The Foundries

Exljbris

The distinctively coloured Exljbris homepage and a sample from their Didone-like typeface Questa. Imagery used with kind permission of © Exljbris.

Striking artwork by graphic designer Kristian Bjornard who has experimented with and modified Exljbris’s font Geotica Three.

Described on its blog as a ‘one-man Dutch font foundry’ Exljbris was founded by Jos Buivenga. Exljbris is where Jos releases and offers his typefaces. For 15 years, his online friends and fans could follow the development of his typefaces and download the results at no cost. In 2008, while still working as an art director at an advertising agency, he released his first commercial typeface Museo with several weights offered for free. That strategy paid off and Museo became a huge bestseller. Partly thanks to that success he now calls himself a full time type designer. Recent projects include a custom version of Museo & Museo Sans for Dell and the Questa project, a collaboration with the well-known type designer Martin Majoor.

Linotype

(Top) The Linotype homepage is a portal to typographic manna; (below) a tantalising collection of Linotype specimens. All imagery used with kind permission of © Linotype.

Linotype should need no introduction, being at the centre of typographical innovation (and upheaval) for the past 120 years (in one guise or another). This from their website: “The day Ottmar Mergenthaler demonstrated the first linecasting machine to the New York Tribune in 1886, Whitelaw Reid, the editor, was delighted: “Ottmar,” he said, “you’ve cast a line of type!” The editor’s words formed the basis for the company label, and marked the beginning of Linotype’s success story. Four years later, the ingenious inventor founded the Mergenthaler Linotype Company. Little did he know that after more than 100 years of successful business the Linotype, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., would be following in his footsteps.”

Today, Linotype sees itself as a partner to typographers and designers and has one of the world’s largest font libraries (10,500 typefaces and counting). Its comprehensive website is a masterly feat of navigation; visitors able to search for fonts not only through technical specifications but also by intended use (text, corporate, screen etc.), type foundry and character set features. In addition the Linotype Form Finder makes it possible for users to reshape a font sample displayed in order to select the kind of typeface he is looking for. There are so many other useful services and products on the Linotype site that it’s probably better you just have a peruse rather than read me prattling on.

HypeForType

(Top & middle) HypeForType’s homepage complete with arresting 3D type artwork and type specimens of Killer, Neo Deco and Links, which form distinctive pieces of design in their own right. HypeForType turned 1 recently and posted this announcement on their blog. Imagery used with kind permission of © HypeForType.

“A labour of love for founder Alex Haigh” is how HypeForType is described on its website. The foundry is 1 year old now and already has an impressive collection of high quality, new and exclusive faces as well as some esoteric and unusual ones. Their blog is a good read, you’ll find competitions, interviews and exciting announcements there. Perhaps most striking of all is HypeForType’s predilection for working with some of the design industry’s big names, collaborations which produce unique one-offs available exclusively through HypeForType.

LucasFonts

LucasFonts’s website embodies much of what might be termed International or Swiss style design. Beneath are two examples from Germany of their fonts in use. Imagery used with kind permission of © LucasFonts.

Lucas De Groot founded his own type foundry, LucasFonts, in 2000. Its aim, in a few words: “to make the world a better place by designing typefaces that look good and work well under any circumstances and in many languages.” The website claims “Graphic designers across the planet have discovered the special qualities of Luc(as)’ fonts. They are attracted by their functionality and friendly appearance and love the enormous range of possibilities that each family offers. Many also appreciate the idiosyncrasies – a quest for extremes that has resulted in some of the narrowest, thinnest, wittiest or boldest typefaces around.”

LucasFonts has a sister company, FontFabrik which specialises in custom typefaces and is now world-renowned, having designed fonts for Microsoft, Heineken, Siemens and Volkswagen.

SMeltery

Shown above are SMeltery’s idiosyncratic homepage, type specimens of Heretica, Geronto Bis (which Jack is particularly proud of) and Enfer, and engagingly designed samples of Sans Merci and Soupirs. Imagery used with kind permission of © SMeltery.

