Working with typefaces is about as basic as it gets for graphic designers. A solid knowledge of type, a keen eye for which fonts are appropriate for each project and an awareness of what’s available to us are rudimentary components of the job. Many fledging creatives use only what they have in their system fonts library and a handful of passable faces saved off a cracked disc of thousands of dubious free fonts. Working this way, a designer can produce perfectly good results (some say this can be achieved through Helvetica alone) but it’s the wise designer who maintains an awareness of modern-day type foundries. Between them, foundries release beautifully crafted, extensive and noteworthy font families year on year. Whilst many cost money (staff at foundries have to earn a living too) some are reasonably priced and others offered for free. And besides the fonts, through their websites type foundries offer all sorts of helpful advice and a glimpse into their fascinating profession, which is what I aim to show here, in the first of two articles on the topic.

Brasil, the sunniest of the amusingly-acronymned BRIC nations (Brasil, Russia, India, China), is currently enjoying unprecedented amounts of goodwill on the international world stage, not hindered by its increasing confidence in areas like diplomacy and manufacture, nor Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes winning the Olympic bid for his city. But enough of the geo-political preamble, “This is a design blog!” we hear you cry. Rest assured readers, we haven’t forgotten my duties to you, just providing the wider context to introduce some impressive contemporary work in the visual fields, from both studios and freelancers, to have recently emerged from this Latin giant.

Introduction image © Kiyoshi Takahase Segundo.

To maintain a curious eye about the world, to look and attempt to decode the terrain around you is what separates a great designer from a mere ‘good’ one. That, at least, is what my old university professor once told me, and it seemed like a sage morsel of wisdom at the time. Still does. The world is awash with things to decode and contextualise, so, to take just one of them, and with our heads cocked quizzically to the side, let’s look at neon signs. Dazzling yet ubiquitous, and produced in a range of typographic and illustrative styles, neon has been utilized by advertisers for decades. It’s time for a fresh appraisal. (left) Image © Marc Weinreich.

Our top 26 logo revamps for better or worse you decide.It’s hard to argue with the Art Paul’s and the Paul Rand’s of the design world. Some of the greatest logos have stood the test of time, below are the ones that obviously no longer represented the modern day image of the associated brand.

Here are our fav logo galleries and trend articles. The for and against trends, the good, the better and the darn beautiful logos of 2009.