In Beatrice Warde’s famous crystal goblet essay, she argues that the role of type is to invisibly convey its message, to carry the words’ meaning, and otherwise disappear. And I think it’s clear what she’s saying is that the typography ought not distract the reader from the text, but this “long-winded and fragrant metaphor,” finds its limits outside of “quietly set book-pages.” Editorial design operates under different constraints. Yes, minimize distraction while reading, but a number of other practical concerns peculiar to editorial work define the look and function of editorial faces.

A stencil typeface in use evokes the idea of an ephemeral message. In visual culture letters with gaps in-between strokes and joints usually create connotations of construction sights, warning sings, military equipment and pretty much anything that is rather temporary. The words “this way up” or “fragile” lettered in a stencil face on a wooden box is a popular image. However, the possibilities of applying the stencil style lies far beyond the industrial or vernacular look.

The delightfulness of great type, carried through its forms and textures, complexity and simplicity, is to us a great source of satisfaction. Now with 2015 at a close we’re pleased to show our selections for the best of the past year, just the greats.

Monotype’s new Eric Gill Series introduces new styles, better and more uniform language support, and Joanna Sans, a completely new typeface. But comparing it to previous versions of Gill Sans and Joanna, what’s actually new?

One of the type families that undeniably shaped the iconic FontFont library is Albert-Jan Pool’s FF DIN® typeface family. At the suggestion of Erik Spiekermann during a taxi cab ride, Albert-Jan examined the rigid, mechanical shapes of the DIN 1451 Mittelschrift and Engschrift typefaces. With the recent addition of the two new weights—Thin and Extra Light, FF DIN now serves as an authentic European type family that supports Greek, Latin and Cyrillic scripts. I had the pleasure of interviewing both Albert-Jan and Inka Strotmann, who likes to call herself “invisible little helper” but whose contributions are crucial to the development and production of the typeface.