SMeltery is a French type foundry founded by Jack Usine in 2002, which offers a very attractive range of display-type faces. There are some gems to be found in the ‘free’ section, though Jack’s currently most proud of recent works like Vidange, Megalopolis and Geronto Bis. A Bordeaux-based graphic designer, Jack also maintains a vigourous involvement in various aspects of visual culture, which seems to have influenced his energetic SMeltery typefaces in an intriguing way.

Typonine

Typonine’s homepage devotes a lot of space to new faces such as the elegant, high-contrast Marlene. Shown bottom is a spectacular selection of typographic posters from Tipoplakat of which Nikola Djurek is a member. Imagery used with kind permission of © Typonine.

Typonine is a digital type foundry and graphic design studio based in Croatia and The Netherlands. It is run by graphic and type designer Nikola Djurek who founded Typonine in 2005. Their fonts have a precision, tension and elegance about them which would make them a good choice for discerning clients. The Playground page of their website is a mischievous patch dedicated to type experiments and projects, and through Tipoplakat, customers can order from a collection of stunning typographic posters designed by Djurek and his close associates.

Summary

Unobtrusive in their way, type foundries have made the transition from Old Trade to the digital age with élan and are a vital pillar of the modern design profession, indispensable to studios and those clients willing to commission bespoke fonts. But they should also become indispensable to students and fledglings, for even if unable to afford some of the fonts, it pays to be aware of things at the top end of the profession, and the services, guidance and free downloads make foundries an invaluable resource. You might be so convinced of a font’s appropriateness for a particular job that it’s possible to argue a client into parting with the funds for it. So captivated by the ligatures of a typeface that the 70 pounds/dollars/euros you had set aside for a big night out you instead divert for its purchase. Unrealistic? Maybe, but you live in hope!

In a Nutshell

A type foundry designs and/or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like those made by Linotype and Monotype, and were designed to be printed on letterpress printers. Today’s digital type foundries accumulate and distribute typefaces (typically as digitized fonts) created by type designers. Some type foundries also provide custom type design services.

The Foundries

CastleType

The CastleType homepage (top) and samples above from (clockwise) Latin Ct, Sculptura and Goudy Trajan. Imagery used with kind permission of © CastleType.

San Fransisco-based independent type foundry CastleType was established in 1990 by Jason Castle, and specialises in revivals, classic styles, decorative fonts and custom font design. Custom services offered are extensive, taking in logo digitization (whereby customers supply their logo and a digital version is added to a favourite font) and the digital rendering of existing typefaces.

The revival and classic styles are remarkable for their elegance and the display faces are bold and confident. Jason is currently busy expanding his Goudy Trajan family with Cyrillic and Greek characters and the release of Sonrisa —a precise and friendly looking sans serif— is iminent.

Dalton Maag

A shot from Dalton Maag’s website, the limited edition Tephra prints and pictures of a custom font designed for the University of London’s Central School of Speechf & Drama in use. Imagery used with kind permission of © Dalton Maag.

London-based Dalton Maag has been designing fonts and logos and “supporting and assisting people in deepening their typographic skills” since 1991. In that near-two decade period they have seen exciting growth but what makes them remarkable is their branching out into both Cairo and Brazil—endeavours to contribute to emerging visual and typographic cultures in each country’s continent. Through doing so, Dalton Maag’s resumé has expanded to take in the vast typographic expanses of both the Arabic alphabet and South American languages.

Emigré

A page from Emigré's exuberant looking website and samples of their fonts. Clockwise from upper left: Mrs. Eaves, Ottomat, Puzzler and Priori Acute. Imagery used with kind permission of © Emigré.

Yes, that Emigré, the iconic, much-mourned design journal Emigré. Some colleges and universities become so preoccupied with teaching their students of the cultural significance of the journal that they neglect to mention that the entity lives on in online form, with an archive of articles from the journal, an excellent shop and large collection of surprising and esoteric fonts available for download. These are of a diverse nature, though one thing that seems to permeate much of the collection is the jaunty angles which adorn the fonts’ serifs.

