Artistic tributes to typography come in all shapes and sizes, fonts and formats. This one, a well-executed animation by Garry Moore, has got the flow, along with some wisdom on Staying Open and the value of being aware of all that surrounds us as we travel our individual trajectories. Enjoy this short (00:51) featuring an insightful message from Glen Hansard.
Okay, I’ll admit it. For some reason, higher math has always escaped me. Which is why I often found myself practicing letter forms & doodles in the margins of my notebook back in high school. (My math skills may have suffered, but my handwriting was beautiful! ;) I was in love with type. I devoured books on typography, font samples, type nomenclature, and the evolution of the written (and printed) word. As early as the ninth grade, even my art teacher recognized my love of graphic forms & color and steered me towards the graphic arts program at our school. “Why don’t you give it a try?” she asked. “I think you’ll like it.” And so I did. (Thanks Mrs. Lindsay!)
The Graphic Arts instructor, Mr. Markowitz, also noticed my love for graphics and type. He encouraged me to take on extra projects over the next few years, and ultimately suggested that I pursue a career in the Graphic Arts. The rest, as they say, is history….
Oh-so-many years later, it still holds true. I’m still awed by coming across a beautifully executed typeface; mystified by the secrets of ancient petroglyphs; intrigued by the friezes on Mayan ruins and the hieroglyphs of the Great Pyramids; and dazzled by the calligraphy of an ancient scribe. All over the world and throughout time—from prehistoric cave drawings made in the earliest days of man to the eye-popping webfonts of the 21st century—forms of written communication continue to evolve and intrigue us. And it’s all out there just waiting to be discovered, shared, appreciated, understood.
Yep, I love type. It’s a lifelong passion for sure, and I strive to make that evident in my work. ♥
YOUR TRUE CHARACTER, REVEALED
When I came upon this fun, holiday quiz, What Type Are You?, from the folks at Pentagram Design, I couldn’t resist giving it a try. I was curious to see just how accurate they’d be in matching my personality to a particular type face. After a series of four simple questions, they analyzed my answers, and pegged me as an “Archer Hairline” type of gal. The font is quiet, simple but elegant, with surprising details revealed when scrutinized more closely. I have to say, that does suit me.
Give it a try here [link removed] and find out your true type!
The above image is a screen-grab of my type “diagnosis,” courtesy of Pentagram (thanks, Pentagram!)
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ED. NOTE: This entry was first posted on Blogger, under the handle “ampersandblogger,” in January 2010. : : kf/&, 1/12/10
ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES
It’s no secret; I love type. There’s something about letterforms that I find absolutely mesmerizing. As a I child, I would spend hours pouring over type specimen books, drinking in their subtleties of form. And my favorite was always Helvetica.
Later on, when I was off at college studying typography, I learned that Helvetica was the favorite of a lot of other folks, too. In fact, its use is “universal.” (Pardon the pun, typophiles. :)
Think you DON’T know Helvetica? Check out this PBS short video: Helvetica [link removed]. It’s actually a clip from a movie about the type face. (See? I told you there were a lot of other Helvetica enthusiasts out there!)
Think you DO know Helvetica? Try this fun game, where designer David Friedman found 20 logos originally designed with Helvetica and swapped them out with Arial. (Blasphemy!) Your job is to pick out the original. Have fun! (I got a perfect score! How about you? :)
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ED. NOTE: This entry was first posted on Blogger, under the handle “ampersandblogger,” in January 2010. : : kf/&, 8/10/21
ONCE UPON A TIME, A VERY LONG TIME AGO…
a flash of red,
a shiny sled goes by
two brothers tumble off
with runny noses
and snow-covered hats, laughing
they jump to their feet
and race back up the hill
to take another run
(what fun!)
another streak of red, a flash of blue
(so cute, with rosy cheeks)
then shrieks — of delight —
impromptu snowball fight!
(and that’s my cue … )
i sneak inside the house,
it won’t be long
before they tramp inside with frozen toes
and shed their clothes:
four soggy mittens,
and two pairs of boots,
and snow pants, and jackets, and hats, and scarves,
in one great puddle
on the kitchen floor
i greet them at the door
with two big hugs
and two hot mugs
of cocoa to warm their cores
momma, ben put snow down my back,
says russ, with a chocolaty pout;
from ben, a devilish grin —
big brothers always win …
their happy chatter fills
the room with warmth,
my heart with joy;
each one is such a special boy
with ruddy faces and tousled hair
they melt my heart,
they light
my soul
i wonder
if they know,
my angels
in the snow
The typographic cloud graphic above (my “snow cloud,” if you will) was created with a wonderful (but addictive) program called Wordle. The poem, by yours truly, harkens back to a snowy day—a very long time ago….
[ find more of my poems ]
A Beautifully Designed Anicillary Character Gives Me Pause
Yes, it’s true, the name of my business, Ampers&® Studio, is centered around, and includes, an ampersand (&) character. Not so surprising. I am, after all, a typographer. And what typographer doesn’t love ampersands? I’ve written about them here.
But in this instance, the letterform giving me pause is that third-order reference mark used in punctuation, a.k.a. the double dagger (‡), pictured here in a graphic I came across on Typography.com. (And isn’t it lovely?) The graphic accompanies an article about Reference Marks:
“Daggers come from that archipelago of typographic symbols known as reference marks, which refer readers elsewhere for explanatory or exegetic notes. The traditional first-order reference mark is the asterisk (*)….”
And that, my friends, makes fascinating reading for typography fanatics such as myself (seriously). If you love type, too, you might enjoy reading more from H&FJ News’ article, House of Flying Reference Marks, or Quillon & Choil, here.*
A Dire Dagger Dillema
This glyph, in particular, happened to catch my eye because of a situation in a recent project I’d been working on. You see, an asterisk had already been used within the project’s text, as had the dagger (the second-order reference mark). So when my client requested to add in a third reference set, I used a double dagger, which is standard operating procedure in typography.
Well, as it happens, the dagger had been used to indicate those deceased individuals mentioned within the text (which, if you think about it, is kind of ironic…). Anyway, to use the double dagger as a reference for a distinguished position held, even though proper, somehow didn’t seem right. Further, it was difficult to tell who had been honored and who had passed on! (This would not do at all.) So instead, I threw the rules of typography right out the window (gasp!), and went with a lovely lozenge or diamond (◊), which seems like a much more distinguished mark to use for signifying a distinguished position. So forgive me, my mentors — who taught me the differences between, and proper usage of, EM- EN- and regular ol’ dashes — I know the situation called for a double dagger, but “sometimes you just gotta do whatcha gotta do, eh?”
*Check out the asterisked bit at the end of H&FJ’s article, an advisory notice from the New Oxford English Dictionary on pronunciation. (Don’t you just love it? :)
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ED. NOTE: This entry was first posted on Blogger, under the handle “ampersandblogger,” in June 2009. : : kf, 1/4/19
