|
|
|||
| |
’Twas a big year with hundreds of new fonts released at FontShop during 2008. It’s time to honor the tradition we began last year and bring you the best of them. There’s one change, though: with so many notable types this time around, we thought we’d double the number of honorees. Without further ado, here are 20 of the most salient and successful typefaces of 2008.
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
A versatile workhorse sans serif with personality, Gloriola comes with broad language support and alternates in seven weights, from Hair to Fat. Meticulously crafted, it’s no surprise that the Type Director’s Club recognized it as one of the best designs of 2008. |
||
 |
||
  |
||
|
Leitura is a complete type system designed for newspapers, magazines, and other publications where a variety of styles for different settings are needed. All the text fonts (Leitura, News, Sans) have compatible weights and x-heights, Leitura Headline is compact for fitting the most news in the narrowest of columns, and Leitura Display has extra high contrast for eye-catching feature titles. Every font in the series includes small caps, ligatures, alternates, and swashes, making Leitura one of the most versatile families for editorial design. Get an overview in this comprehensive PDF. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
The two members of the Co family come from the same tree, but each branch has its own evolutionary details and purpose. Co Headline has modern, fashionable leanings, but as it is with nature, there is nothing superfluous in the typeface. The geometric (yet organic) curves combine to create only the most basic shape required for each letter. Co Text replaces some of its relative’s stylized glyphs with more familiar and readable forms. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
With FF Netto, Daniel Utz has stripped letters of any historical detail, leaving them with the barest, clearest forms possible. This makes FF Netto ideal for wayfinding, where quick recognition is essential. A series of simple and useful icons and arrows add to its utility for information design, and intelligent borders let you group the pictograms using just a few keystrokes. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Despite its nineteenth-century roots, Parry is a modern type family. It produces a rounder and softer image than the often rigid slab serifs of the Victorian era. Think of it as a contemporary alternative to Clarendon with the substantial bonus of a complementary sans serif family, plus italics, small caps, and text figures. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Inspired by art director Melanie Snedeker's handwriting and executed by renowned letterer Charles Borges de Oliveira, Louisiana dodges the pitfalls of many handwritten typefaces by resisting elaborate forms and employing alternates. It manages to maintain handwriting authenticity while remaining exceptionally legible. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Cyrus Highsmith’s Scout was designed for the redesign of Entertainment Weekly. Structural elements are drawn from a broad spectrum — DIN, Venus, and Carioli all lend characteristics to the 24-style family. Light, Black, and Condensed cuts make striking headlines, while Regular and Bold cuts perform well at small sizes. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Influenced by handwriting, Bree combines a straightforward uppercase with a playful lowercase to create a lively upright italic. It’s very readable, but dripping with details like “cursive” characters, a one storey ‘a’, subtly inverted flares of the left serif, and an alternate ‘Q’. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Small slabs and blunted rounds, Sebastian Lester᾿s Soho is grounded in a contemporary look. Its ideology follows suit, designed for use with modern technologies. With nine weights at five widths a piece, Soho is composed of over 32,668 glyphs, versatile enough for almost any use — from letterhead to poster. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
A humanist sans serif structure coupled with curved terminals lets Foco work for a home furnishing brand or on a bag of marshmallows. It’s a legible typeface with a warm and friendly touch. |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
As an editorial designer, Lukasz Dziedzic often creates new typefaces to fill a need in whatever job is on his desk. This is how FF Pitu was born, a headline face for the Polish weekly “Europa”. With a lowercase that sits somewhere between a Didone italic and a copperplate script, FF Pitu is almost indescribable. Its high contrast and blade-shaped sharp stroke endings are slightly softened by generous calligraphic loops with “foxtail” terminals. The three-weight family includes a set of swash capitals, small caps, decorative ligatures, and CE characters in the Pro version. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Over the last 20 years, Luc(as) de Groot has set the standard for flexible, functional sans systems with his TheSans and Taz families. Corpid is no exception, a typeface that offers versatility without sacrificing character. Corpid III adds Semi-Condensed, bringing the family to a total of five weights at three widths. A full set of figures and small caps are available in each width, justifying the origin of Corpid’s name: corporate ID — a demanding design task for which it is well suited.
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
No one crafts elegant, contemporary scripts like Mr. Leuschke. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Verena Gerlach’s experiment with oppositional styles resulted in this combination of static grotesque forms and the dynamic forms of a traditional antique typeface. The weights and italics are finely balanced so that it is especially suitable for setting books, but its frugal originality is also appropriate for use in large sizes like in poster design. The type family contains a range of alternate characters, small caps, ligatures, and (in the Regular weight) swashed initials, making it a versatile typographic tool. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Victoria’s luscious swashes and delicate overtones were drawn for a chocolate label, but its flavor are equally well suited for any kind of fancy fare, edible or not. Don’t miss the alternate caps in the OpenType Swash slots. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Based on Edward Johnston’s historical type design for London Transport’s Underground Railway system. Underground Pro is the most expansive P22 font system yet. It includes six weights with unprecedented language support for Latin (extended Latin, plus IPA, Vietnamese, symbols and stylistic variants), Greek (monotonic & polytonic) and Cyrillic (including Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, etc.) languages. Other features include Small Caps and Petite Caps for all weights, titling options that mimic London Transport signage and the addition of lower case characters to the bold weight. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Named after Argentinean writer Roberto Arlt, Arlt is the latest literary face from PampaType. An expressive family, Arlt takes full advantage of the OpenType format with its many alternates and sub families. Deco’s wonderful details and Titulo’s organic forms are uniquely diverse. True to namesake, Arlt is evocative and unexpected — and perfect for setting texts that evoke those qualities. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Katarine starts with the simple structure of a face like DIN or Trade Gothic, but ends up being much warmer, thanks to its soft finish. A full range of figures, small caps, ligatures, arrows, and even banners of various styles are all included. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Stylishly handsome, devilishly clever, Spills has a forties flair. |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
While earning an MA in Typeface Design at the University of Reading, Slovenian designer Mitja Miklavcic set out to design a softer and a more dynamic version of a slab serif typeface. He succeeded, earning the Type Directors Club’s highest honor: “Certificate of Excellence in Type Design” for 2007. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Named for Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, an important figure in Texas’ 1836 independence. Historian and type designer Brian Willson beautifully digitized this elegant writing, a product of Lamar’s privileged Southern upbringing. Get Lamar Pen and five other antique handwriting fonts for one low price in the 3IP Historical Pens package. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
Originally conceived as a headliner, Lukas Schneider’s thesis project has developed into a functional text typeface. Inspired by sans serifs from both Europe (DIN) and America (Franklin Gothic) the typeface combines a slightly technocratic impression with a humanistic touch. FF Utility contains five weights, four figure sets, and alternate ‘g’ and ‘a’ glyphs for typographic flexibility. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
Estilo, Estilo Script, Estilo Text This art deco influenced family began with Estilo, a single weight of small caps with a large set of ligatures for elegant display typography. Curvaceaous capitals and a lowercase followed in Estilo Script and soon the demand was high for a text series with standard spacing and italics. Estilo is ideal for gourmet food packaging or luxury logotypes. |
||
|
... |
||||
|
If you would like to receive FontShop news, including new and free fonts, create a FontShop account. In 30 seconds you will have full control of your FontShop subscriptions. |
It’s never our intention to send unwanted email. If you would prefer not to receive FontShop news, click here to unsubscribe. Thanks for helping us keep our list lean. |
|||
|
© 2008 FontShop | 149 Ninth St, Suite 302 | San Francisco, CA 94103 |
||||