Tiro Typeworks

Tiro Typeworks's graceful and formal homepage and a glimpse of their acclaimed ornamental typeface Restraint. Imagery used with kind permission of © Tiro Typeworks.

Tiro Typeworks was established in 1994 by John Hudson and Ross Mills and has evolved into a highly regarded foundry with a reputation for custom typefaces and font solutions. What makes them stand out from other comparable foundries is their expertise in multilingual computing and publishing, which they have specialised in since 1997. Their work in this area includes extensions to existing Latin typefaces and new typefaces for Arabic, Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics, Burmese, Cherokee, Cyrillic, Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Ogham and Tahi scripts. Impressive stuff. An ornamental typeface of theirs that really stands out is Restraint, described as “an ornamental font which happens to contain letterforms. It is 100% fanciful all the time and not for the timid of heart.” A tour around Restraint, as well as the wider work Tiro are involved in, is highly recommended.

Fontsmith

Fontsmith’s homepage, a medley of typeface samples from the foundry (Rufus, Clerkenwell and Jack) and examples of the custom typeface designed for Film4 in action! Imagery used with kind permission of © Fontsmith.

Fontsmith is a leading London-based type design studio founded in 1999 by Jason Smith. The studio consists of a team dedicated to designing and developing high quality typefaces for both independent release as well as bespoke fonts for international clients. In addition to their wide range of exceptional typefaces available through their website, Fontsmith are also noteworthy for having custom designed typefaces as part of rebranding projects for such celebrated clients as Channel 4, Mencap and BBC 1. Your writer uses a Fontsmith typeface —Clerkenwell— as part of his identity.

OurType

The formal though playful homepage of OurType (the black ‘try’ and ‘buy’ circles at the top bounce around with the movement of the cursor), OurType’s Parry font as seen in De Bug magazine and a self-promotional poster from the Foundry. Imagery used with kind permission of © OurType.

Founded in 2002, OurType states it “has a vision that is different from most other font companies. It publishes newly designed fonts that are tailored to contemporary needs. Yet it respects traditional values, and strives for the highest quality of product. So it stands equally apart from those who are enslaved to the new and those who merely try to recreate the past. OurType fonts are useful, durable and attractive tools for anyone using type now.” The website contains lots of playful movement and the fonts offered are indeed contemporary yet formal.

To be continued…

A further six type foundries will be previewed in the second article in the series. Watch this space!

Latin Ascent Typography

This poster by Dado Queiroz, advertising his workshop for ‘the new literate’ for Brasil’s Ideafixa was, amazingly, created fully 2D.

This simple yet complex letterform by Jackson Alves was, coincidentally, created at the same Letaria workshop that Dado Queiroz (see above) taught at.

…and again! I’ll have to book myself a place on Dado Queiroz’s workshop. Tipografia bonito from Juliano Domingues.

Ultra-impactful signwriting by Nomad Ink for Curitiba-based restaurant Wonka Bar. Though zany, control has been maintained over the composition.

Website Design

I urge you all to peruse the website of children’s clothes and accessories shop Família Ovo, designed by Pernambuco-based studio Mooz. A perfect response to a brief for a shop of Família Ovo’s kind.

Graphic Design

Though much of the work displayed here is of a more unexpected flavour to typical ‘European’ design, Brasilian designers are capable of delivering clean, well-ordered logotypes with the best of ‘em. These are by Dado Queiroz.

A road sign-based response to a brief for a documentary about Curitiba’s new BRT (Bus Rapid Transport) system by design studio Nomad Ink. These signs are titles for the documentary—if anyone can find it online let me know!

Built Environment

In the hands of a lesser studio it could so easily have gone garish. Staggering, yet unobtrusive, environmental design for Brasilian beauty centre Set by Mooz.

Branding

Another from Mooz, this time identity and website for men’s fashion website Neonico. Note the triptych of explosive effects on the last characters of the logotypes.

