for fonts, form is the difference between legibility and chicken scratch, but for christian boer a graphic designer with dyslexia the function of form has a greater importance. he has created a typeface called dyslexie to combat the brain’s tendency to flip and rotate letters. scientific american explores the font and it’s designer’s process in this article including the challenges dyslexics face and boer’s thesis that led to the creation of the font.
no it is not an obscure math course you avoided like the plague in college, it is a community-inspired type endeavor. the phraseology project is an on-going typography experiment that allows followers to submit words or phrases that the team turns into a type study. this creative community was concocted by drew melon, and has since become popular enough to require the contributions of four other type-lovers.
there is a friendly battle brewing on lettering vs. calligraphy between martina flor and giuseppe salerno. you can vote for the daily letter and compare the two typography techniques. a phrase or keyword is issued to inspire the letters and their creative variations to everyone’s visual delight.
in arabic cultures calligraphy and the letterform have been a high art motif for centuries, here are some examples of roman typography being elevated to artistic status in various forms:
it is fairly common knowledge that you need a balance of work and home life, and bringing work home with you can cause some problems. here are a few excuses to bring typographic design into the home that won’t destabilize your work/life equilibrium:
since its introduction in 2000, gotham has been steadily gaining traction potentially making it the helvetica of the 21st century. this utilitarian sans serif designed by tobias frere-jones, owes its form to much of the signage found around new york city. while many brands have adopted helvetica as a brand element including target and apple, increasingly gotham has been the go-to font for logos and word-marks over the past decade. underconsideration has started a blog dedicated to logos that feature gotham as the font of choice.
maybe books and print won’t go the way of the “radio star,” after all. there seems to be an enduring place for both technologies with no end to either. each format has its own advantages and lends itself to different purposes. this video shares the optimism and reflection of an industry that has been said to be doomed for years.
it seems that celebrities are on a kick to diversify there resumes lately. JAY-Z designed the ny nets logo, justin timberlake has taken on interior decorating, and now drew barrymore has made her foray into the wine business. this introduction has been met with a lot of industry skepticism, especially the package design by shepard fairey.
generally speaking, i think there is a lot of opportunity in the spirits category to have fun with the package/label design. i don’t think the barrymore label is offensive, but i also don’t think it is all that memorable and most definitely won’t have any shelf presence. i am sure that they were trying to separate this product line from the actress, but they hired shepard fairey… use that resource to its fullest! here are a few examples of beverage packaging that walks that fine line of simplicity, personality, and good design:
[package 1, package 2, package 3, package 4, package 5, package 6]
many believe the closing of print magazines and newspapers is heralding the end of the print and publishing era. but with the release of books like the hard cover penguin classics series and online blogs like once wed moving to print, the state of the industry may just be a matter of perspective.
a helvetica counter movement has recently taken root. a demand for type and logo design to have more personality and approachability has created a renaissance in the industry and all but saved type design from obscurity. saranna drury is one such designer bringing whimsy to type.
