Greetings from rural Somerset, UK, where the leaves are starting to turn, the kids are back at school (both of mine now), and everyone’s starting to think about about change; and not just because of the country’s two new leaders — neither of whom were in charge when I sent my last newsletter. One change I really need to get to is: coming up with a proper name for this newsletter. Any ideas? Please feel free to suggest one in reply!
Typeface: GT Pressura
I’ve always been a real sucker for microsites, especially when it comes to fonts, and this one, for the refreshed GT Pressura, made me sit up and take notice. The original version went under my radar when it was released 10 years ago, but I’m really into this revision. I guess I’m starting to enjoy these ever-so-slightly soft typefaces in my old age.
Redesign: The Verge
Yesterday, The Verge — a website I visit daily — launched their redesign. I’m actually not a huge fan of the home page’s smaller imagery and busy vibe, but the article pages are quite nice. It’s also another demonstration of just how popular typefaces containing aesthetic (rather than functional) ink traps are at the moment. The heading and pullquote type here is Gradient’s PolySans — which I do really like — and it’s nice to see an indie foundry getting (I assume) a big editorial license.
News: Tyler Finck on making fonts
Speaking of foundries, I was sad to read that that my friend Tyler Finck — designer of Epilogue, the very typeface used in (most email clients’ rendering of) this very newsletter — has decided to pause work on new type design projects. I think we should try and convince him otherwise, though, so please consider buying one of his recent font releases from his constantly evolving website. (I’m pretty into Default Sans.) Also, check out all of the cool type-tastic videos he’s been posting to Instagram lately.
Event: Letter Luvvers #2
One for the Bristol massive: next Wednesday, Laurence and Borys are hosting the second Letter Luvvers meetup, this time at the The Stag and Hounds on Old Market. I’m really looking forward to this, as I had such a great time meeting so many type geeks at the first. If you’re not in Bristol and you’re mulling a visit, this time the venue’s a mere 8-minute walk from the train station. See you there!
News: Colour fonts on Google Fonts
My colleagues at Google Fonts have just added a whole bunch of colour fonts (sorry, but in this newsletter they get spelled with a “u”!) now that the COLRv1 the font format has become more widely supported. For a succinct overview, check out Sarah’s post on the Material blog.
Typeface: At Amiga
Speaking of colour fonts, did you see the launch of At Amiga by Arillatype? The foundry have added some colour fonts into the mix to achieve some pretty interesting ‘glitch’ effects. Nice use of the technology.
Typographic facepalm: the “ø” is not a prohibited sign
Finally, I spotted this disruptive behaviour warning during a recent visit to Bristol airport:
I’m assuming they’re thinking the Scandinavian character “ø”, used in place of an “o”, resembles a prohibited / no-entry sign, which I guess it kind of might have if they’d used red rather than the brand colours…? (Here’s an emoji for reference: 🚫) This kind of careless typography doesn’t cost lives, but it does highlight a very anglo-centric, inward-looking view. And, you know, when you’re an airport, is that the right message to send?