These few images, which demonstrate bundles of imagination, are part of an extensive branding project by Rodrigo Bellão for iPhone game developer 99ft Jetpack’s first game, Box n’ Bug.

Illustration

Illustration with type for a T-shirt design by Rafael Nascimento. No matter how far you travel, it seems homages to Helvetica and all things Swiss are never far away.

Beautiful vector illustration on the theme of gay rights for Metropole magazine by (again) Rafael Nascimento.

In Sum

This’ll be one of the easiest summaries I’ve ever written and not much need be said, other than keep an eye on the blue green & yellow nation. With work of this calibre across the full gamut of creative industries Brasil’s reputation as a nation of great football may soon be eclipsed by its growing reputation in the creative fields. And to that I say “Saude!”

Indeed we are. Described as a logo development side project for Brasilian band Área Restrita, Murilo Grafics gets the balance between elegance and Photoshop effects just right.

Author: Bradley Hotson for The Graphic Design School The Graphic Design School offers vocational training graphic design courses. Delivery is online, affordable and open to students all over the world to study in the comfort of their own home.

Neon Signs

Neon, Advertising & Vice

One message strongly signified by neon advertising seems to be vice. The enthusiasm shown by those in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling and sex trades for embracing neon to advertise their wares, services and establishments has been substantial, forming for many an indelible connection between neon signage and decadent commodities. The inherently bright and showy properties of neon make it an ideal choice for the cheerful yet pushy style so often adopted by vice-based industries, and by extension those simply selling cigarettes and Budweiser beer. So whilst there is nothing intrinsically trashy or risqué about neon, the sober and the luxurious sections of the business and cultural communities seem largely to have made their minds up, and decided it’s not for them. One recent exception has been London’s Wellcome Trust who engaged the services of London-based graphic design studio Graphic Thought Facility to create a “series of neon artworks based on the scientific models that represent the structures of proteins used in the treatment of HIV, obesity, malaria and cancer.” Images may be found here.

The connection between neon and the advertising of vice is undeniable. Peddlers of alcohol, tobacco, gambling and sex are well aware of neon’s attention-grabbing and brash potential. Image © Cheryl Goodwin.

Certain brands have subsumed neon into the fabric of their DNA. The flickering neon Budweiser sign has attained cultural familiarity through cinema and our own experience. Image © David Morton.

Electrifying in blue, and perfect to sit over the door of a nightclub. Image © Ian Muttoo.

As with vice, neon advertising has strong connections with the body modification industry. Image © Marc Weinreich.

I Never Knew That…

When used in tubes for signs, neon produces a distinctive red-orange light. It’s the other noble gases which when used emit the greens, blues and other hues commonly seen in signage, though all are commonly referred to as ‘neon’ signs. Neon signs are expensive to produce, the high costs due to the rarity of neon, and not the liquifaction process involved in their production.

During daylight hours, the neon sign drops back into the landscape, becoming a mere painted sign with a tubular exo-skeleton. Image © Patrick Boury.

David Warwick likes “the incongruously jaunty type” of this neon sign. Nothing murky about the establishment though; The Dungeon is a London-based art gallery.

Though often typographic, sometimes an illustrative sign crops up to amuse and delight. Image © Gerard Donnelly.

It’s the roman and Asiatic-type neon signs that have filtered through to our consciousness, but cyrillic and other-writing people make them too. Image © Dit is Suzanne.

Neon’s Influence on Future Noir

Whilst commonplace in our cities, it might also be useful to look at how a commodity like neon can have an influence on style and subculture. Neon has featured heavily in the work of film directors looking to project a dystopian vision of the future, signifying the particular un-organic look its fluorescence communicates. Throughout Blade Runner, Deckard, the detective who inhabits Ridley Scott’s Los Angeles of 2019, weaves his way through a neon-soaked cityscape. Here, neon signs advertise every kind of ware—legitimate and shady—in roman and Asian type of bright reds, greens and blues, as crowds hurry through fierce rain with neon-handled umbrellas. Scott’s idea of a future Los Angeles was based less on the LA of the time and more on Tokyo, itself a futuristic city teeming with neon.

