Type Slugs 2005-01-14

Our regular roundup of typographic coolness, in news digest form Digital typfounder MyFonts (http://www.myfonts.com) join the happy 2006 party with thier list of thier own Top 10 Best of 2005…

Our regular roundup of typographic coolness, in news digest form

Digital typfounder MyFonts (http://www.myfonts.com) join the happy 2006 party with thier list of thier own Top 10 Best of 2005. Amongst what they feel thier personal best:

Best sans-serif font: Elektra
Best serif font: Esta
Best comic font: Grilled Cheese
Best grunge script font: Chato Band

I’d go on, but if I did, there’d be no reason to go to this page and see thier whole display, complete with lovely samples. Nice!

Typographica’s Best, And A Special from the Village People

The online journal Typographica has also released part one of thier own best of 2005, a very popular feature for them.

Being a typographer enthusiast’s site rather than a typefounder affords them a bit more latitude in content selection and commentary, and his Part 1 list reflects that. There is a great deal of style and lively commentary there, ranging from something on one of 2005’s most buzzed-about type families (Joshua Darden’s amazing Freight (illustrated), with about 100 members) to varations on the classic Garamond, graceful and rough scripts, and hardworking but artistic sans-serifs. A definite must-read.

With five of thier own fonts making the Typographica cut, the people at online typemonger Village (http://www.vllg.com) are offering a special on the the set: Arrival, Crank 8, Flama, Garda, and Litterata, at a price of $575.00 – $190.00 off the price of the set bought at the full regular price of $875.00. Full details are available here.

British Newspaper Redesign Shortlisted for Top Award

In the world of British design, the Design Museum’s “Designer of the Year” Award, with its GBP 25,000 price, is the pinnacle of achievement. Of the shortlist, The UK national The Guardian garners attention for thier radical redesign of 2005. Says the Design Museum’s press release:

One of the most ambitious design projects of 2005, The Guardian’s redesign has already led to increased sales in the declining newspaper market. Having decided to shrink its traditional broadsheet format, The Guardian redesigned every aspect of the newspaper. Its design team, led by creative director Mark
Porter, chose the Berliner format with five columns on each page. They devised rigorous grids to ensure legibility and coherence, and developed new ways of using colour to enhance photography, illustration and infographics. The
Guardian also commissioned a new typeface – Guardian Egyptian – with over 200 different fonts, designed by Christian Schwartz and Paul Barnes (emphasis ours-Ed.).

We feel it not amiss to point out that, not so historically long ago, two other typographers set trends they still influence today with the development of a type family for another notable British daily, The Times.

Another new E Ink application

E Ink is a company pioneering EPD – electronic paper display – technology. EPD is characterized by a high-contrast paperlike look and a flexible, nearly paperlike feel. It could be seen as a forerunner to such things as instantly-updatable print publications. The key is electronic ink, an ink that is reconfigurable by the application of an electric charge.

The technology company Ambient has used EPD to debut a new electronic weather foreaster. Net-connected and always updated, the display looks like a classic LCD, complete with 7-segment type for numbers and letters – but it’s all EPD.

Well, that’s all for this time. We at Designorati:Typography are always looking for the interesting an delightful, so if you see something we missed, don’t hestate to bug us about ti: tip us off!

(thanks, of course, to Microsoft Typography, Typographica, Typophile.com, and Engadget)

14 January 2006

Samuel John Klein

Designorati

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