Typography

New Work: KL Type Foundry

An experienced designer hangs out their own shingle; delivering high-quality fonts without the hype

Writing for Tobias Frere-Jones

Helping tell the stories of some very famous typefaces

New Additions to the Printing Films Archive

I’ve added five new (old) films and scanned many in 4K

Visiting Linotype & Machinery

Touring the British Linotype factory to see what remains

Writing About Gotham

Telling the story of the most important typeface of the last 25 years

Cracking the Linotype Printing Code

Unlocking the secretive code used for Linotype publications

Writing Words About Letters

No way around it; writing about fonts is a challenge, but it can still be fun.

Coding with Character

If you spend all day looking at code, letters, and characters—why not make it fun?

On Opinion, Taste, and Expertise

When having an opinion is more subtle than I thought

The Box at the Museum

Discovering images hidden for over 75 years…

“The Linotype Bulletin” Astrological Magazine Covers

Six amazing magazine covers from 1914

The ABCs of XYZ

Writing about typography and working with good people

Announcing the Linotype Book Project

I thought I was finished with the Linotype, but now I’m writing a book about it

Cataloging My Books

My process of displaying and cataloging my collection

The Printing Films Archive

Preserving the Visual History of the Printed Word

The Beautiful Islands of San Serriffe

The story of the most elaborate April fool’s joke ever printed

The Story of Metro Nova

The story of how I helped (in a small way) create a new version of Metro with all its original personality

Jim Ford & “The Sounds of Typography”

How the jazz music of Miles Davis and driving in a blizzard inspired a new typeface

Airports, Ambassadors, & the Panic of 1896

The Fascinating History of a 120-Year-Old Stock Certificate

Typographic Telegraphic Commercial Codes

These mysterious codes were designed to save money and reduce confusion

The Designer’s Designer - Part Two

Four years after publication, Bruce Kennett reflects on his book, the process, and what’s next

The Designer’s Designer - Part One

Bruce Kennett has written the definitive monograph about the definitive designer: William Addison Dwiggins

Briar Levit - Graphic Means

Often, the best stories start with an obsession; for Briar Levit, the story begins in a thrift store.

New Work: Delve Fonts

A ground-up redesign to help a type foundry grow

Building a Typographic System

The fun and challenge of font pairing when you’re the client