Thoughts on typography, cycling, technology, & more. https://realdougwilson.com/feed.xml Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/writing-about-gotham https://realdougwilson.com/writing/writing-about-gotham Gotham turns 25 years old and I wrote about its creation doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/in-search-of-a-death-certificate https://realdougwilson.com/writing/in-search-of-a-death-certificate I found the official death certificate of Ottmar Mergenthaler in order to understand how he died doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/writing-for-tobias-frere-jones https://realdougwilson.com/writing/writing-for-tobias-frere-jones I interviewed and wrote about Tobias Frere-Jones; one of the best type designers living today doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/cracking-the-linotype-printing-code https://realdougwilson.com/writing/cracking-the-linotype-printing-code Now that I understand the code, I’m able to date most Linotype ephemera doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/new-additions-to-printing-films-archive https://realdougwilson.com/writing/new-additions-to-printing-films-archive New films, better quality, more to enjoy! doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/coit-tower-newspaper-mural https://realdougwilson.com/writing/coit-tower-newspaper-mural There is a nice mural with three Linotypes inside the Coit Tower doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/writing-words-about-letters https://realdougwilson.com/writing/writing-words-about-letters Writing about fonts is not easy, but here are my thoughts and advice doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/coding-with-character https://realdougwilson.com/writing/coding-with-character Monospaced fonts are no longer just utilitarian tools—they can also be playful & fun doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/sk8-or-die https://realdougwilson.com/writing/sk8-or-die Like many young kids, I got into skateboarding and it made a lasting impact on my life doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/on-opinion-taste-and-expertise https://realdougwilson.com/writing/on-opinion-taste-and-expertise Doug has finally learned to be less opinionated! Maybe! doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-box-at-the-museum https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-box-at-the-museum At the Ottmar Mergenthaler museum in Germany, I discovered a box of rare images doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/linotype-bulletin-astrological-covers https://realdougwilson.com/writing/linotype-bulletin-astrological-covers Illustrator Walter Meyner made six covers in 1914, combining the Linotype & astrological signs doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/globe-haul-st-short-term-review https://realdougwilson.com/writing/globe-haul-st-short-term-review I bought a Globe Haul ST e-cargo bike and love it so far. doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/visiting-linotype-and-machinery https://realdougwilson.com/writing/visiting-linotype-and-machinery I visited the revitalized manufacturing site of the British Linotype company and toured the buildings doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/denver-76-part-one-the-story https://realdougwilson.com/writing/denver-76-part-one-the-story Denver remains the only city to reject hosting the Olympics after being selected by the IOC doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-abcs-of-xyz https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-abcs-of-xyz I helped my friends at XYZ Type launch their new website and wrote some words too. doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/announcing-the-linotype-book-project https://realdougwilson.com/writing/announcing-the-linotype-book-project I’m writing a book about the Linotype and you should sign up for the newsletter! doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/cataloging-my-books https://realdougwilson.com/writing/cataloging-my-books I got some great bookshelves and cataloged my whole library online! doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/printing-films-archive https://realdougwilson.com/writing/printing-films-archive I made a website where you can see old printing and typography films doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/san-serriffe https://realdougwilson.com/writing/san-serriffe Some printers at a newspaper in the UK made a funny joke about fake islands doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/linotype-the-film-10-years-on https://realdougwilson.com/writing/linotype-the-film-10-years-on We made a film about an old machine and surprisingly, people liked it… doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-story-of-metro-nova https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-story-of-metro-nova When people ask me “What is your favorite font?” now I can point them to this blog post doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/jim-ford-and-the-sounds-of-typography https://realdougwilson.com/writing/jim-ford-and-the-sounds-of-typography This expressive typeface attempts to channel the energy of jazz improvisation doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/airports-ambassadors-and-the-panic-of-1896 https://realdougwilson.com/writing/airports-ambassadors-and-the-panic-of-1896 Big money was needed to fund the development of the Linotype, but times were also tough doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/denver-76-part-three-the-design https://realdougwilson.com/writing/denver-76-part-three-the-design When pitching for the Olympics, you’re going to want to hire the best designers you can. That’s exactly what Denver did, and they made some pretty great stuff. doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/denver-76-part-two-the-infrastructure https://realdougwilson.com/writing/denver-76-part-two-the-infrastructure Although Denver eventually rejected hosting the 1976 Winter Olympics, they had fascinating plans for infrastructure and event locations doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/typographic-telegraphic-commerical-codes https://realdougwilson.com/writing/typographic-telegraphic-commerical-codes When telegrams were common, commercial codes saved money, reduced confusion, & cheated the system doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/this-land-is-your-land https://realdougwilson.com/writing/this-land-is-your-land Native Americans have lived in Colorado for thousands of years, while I’ve lived here for five. doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/divided-highways https://realdougwilson.com/writing/divided-highways As with many things in America, the history of our greatest achievements is complicated and baised doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-designers-designer-part-two https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-designers-designer-part-two Bruce Kennett is proud of his book and isn’t sick of Dwiggins just yet doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-designers-designer-part-one https://realdougwilson.com/writing/the-designers-designer-part-one Learn who coined the term “Graphic Design” and created my favorite typeface of all time doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/briar-levit-graphic-means https://realdougwilson.com/writing/briar-levit-graphic-means Watch this film about typesetting & printing technologies you probably haven’t heard about doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/new-work-delve-fonts https://realdougwilson.com/writing/new-work-delve-fonts We made a new website all about fonts! doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/building-a-typographic-system https://realdougwilson.com/writing/building-a-typographic-system Surprise! We spent a long time thinking about fonts. doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/on-the-death-of-someone-great https://realdougwilson.com/writing/on-the-death-of-someone-great The world is exceptionally dark right now, but I’m choosing to search for hope doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/winter-cycling-tips https://realdougwilson.com/writing/winter-cycling-tips Breathability, multiple layers, and a spreadsheet are the keys to a successful cold-weather ride doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/seek-and-diverge https://realdougwilson.com/writing/seek-and-diverge I like riding a bike and I think you might too. doug@onpaperwings.com (Doug Wilson) https://realdougwilson.com/writing/new-work-keybase-book https://realdougwilson.com/writing/new-work-keybase-book Using super-awesome illustrations, we built a documentation website that wasn’t boring