if there’s anybody out there that really just wants to buy something for live from bklyn, you can start with these fonts;
“the most striking result of this survey is that the respondents overwhelming reject free fonts.”
i pulled this quote from a recent type survey preview i received in an email from gdusa magazine. it’s true, the vast majority of free fonts are chock full o’ wonky kerning, unpolished letterforms and are lacking certain essential characters.
but being the bargain hunter that i am, i do enjoy a good, well-crafted free font find (on a side note, i also find pleasure in finding that magical article of clothing among the heaps of rubbish in second hand stores).
so, i want to share with you two free fonts that i love and use. the first is liberation serif. i know i’ve mentioned this before, but it’s such a great font for body copy, that i feel compelled to continue to plug it.
the second is pastelaria by eduardo recife, who is the creator of the much over-used and maligned porcelain font. i think pastelaria is a beautiful geometric that is great for headlines and limited copy. not good for continuous though. however, i think it’s been overshadowed by the lust for grunge fonts (and here i would like to encourage you not to use grunge fonts, but to set your type and then distress it yourself if that’s what your going for. when you set to characters next to each other that are distressed exactly the same, it looks weird).
i also came across this cache of free vintage fonts, but i would caution you to be wise about which ones you choose. some of them are not all that great, and the ones that are useful i would encourage you to use like you would use spices in cooking. because let’s face it, a cumin-chili-pepper casserole would be downright nasty.
i found the work of matt lehman very inspiring this morning. even makes country music look cool.
below is the newly completed logo for an architecture/furniture and home decor fabrication shop in brooklyn. they wanted to convey the idea of collaboration producing great ideas. they also wanted to have a very distinctive image and word mark, so we custom designed the typeface as well. more work is being done for datf, and we’re super pumped about it. stay tuned…
here are a couple of pieces i’ve been wanting to show for while but are unpublished as of right now anyway. you can go see ‘em nice and big and read about ‘em on flickr.
every once in a while one comes a cross a designer that makes one say, “oh NO! i’m gonna have to stay up late every night for the next month and a half to improve my design skills.” jessica hische is that designer. oh look, she also has a blog. super. it’s gonna be a long night…
last weekend i attended the wedding of melissa and brannon mcallister. as a gift for the guests, they had these fine, fine letterpress posters created by hatch show print.
i’m always a tad jealous of this guy and all of the awesome vintage design pieces that he possesses, but i’m getting a turn now.
a couple of weeks ago, my grandmother, the indomitable marguerite dailey (evans) crafton (from whom my name comes), passed away after complications from hip surgery. she left a legacy of stalwartness, and a vast treasure trove of antique wonders. my brother and i were able to look through her possessions, to see if there was anything that we might like to have. . . and how.
i came away with multiple sculpted glass bowls and dishes, small ephemera like assorted pins, jewelry and cuff-links, and, as pertains to the live from bklyn blog, this 1913 marriage license from shelby co, tennessee (of which memphis is the county seat). i think it’s just beautiful.
another beauty from jim hargreaves. jim is currently working as a graphic designer at barnhart communications in denver, co.
writes jim about this invitation, “this project was done in the spring on behalf of studio pattern, also in denver. the invitation was for a VIP champagne party hosted by casenet at the bubble lounge, san fran’s premier champagne bar.
the client’s only request was that it should reference champagne labels. instead of a literal translation, i created a hybrid between classic labels and modern invitation designs. i wanted the invitation to have a clean, metropolitan feel. the dot patterns were influenced by much of the city’s history of art deco, and they were also meant to resemble the tiny bubbles that are characteristic of champagne. the finishing touch was the the trolley seal, which was modeled after a mark found on an old trolley ticket.”
my friend christin sends tidings of this (orange)beautiful calendar. sweet idea to have the perforations to be able to save the typography as an art print. check out the rest of orangebeautiful’s offerings while you’re on their etsy page. the holiday card is just magnificent.
good grief. will someone please tell this woman to slow down and let the rest of us catch up? i mean there’s ornament and typography, and then there’s marian bantjes. her penchant for fabulously detailed and intricate ornament is just ridiculous. i give you the design ignites change poster, v1. there’s a v2 on her site too, if you care to browse around to find it.
joshua smith of hydro74 has created a brilliant poster for the smashing pumpkins. joshua nails the hand-lettering and ornament, going so far as to include the wave pattern within the type. stellar.
