Move On Over

November 17th, 2009 § 0

Just a quick update here, that I’m back blogging again, but in a slightly less formalized way.

I found that, as much as I love typography, I wanted to sound off about other parts of design and creativity which the limited scope of the blog didn’t, by nature, let me. So, after a few weeks of pondering different ideas, I’ve started up an update-as-I-have-it blog called Design Thoughts which will serve as my own personal soapbox for opinions, essays and criticisms of pretty much anything. I’ll likely be posting a post every week or two, but you can be sure that each post has some meat on its bones and it’s not just a list, roundup or another stat-stuffing grab.

So, feel free to check it out. I’ve posted a couple older “soapbox” pieces so far, with a couple more previously-written pieces to come alongside some original content. There’s only a few “archival” pieces going up, so the new stuff will get rolling asap. Check it out, and please, by all means, update your feeds!

http://sthursby.com/thoughts/

http://sthursby.com/thoughts/?feed=rss2

A Little Break

October 5th, 2009 § 0

So I’m going to be taking a little break from regular blogging, at least with Thoughts on Type (I also write at http://www.dailyfaceoff.com). With a whopping 10 readers on FeedBurner, it seems relatively unnecessary to post this, but I felt a quick explanation was necessary.

My love for typography and design has not diminished; in fact, the more I learn, the more I do and the more I immerse myself in the graphic world, the more I feel at home in it. However, I am still relatively new to the field, and it seems a bit audacious for a neophyte to wax poetic about the finer points of 500+ years of technological and artistic progress. The good thing about having a blog is that it forces you to get in a rhythm of observing and reacting, which is a rhythm I was in anyway, but when there’s barely any crowd to speak of, and barely any growth over the 6+ months of regular postings, it’s time to call a spade a spade and put a pause on proceedings, at least for now.

In the future, ideally sooner rather than later, I’d like to take up blogging again, as there are still tons of ideas bubbling around in this head. However, there’s a ton on my plate right now (I start my new position at Applied Arts magazine next week, working freelance full-time this week, moving soon, misc. other life-related stuff), there’s a ton coming in the months ahead, and it doesn’t seem to make sense to keep a forced rhythm when I’m not sure how much time I’ll be able to dedicate to it.

This blog will be back, with a bang, but when it’s ready to be written. I’ll still be super-active on twitter, commenting on other blogs, I’ll be shifting my random postings focus to tumblr (http://typetumble.tumblr.com/), and generally still be involved to what little degree I was before. This is all just part of the “Do It, Don’t Say It” mindset I’ve been adjusting to and embracing over the past month or so.

‘Til next time.

Typeface Tuesday XXV

September 29th, 2009 § 0

typefacetuesday

This is the 25th anniversay of Typeface Tuesday! Granted, it’s 25 weeks not 25 years, but nonetheless, huzzah! That’s 125 different typefaces from MyFonts that have been highlighted for their uniqueness, beauty, functionality or price – and what better way to celebrate than with 5 more! Broadway is a decent showbiz font, an adequate replacement to the default (and oh-so-90s) Jazz LET. We follow that up with Magistral, a futuristic sans serif from ParaType; Mussica, a playful little serif that’s skyrocketing up the charts of MyFonts; New Caslon EF, Elsner+Flake’s take on the eminent classical serif; and finally Occulista, a display face absolutely perfect for anything neon, 1970s or loud. Keep an eye on this space for a special edition of Typeface Tuesday next week… » Read the rest of this entry «

Book Review: Copywriting

September 25th, 2009 § 0

copywriting

A book review on copywriting? In a blog devoted to typography? It only makes sense! Typography is the art and science of rendering the written word, and copywriting is the content behind 95% of typography’s style. In order to gain a better understanding of the nuances of typography, at least a cursory of the copywriting field is necessary, across multiple fields such as editorial, web, advertising and others. » Read the rest of this entry «

Typeface Tuesday XXIV

September 21st, 2009 § 0

typefacetuesday

It’s Funky week for Typeface Tuesday! Certainly taking a crack at some unique typefaces this week, taking a respected step away from more workhorse faces in favour of some more single-purpose, elegant and useful fonts. We begin, funnily enough, with Alphabet, a loopy sans from T-26 with a cursive italic; Andrew Samuels, an edgy, highly contemporary sans; Egon, a unique slab serif in a field of look-alikes; Ivory, a hugely popular single-weight but three-variation-ified titling serif perfect for setting book titles and other display uses; and finally Le Havre, an Art Deco-inspired geometric sans. Talk about choice!

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Alphabet

alphabet

A loopy sans from T-26 with a cursive italic

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Andrew Samuels

andrewsamuels

An edgy, highly contemporary sans.

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Egon

egon

Egon is non-traditional slab-serif contemporary typeface family, which includes three weights in roman and italic respectively, making six font styles in total. Egon is designed with industrial and architectural flavor, and it is good for use in publications as a text and display font. It is named after Egon Eiermann as homage to the great German architect.

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Ivory

ivory

Ivory is inspired by a beautiful typeface used in an illustrated compendium about pomology from 1882. We separated the elegant “Swashes” from the letters – use it together with “NoSwashes” to get two-colored initials. Please note that the kerning of NoSwashes works only together with Swashes.

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Le Havre

lehavre

Le Havre is a geometric sans serif inspired by the golden era of the passenger ship, when getting to your destination was a delight in and of itself. Compressed capitals, a low x-height and geometric construction give this art deco inspired sans a unique look that looks to the past for inspiration, but is a new contemporary design usable in a wide range of graphic settings. Le Havre features eighteen art deco titling alternates, ligatures and old style figures. Le Havre is named for the port where many a famous luxury cruise liner was launched in the 1930s.

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