Neon features heavily in science fiction filmmakers’ work, perhaps most notably in Ridley Scott’s 1982 future noir thriller Blade Runner, who’s 2019-set Los Angeles resembles a neon-drenched rain-swept Tokyo, itself a kind of future-city.

In Sum

A writer whose name escapes me once divided historians up between what he called parachutists and truffle hunters, meaning those who are driven by the broad sweeps of history and those who find meaning in the unexpected nuggets of stories often related by ordinary people. As designers we need to be both. We shouldn’t ignore the wider world around us—to take an interest in global trends will help improve our work as well as our character. At the same time we must nurture and cultivate a keen sense for the miniature of life, to zoom in to the detail of the everyday, pick an attribute of the environment and link it back to a wider cultural context. Neon signage is one such attribute, and there are countless others out there to explore. Ernesto Rogers (I don’t forget everyone’s name) once claimed that if you examine a spoon carefully you can understand enough about the society that made it to visualise how they would design a city. Whilst possibly stretching things with this assertion I believe he was on the right path. You will be too if you develop the visual awareness explained above, striding towards signs reading ‘Awards’ ‘Recognition’ and ‘Success’, in neon naturally!

“The baths are no longer there, but the sign was restored in a recent conversion of the building into flats” explains Herschell Hershey. Gorgeous.

It All Starts With a Great Idea

By clearly visualizing who your client is and with some forethought, research and planning, the end result should be an appropriate symbol that immediately identifies the company, and clearly communicates the product or service. This is absolutely key to a successful logo design and should always be foremost in your mind while conceptualizing your design.

When you have your concept, start sketching it out to quickly come up with ways you can execute the idea. Starting in black and white can help ensure that your design is clear, legible and reproducible without any distracting features. Adding great color, style characteristics, or subtle effects will help make your design unique to stand out amongst the competition. Add some type to bring some context to your design and choose a font that compliments the symbol and communicates clearly. To ensure a successful logo remember to keep your design, Simple, Memorable, Timeless, Versatile, and Appropriate.

Reproducibility

The excessive use of detail in this logo will seriously compromise its ability to be reproduced. Fine details like the sharp pointed tail and thin lines will disappear when printed at smaller sizes and the small white shapes will fill in losing their definition. Outlined type with extreme gradients will print poorly as well, making the type hard to read at any size. On the right, the elephant is drawn with bold shapes, leaving ample white space in between for definition. Just the right amount of detail is used to help convey the idea and the solid flat colors used will ensure that this design will reproduce great with pretty well any process. I wouldn’t recommend using multiple colors like this in the type all the time but in this case it works to make it fun and exciting.

Color Palette

The sample on the left is using far too many colors than is necessary, making it very busy and more difficult to define the individual objects. The use of fluorescent and uncomplimentary colors makes the overall composition unappealing and less attractive. Using default colors straight from the swatch palette and plain black for the type make the design much less sophisticated than it could be. The sample on the right utilizes a beautiful main palette of custom mixed complimentary colors of orange, green and brown. They all work together in harmony to bring the cute kitties to life while adding a warm and cozy feeling. The use of dark brown for the type keeps it complimentary to the graphic and maintains a good contrast necessary for legibility. Using the same orange that’s in the kitties for the “petcare” type offers additional visual interest and helps separate it from the main type. This helps give the eye a break and enhances legibility as well.

Simple is good right?

The left example is very simple in its execution, using only basic square and circle shapes. The placement of all of the objects has left the overall composition looking static and boring while the plain black type is under considered, effectively ensuring that this logo generates about as much excitement as flossing your teeth. The example on the right however, has cleverly used positive and negative space to create the plate. The entire logo is comprised of only four shapes by creating two simple arcs to help define the plate and by letting the cutlery bleed off the bottom edge. The combination of these design choices and using Tragan for the font, give it a simple, classic, stylish feel appropriate for this audience.

