Jaamal Benjamin, inspired by graffiti
Studio Grand owner Jaamal Benjamin tells us about his graffiti-inspired roots, the impact of his upbringing, and how type design pulled him out of a dark place. Read more
New in TYPE
Kevin Adams, designing with a message
NYC-based lettering artist and type designer Kevin Adams shares his early beginning, various inspiration, and socially-impactful message. Read more
David Williams, Manchester’s multi-script talent
The founder of Manchester Type tells us his story, along with his career aspirations, how COVID has affected work, and gives us a look at his versatile upcoming typeface. Read more
Rediscovering a long-lost master designer
Jaroslav Benda helped define Czech design, yet until now his life, works, and influence have gone completely unrecognized. Czech typographer Petra Dočekalová has spent the past seven years correcting that oversight, culminating in a limited-edition book about Benda and his lettering. Read more
This Is What Democracy Looked Like
Alicia Cheng’s new book explores the visual history of the American voting ballot. From the early days of “viva voce” voting to party-designed ballot; from the Australian system to Florida’s infamous 2000 “butterfly ballot,” This Is What Democracy Looked Like explains and displays the United States’ varied voting history. Read more
A new look at grids
A review of Christoph Grünberger’s Analog Algorithm, which offers a completely new way to develop and use grids in type design, graphic design, and more. Read more
Felix Braden’s Arpona replaces minimalism with character
The latest release from Floodfonts rejects common industry trends—designer Felix Braden sat down with editor Lucas Czarnecki to find out why. Read more
A typeface dedicated to Ukrainian underground music
A fresh take on Cyrillic has been making the rounds online: the typeface, Mak, has drawn attention not only for its unusual shapes, but also for its “underground” origins. Editor Lucas Czarnecki sat down with Mak’s designer, Valentyn Tkachenko, to learn more. Read more
Google Fonts’ new storefront
Google Fonts celebrated its 10-year anniversary recently with the launch of a new web interface. Read more
The making of a type trilogy
An interview with Nils Thomsen of TypeMates, discussing how he started the foundry, designed the Pensum trilogy of fonts, and decided to trust his users. Read more
Art from the world’s most secretive country
Through essays, lengthy captions, and hundreds of art reproductions, Nicholas Bonner's Printed in North Korea explores what it means to work as an artist inside one of the last remaining totalitarian states. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
Striking Gold
How many design competitions today are free to enter? How many offer real prizes? The Morisawa Type Design Competition is not a fundraiser. It isn’t a publicity stunt. It isn’t a portfolio piece. It’s a way for Morisawa to find the best new typefaces. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
“Good Vanilla”
A new Latin type family, Clarimo, is paired with the successful Japanese font, UD ShinGo. Kent Lew, who wrangled the massive character set, tells us what goes into a project of this scale.. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
On a role
An interview with Matthew Carter, who some admirers call “The Gray Wizard.” His streak at making great typefaces—while technology changes everything—has lasted 60 years. A major new superfamily seems ready to extend that record. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
The last phototypesetter
A visit with the proprietor of a shop in Japan who is still using a Morisawa type machine from the 1960s. And it works beautifully! It’s like the million-mile typesetter. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
Design generations
A look at how long-time Morisawa employees Hideki Ichikawa and Hideyuki Oda have mentored the younger generations of type designers, through all formats and technologies. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
The spirit is in the details
The culture of Morisawa has been building for nearly 100 years. Based on his ATypI Antwerp 2018 presentation “God is in the details,” Keitaro Sakamoto explains how the key is a sense for detail and shows how the spirit is kept alive over generations. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
A pocketful of type
There is no place like India to show how technological and economic growth can change the way people communicate. Prof. Fiona Ross shows the challenges for the multitude of Indic languages and scripts—and the opportunities. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
On the love of bread-headed superheroes
The vivid blend of letterforms helps define Japan. Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana work together with a whole lot of Latin, John Boardley tells how Japan’s pop culture adds energy. Read more
TYPE Nº4: Special Issue sponsored by Morisawa ·
Type around the World
Globalization is a collision of writing systems, with civilizations and scripts struggling to compete. John Berry talks about the risks and rewards of multi-language typography. Read more
Scenes from Type Tales Chicago
Our second event brought together more than a dozen of the best designers and historians working in and on the Windy City. The result was a two-day mix of professional insight, practical how-to, and incredible story. Here is a look back at some of the event’s best moments. Read more
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