This is the story of FontShop, founded 30 years ago by Joan and Erik Spiekermann in Berlin. FontShop was the first manufacturer-independent font supplier, and since its inception in 1989, FontShop’s talented team of type enthusiasts have pioneered a string of highly influential projects, including the experimental font box FUSE, the FontBook catalogue, and the esteemed FontFont font library. As FontShop celebrates its 30th anniversary, let’s take a look back at its early days and see how this group of designers reinvented the curating and distribution of digital typefaces.

Gudrun Zapf von Hesse, born January 2 in 1918, is a woman of many talents: She would emphasize that she is a trained bookbinder first, but she was also active as a lettering artist, she has produced work in the graphic arts – and she is a typeface designer. As she turns 100 on this day, her first alphabet design is finally released after 70 years. Ferdinand Ulrich tells the story of its origin and recent digitization.

Donald Beekman has always designed highly individual typefaces. Drawing on his experiences in the music business and on his graphic design practice, the producer/musician/DJ is known for his modern and often funky style of display faces that reference pop culture, clubbing, music styles, and so on. This makes his latest duo-release so surprising. The FF Berlage™ Beurs and FF Berlage™ Burcht type families are daring interpretations of historical architectural lettering from the Netherlands, from well over a century ago. This is the story of the fascinating quest that led to the creation of the two typefaces.

Our monthly review of movie poster typography looks at the posters for The Mind’s Eye, Ghost Team, Sun Choke, Disorder/Maryland, Emily & Tim, Blood Father, War Dogs, Anthropoid, Imperium, I Am Not a Serial Killer, Level Up, Morris from America, and Fatima.