Typographica

YouTube video by thrillscience Adobe PostScript: The Language of Business (1991)

I cannot believe this video is real 😂
@adobe.com #typography #fontfeed

Still from a film or video in which several people (shot in extreme close up) in formal attire stare blankly in space while one person talks to the camera.

Still from a film or video in which one man(shot in extreme close up) in formal attire talks to the camera while another man very close behind him stares at it.

Still from a film or video in which several people (shot in extreme close up) in formal attire stare blankly in space while one person talks to the camera.

Still from a film or video in which one woman (shot in extreme close up) in formal attire talks to the camera while a man very close behind her stares blankly in space.

I hear that. In this definition of lettering it’s still a valid term. “Custom numerals”works. “Hand-drawn numbers” works too.

Amazing. Not sure I would call this a font (reusable prefab letterforms), as it was custom lettering just for this design.

This Is The Most Unexpected Instrument Typography On A Military Vehicle Ever - The Autopian When you think of military vehicles and typography, what comes to mind? I bet I know what comes to mind; I bet it’s some sort of stencil-based typography, right? You know it was. That’s because that’s...

Quick, fun read about the font used on the instrument cluster of this Volvo radio command vehicle.

A collage of typographic details from Black Sabbath’s first four albums, shown alongside cropped specimens of the typefaces used.

New on the blog: The arcane alphabets of Black Sabbath

To commemorate Ozzy Osbourne, we took a deep dive into the obscure typefaces used on Black Sabbath’s first four album covers.

fontsinuse.com/uses/35835/t...

(Buckle up, it’s a long one.)

The closing tag of the link makes the algorithm think the s is the beginning of a new word and changes the apostrophe into an opening single quote. As with all text styles (italics, bold, links, etc.) it is important to include punctuation at the end. It’s been best practice in typesetting forever.

Yes, that’s it!

Some would disagree with that practice, as the punctuation isn’t necessarily part of the content being emphasized, linked, stylized, etc.

Cropped screenshot from a web page at rollingstone.com in which quotes and apostrophes are properly displayed except when placed immediately after linked text.

Rotated apostrophes are increasingly common. Maybe the fault of malfunctioning text editors?

On this Rolling Stone page it only happens after links. Anyone know what’s going on?

(Remember: if your apostrophe is shaped like a 6, it’s probably an opening single quote. smartquotesforsmartpeople.com)

The Daily Heller: Pepe, a Frog That Was Wronged by the Right – PRINT Magazine Pepe, and Steven Heller's cameo, are back.

Steven Heller at his best: explaining design’s role in society. www.printmag.com/daily-heller...

Photo of a man (Jim Parkinson) in a park rolling up his sleeve to reveal a “Born to Letter / Oakland” with a skull smoking a blunt in the center.

Jesse Ragan of @xyztype.com on Jim Parkinson and much more: backgroundlayer.xyztype.com/archive/back...

Oh, it’s widely believed among designers that there are no bad typefaces, only bad uses. I disagree.

Comic Sans is truly a bad typeface, and is really only appropriate for ironic or self-referential uses.

Yes, been shooting all over the East Bay. Berkeley comes close second to Oakland in density.

And yeah, certain areas have much more in brass/metal. Seen those in Denver and San Diego too.

A folded paper printed with the words “Happy Birbday Stüfi” using letters made of feathers and birds. The word “birb” is cute internet slang for “bird”. The umlaut is made of heart flowers held by two birbs.

Birbday card from @laureola.bsky.social. #umlaut

Here is my list of suggested books on Bookshop.org: bookshop.org/shop/stewf

This was yesterday on a pretty wide desktop window. Will look again when I’m back at work. I didn’t notice rivers, so you did great! I just feel that the drawbacks of justified setting usually outweigh any aesthetic benefit. Especially on web.

Justified looks good at first, and maybe a nice callback to a time when it was a necessary thing, but ragged right is more readable.

That is nice! But why justified?

And “e” with tongue! Usually only seen as swash glyph ending a word.

I understand the draw to IG, when it feels like that’s where everyone else is. But it’s not worth handing the keys of your future over to Meta. Put it on the web!

Some will claim that corporate social media and dark patterns are required to reach an audience and get them coming back. Fonts In Use has proven that’s not true.

Geordi La Forge “No/Yes” meme. No: Dystopian corporate platforms. Yes: Autonomy, standards, and the Open Web.

Fonts In Use is not active on Instagram.

We’ve abandoned problematic platforms, embraced ethical alternatives, and survived to talk about it.

More here:
fontsinuse.com/uses/63903/f...

At its best, social media is not for advertising, but for connecting people, sharing ideas, posting weird niche stuff that only a small group across the globe would understand, and, yes, promoting your passion project once in a while. Mastodon is absolutely the place for all that.

There’s the less crass question of whether Mastodon can support your business. Maybe, but likely not. So it’s fair to say it’s not for you. But I advocate for a world where a business relies not on social media, but on its own platforms (web, email, a physical presence) to survive.

Oh, and if you’re asking if Mastodon can make you famous, go viral, or become an influencer, the answer is almost always no. That’s kinda one of the things that makes it great.

This is not meant to pressure you to join! Just to know there’s another world out there.

I like Bluesky, and will remain here until something drastic happens, but it will never be my sole social presence. The fediverse is still the best antidote to corporate control of social media.

typo.social Welcome to Typo.social! This is a Mastodon instance open to any typo and type enthusiastic. We are offering this service out of sheer courtesy without being held responsible for any disadvantages.

Bluesky is a good alternative to X for the general public and some specific topics, especially politics. But for many communities and fields, a critical mass remains exclusively on Mastodon. Type designers and fans, for instance, have their own server with 679 active users: typo.social/directory.

Your hand makes that first photo the best of them all. 💚

Hello! We're kicking off an AMA with Pooja a.k.a. @matratype.bsky.social (typeface designer extraordinaire and the woman behind the forthcoming book INDIA STREET LETTERING) & Rakesh @blaftrakesh.bsky.social (Blaft editor & co-founder).

So... what do you want to know?