Choosing a Typeface

Hard to read? It sure is! Skinny outlines, drop shadows and other effects used on type all work against keeping it clear and legible. The “Tiederhouse” text is too tightly kerned while the “Attorney ay law” type has far too much letter spacing. The type is placed too close to the graphic without enough breathing room and the tagline is much too small in proportion. The “Tiederhouse” text uses the font “Hobo” which is a 70’s style font not at all appropriate for a professional law office. The sample on the right uses a much more professional and appropriate looking serif font with spacing and shapes that seem to mimic the construction of the symbol. It’s clear, easy to read and is just the right amount of distance from the torch device. Making the line between the text gold colored would have been a nice touch.

To read the whole article and image credits please see istock

To feast your eyes on a collection of logo designs and galleries see HERE

The Superscript

Flag Type a type made using the movement of a flag as inspiration.
Boy do we love these Frenchies. Not only do they create awesome original typography, they experiment with elements like sound interactivity, audio sequencing and motion capture to create graphics. Super cool!

www.super-script.com

Typeradio

Radio Station for design and type Typeradio is a Micro fm broadcast, a MP3 internet radio stream and a podcast station. Since 2004 Typeradio has been visiting different design events around the world, to meet designers and to talk, some really inspiring podcasts here.

www.typeradio.org

The Superscript (2)

Minimal Bloc we couldn’t resist featuring superscript twice, je t’aime! Minimal Bloc is a type made of two shapes; squares and 1/4 circles. Wonderfully rustic applied here to wood, check out the other applications here.

www.super-script.com

Robotype

Gallery an off the charts cute site. Use the original interactive gallery to make your own character or scene with fonts: Univers, Bodoni, Futura and Helvetica… those crazy Spaniards… we played for hours!

www.robotype.com

Ainsifont

Boureuse a headline font. From the commercial font site Ainsifont. With an extensive and original font library, these guys have plenty to set you back a few euros to give your designs that originality that it may (or may not) need. See the fonts in action in their ‘fonts in use’ page.

www.ainsifont.com

Molotro

Minotype a stencil typeface designed by Italian Luciano Perondi. Check out the urban experiments done by Graphic Design students using Minotype.

www.molotro.com

Barney Carroll

Garamond vs Garamond Don’t panic no-ones calling you a HO! Check out this educational article breaking down the physiology of Francesco Simoncini’s Garamond. Illustrating (very beautifully) the concise differences between the varieties available under the Garamond umbrella. Article originally in French for le Monde, translated into English by Barney Carroll. A must for The Graphic Design School students, re module 4.

www.barneycarroll.com

Julia Sysmäläinen

FF MisterK OT The manuscripts of author Franz Kafka had such a profound impact on Finnish graphic designer and type designer Julia Sysmäläinen that she decided to convert his handwriting with its unusually strong calligraphic characteristics into a digital script. You can also purchase this script at fontfont. Our fav type this month at The Graphic Design School. Love your work Julia!

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/FF-Mister-K

Just van Rossum

FF Dynamoe Min Regular we see them every day, but do we see the letters as typefaces? Dynamoe changes all that. Now you can label your world.. no refills needed! You can purchase this script at fontfont. JVR has a site that sells his latest font designs, its also a visual delight.

letterror.com

What The Font

iphone app that has nothing what-so-ever to do with European typography trends, we just couldn’t resist letting you know about our fav new toy. What The Font app let’s you identify a font purely by taking a photo of it. Its the Shazam app of the font world. Like the iphone its the sheer buzz of having everything including the kitchen sink at your fingertips. LOVE IT…and its Free! What the F#*T free? …Yep!

apple.com

Erik van Blokland

Trixie HD dutch designer Erik takes typewriter realism to another level altogether. A new vectorisation technique was developed to push the level of detail, creating realistic effects in print and on screen. Over 17 million points in the release… but whose counting!

letterror.com