A solid, low-contrast text family that just happens to feature some unique, unexpected concave details amidst the bracketed serifs and serious angles.
An enormous number of alternates, initials, finials, “fancy capital” ligatures, and other glyphic wonderment sets off Typofonderie’s gorgeous Le Monde Livre Classic. It’s much more than an “extravagant” extension to their stylish Le Monde Livre family. Designed to work equally well in text and titling display settings, this new variation on the Renaissance theme offers exuberant character combinations, subtly dramatic swashes, and Baskerville-esque italic capitals.
Rúben Dias’ Taca is a warm and approachable alternative to the machined sterility of faces such as Novarese’s ubiquitous Eurostile. This five weight “squircle” sans feels experimental, yet is straightforward in its stylized approach — bolstered by finessed details and a functionally organic structure.
The release of Joshua Darden’s Dapifer has been long anticipated. Originally commissioned by Mucca Design’s Matteo Bologna and Christine Celic Strohl, this unusual slabbish serif blends old style chops with a more “rational framework”. All six weights are equipped with a distinctively chiseled typographic voice, fabulously aggressive italics, and a selection of restrained, but flexible alternates.
Silly? Perhaps. Limited in use? Undoubtedly. But there’s still an inescapably mesmerizing quality in Will Ryan’s Slinkster. Maybe it’s the soft spot we have for a typeface inspired by that springy, stair-walking toy from our childhood. Maybe it’s the blatantly hypnotic quality to the repetitive, geometric motion throughout the limited (but growing) character set. Regardless of how you justify it, this display face bounces into its own niche.
Shambling news
This week might feel light, but there’s some good stuff (as usual), some of which should take root.
- Get your hands on a copy of the second issue of Codex before it’s too late!
- Skinny jeans, obscure bands, and PBR — oh my! David Sudweeks takes a look at hipster design.
- John Gruber reviews the Kindle Paperwhite and its (not-so-great) typography.
- David Nguyen examines the typography of Wuthering Hights.
- Nicole Minoza has assembled the collection of videos from the Type Directors Club’s “Type Legends” series for your viewing pleasure.
- Monotype is sponsoring an MIT study on typefaces and driver distraction.
- Speaking of sponsorship, consider backing NYC Type on Kickstarter
- Anne Olde Kalter is making some nifty one-off letterpress prints.
- Watch Peter Dean, et al., recreate a poster that inspired John Lennon.
- ATypI Hong Kong ends tomorrow, so here’s a look at some of the stuff we’re missing. (We’ll try to provide more coverage next week!)
- Aegir Hallmundur has come across a fascinating artifact, The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid.
Seedy events
Looking for something to do? Just add water.
- November 16 in New York, check out “Adventures in Publishing,” part of the Brand Perfect Tour.
- Consider entering “the world’s premier typography competition,” from the Type Directors Club. Entries are due December 14, so get hopping.
Agent Orange
Is this good-bye? Well, not really — because we’ll be back next week!
Thanks to Grant Hutchinson for cultivating this week’s new-type planting.
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