Handpicked Fonts | The FontFeed

April 24, 2008 | In Handpicked Fonts

Award-Winning Fonts

Undeniably, both awards – the Type Directors Club’s TDC² and Typographica’s Favorite Typefaces – are always long awaited by the design community. The selection of world’s best published font releases are highly respected for years. While the TDC award is the traditional top dog, Typographica is the aspiring spring chicken, asking 25 high-ranking international designers to pick from the year’s fonts. Both lists give a useful view on what is new and hot in type design. Fortunately, if you’d like to increase the quality of your own projects this year, most of the “Best of 2007” typefaces are available at FontShop:

FF Beowolf OT and FF BeoSans OT, designed by Just van Rossum and Erik van Blokland, published by FontFont, Winner Typographica’s OFT 2007. The OpenType version of world’s first typeface with a mind of its own: with 1,000s of alternates as well, the new Beo are as close to achieving the original idea of randomization as nearly any composer can expect today.

BistroScript, designed by Tomáš Brousil, published by Suitcase Type Foundry, Winner Typographica’s OFT 2007. This contemporary calligraphic script was inspired by promotional art in the 1960s. Thanks to OpenType features, a variety of ligatures and alternative glyphs allow the user to create more authentic and varied connections between letters.

By Ivo Gabrowitsch | link | No Comments |

March 27, 2008 | In Handpicked Fonts

2008 FontShop Calendar: April

April Featuring P22 Operina Pro and P22 Koch Signs

While we no longer have a monthly calendar offering, there shall be special exceptions, and this fantasy alchemical calendar for April is one of them. James Grieshaber combined his own typeface, P22 Operina Pro, with P22 Koch Signs to conjure this mystical backdrop for your digital wallpaper or physical desktop. Each symbol has an actual meaning that pertains to the month. The two names on the side are the names of actual meteor showers that will be visible on the dates marked. The first shower will be visible from the Northern hemisphere and the second from the Southern.

P22 Operina Pro is a unusually extensive OpenType font from IHOF, a new collection on FontShop. Read more about other new additions in our latest newsletter.

By Ivo Gabrowitsch | link | 4 Comments |

November 1, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

2007 FontShop Calendar: November

November Featuring Malaga and Vista Sans

This month’s calendar celebrates Xavier Dupré’s most recent Emigre release, Malaga. Combined with Vista Sans, it’ll help you prepare for your own winter-time plans.

By Calliope Gazetas | link | 2 Comments |

October 1, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

2007 FontShop Calendar: October

October Featuring Neutraliser and Phlex

The designers at Identikal bring us their urban, nighttime take on the month of October, complete with one of their own striking New York City photos as a backdrop.

By Calliope Gazetas | link | 2 Comments |

September 7, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

2007 FontShop Calendar: September

September Featuring Ambroise and Parisine

Take a break from the heat and dust of summer and enter a forest of mist and cool with our September 2007 calendar, featuring Jean François Porchez’s Ambroise and Parisine.

By Calliope Gazetas | link | 2 Comments |

August 27, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

Extra Light, Ultra Thin Fonts: Hairline Type Lends Elegance to the Page

FF Meta Light in Real Simple Magazine

FF Meta Light with PMN Caecilia in Real Simple magazine.

Just as there is often a need for extra heavy type, the delicate stuff on the light end of the spectrum has its place as well. Here, we gather the typefaces in FontShop’s catalog with the thinnest of weights. See the Fine Lines newsletter for a closer look at some of our favorites.

By Stephen Coles | link | No Comments |

August 8, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

2007 FontShop Calendar: August

August Featuring Bureau Grot and Mayo

A special edition of our FontShop 2007 calendar celebrates David Berlow and his SOTA Award at TypeCon2007 for lifelong achievement in type design. His versatile family Bureau Grot rests among the bright colors and angles of the Seattle Public Library.

By Calliope Gazetas | link | No Comments |

July 24, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

Extra Bold, Ultra Black Fonts: Hit Hard with Heavy Duty Type

In an effort to get noticed, a lot of folks turn to the most obvious item in their font menu: Impact™. In concept, it plays the role well. It is heavy and condensed, yet still legible, with short descenders that enable the user to stack headlines big and tight. The problem: overuse. No matter how loud it looks, a typeface can only shout so many times before it loses its voice.

Fortunately, when a powerful vehicle is needed to carry an important message, there are plenty of capable, but less obvious typefaces for the job. Have a look at our Extra Bold newsletter and see more heavy duty headline options in the list below.

By Stephen Coles | link | 6 Comments |

July 4, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

2007 FontShop Calendar: July

July Featuring ARS Twenty and ARS Region

Angus R. Shamal designed our July 2007 Calendar with two of his typefaces: ARS Region, the sum of everything he’s “always liked and appreciated in a workhorse sans serif”; and ARS Twenty, a monospaced font built on a 4 x 5 grid. Established in 1994, Shamal’s ARS Type is an independent studio based in Amsterdam.

By Calliope Gazetas | link | 1 Comment |

June 6, 2007 | In Handpicked Fonts

2007 FontShop Calendar: Feb-June

June Featuring Armchair Modern™

With curves inspired by both Scandinavian furniture design and old-school cathode ray tube displays, Armchair Modern shows off its paces in a cool, summery June calendar.

By Calliope Gazetas | link | 5 Comments |