LettError Type

📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).

It’s also concerning. 1/

Poster with an image of a frog and the words “Don’t Obey”

#NoKings Cincinnati

People perceive thickness of letters very individually, and that’s why we are conducting Font Weight Survey to understand the regional preferences of font weight. Could we ask you for 10 min of your time? The findings will be published publicly once we have some results.
tptq.com/weight

Photo of the reflection of the lettering on the outside of the UvA library. You see the bookshelves on in the inside, and the reflection of the letters behind the camera. And a bit of blue sky.

LetterExchange, The Art Workers’ Guild in London, October 15 I will talk about the lettering for the Amsterdam University Library.
letterexchange.org/events

Red capital letter S in the back of a white van. Text reads "NEWSLTR #18 OUT NOW".

"…the main purpose of architecture is to provide surfaces for typography." Polemic! 🍿Fun and interesting things to read in the fresh NEWSLTR №18 Archives here → buttondown.com/letterror/ar...
✏️ Sign up for free! #lettering #fonts #type #architecture

A quick visit to the library, shining in the afternoon sun.

Amsterdam University Library letters catching the sun. Nieuwe Doelenstraat, across from De Jaren, if you want to have a beer while looking at Martinus Nijhoff. Read about the design: letterror.com/uva/index.html

Worth a watch:

Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.

Alphabet and numbers in a monospaced typeface (MD System Mono, specifically), arranged in a grid. In the bottom row, ‘$0’ (zero dollars) is highlighted in bright red.

Maybe you’ve heard: every font is free! Since fonts aren’t subject to copyright, you can legally ‘pirate’ them if you use a specific loophole!

...except that’s not really true. I’ve seen this claim repeated quite a lot recently, and it’s missing some pretty important nuance.

🧵 A thread:

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

Since this seems to have found an audience: hello! Fonts are made by humans and (mostly) sold by small businesses — if you’re going to pirate something (like assets for an anti-piracy ad campaign, for example), there are probably other options to consider first <3

The ‘Piracy. It’s a Crime’ campaign used pirated music, *and* as it turns out, also used pirated fonts. Incredible.

“Piracy. It’s a Crime.” PSA From Wikipedia: “You Wouldn’t Steal a Car” is the first sentence and commonly used name of a public service announcement that debuted on July 12, 2004 in cinemas, and July 27 on home media, which wa...

TIL: The 2000s piracy PSA used a font designed by the fantastic Just van Rossum, whose brother Guido created the Python programming language.

Sign up for the LettError newsletter! buttondown.com/letterror #type #lettering #fonts #typography #letterror #newsletter

An update for LTR Very Bauble! The OG characterset was a bit sparse, so I added about 2500 more! All animated with lines, thorns and pips. One axis, five masters. These were already having a party and now they are having a ball. #ad #update #tuscan #variablefont ‪letterror.com/verybauble/index…‬

Women in Type — Rediscovering women’s contribution to type history ‘Women in Type’ is a research project highlighting the work of women as key contributors to the design process of many renowned typefaces of the 20th century.

Reminded today that Women in Type (Fiona Ross, Alice Savoie) is such a wonderful and important project. 🙏 www.women-in-type.com

Excellent letters drawn in imaginative and novel styles from the Letterror newsletter

(This is the entire marketing plan for LettError Type in one compact image / catalog and logo.)

You think these things are easy until you actually try to figure out the math. And when the bits fall on the floor and you step on them.

Last December, TypeToday's @ruderman asked me lots of thoughtful questions and I did my best to reply. But there are drawings and some excellent letters drawn in imaginative and novel styles. So there's that! @typetodaynews

The most up to date website who collect new fonts releases is this one by Dan Burzo. 💪

type-atlas.xyz/news/

Screenshot of the MacOS System Preferences window. Particulary the Dekstop & Dock tab and the "On Desktop" checkbox. Maybe you already knew about this. I needed to look it up.

If you're on MacOS Sequoia, and you're used to clicking on the Desktop to get hold of the Finder, check SysPrefs / Desktop & Dock / Desktop & Stage Manager / Show Items: ☑️ On Desktop. #apple #macos #sequoia #systempreferences #desktop #finder

Still from the 10 second video "Shiny Unground". It looks like a tube station, but very shiny, and wobbly. It is probably for the best that public transport does not move in this way.

A 10 second animation made by Lars van Blokland and me is part of the DEMO festival on January 30th. On all 9:16 screens in The Netherlands! https://demofestival.com/designers/lars-2b-erik-van-blokland
Locations: https://demofestival.com/location #demofestival […]

[Original post on typo.social]

LTR Very Bauble started as a sketch for this newsletter headline and now it is one again.

Some typographic news to read on this Friday afternoon while we ease into a weekend? NEWS LTR №13: This & That is in your mailbox, and also right here: https://buttondown.com/letterror/archive/news-ltr-no-13-this-that/
#mailinglist #newsletter #typography #POTS

Typo.social has no fact checkers on contract, but I know you will call out bullshit when you see it. This is an invite to sign up to the LTR Newsletter if you haven't already. Commercial motives clearly on the table, this is an #ad. If you like seeing my work […]

[Original post on typo.social]

That place in the middle, sometimes the closest humans are the astronauts in the ISS passing by.

Someone has to get on a crane, remove the front panels, replace the broken units. And then prepare to do this regularly.

If you search with Google instead of DuckDuckGo (which you shouldn’t), use udm14.com for #AI⁠-free search results
(via @sayadaramdial.bsky.social)

Jimmy (raven) - Wikipedia

You might want to read about Jimmy The Raven. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_(raven)?wprov=sfti1 #wonderful

Alphabettes Soup 2015-2025: Ten Years of Feminist Approaches to Type Alphabettes Soup: 2015–2025 celebrates a decade of feminist approaches to type research, design, and creative community-building. The book blends key articles from the Alphabettes platform with origin...

Amy and Nina have brought me on board to help out with this project and can I just say that it is an *absolute joy* ❤️ bikini-books.com/products/alp...

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE TO ALL WHO OBSERVE!

(Happy summer solstice to the rest of you.)

Destroy this myth. Please share if you have visited and researched in a library this past year! RT And give a shout out to your favorite library you have ever visited.

Fontstand Gift Cards & Fontstand Pass are available in any value from 10 to 1000 EUR/USD.

Looking for a late gift for your typography friends? Fontstand gift cards, here we go! 🎁 (you can choose any value, and they never expire!).
fontstand.com/cards
Feeling generous? You can also invite your friends to #fontstandcon2025!