New news and old news in the wonderful world of type

I’ve just got back from a much-needed and all-too-short holiday in Corfu. My family and I (there’s a Gerald Durrell joke in there somewhere) managed to find a little corner of paradise in a part of the island unspoiled by sunburned Brits, with the sea quite literally at the end of our Airbnb’s garden. Bliss!

But you’re not here for the postcard from my holiday, are you? On with the typography!

A Guide to Sinistral Hand

As a right-handed person who, for no reason whatsoever, holds a pen like a left-handed person, I’ve always had a fondness for my lefty brethren, forever doomed to smudge everything we ever write by hand. But I’m sure righties and lefties alike will enjoy this guide to overcoming right-handed bias in lettering by Phaedra Charles of Undercase Type (AKA the designer of the awesome Fraunces).

Lo-Ol Type

It’s always fun discovering a new type foundry, and even though this is very much not really new — folks, I hope you’re all getting used to the idea that I’m an old news kind of guy — sharing such discoveries in a newsletter like this seems quite apt. So, if you’ve not yet come across the work of Loris Olivier and Noheul Lee, and their type foundry Lo-Ol Type, do yourself a favour and check out their catalogue — framed, rather beautifully, in one of the nicest foundry sites I’ve come across in some time.

Craft Beer Design

At the weekend, a surprise gift turned up on my doorstep from Germany, and in it: ‘Craft Beer Design’, the new book from Gestalten on, well, craft beer design. There’s not a single page here that’s not packed with design inspiration — and beerspiration. (Is it five o’clock yet?) Ah, my friend Marc knows me so well! Danke schön, mate!

Creative Boom podcast

Speaking of design inspiration, the awesome Creative Boom had their 13th birthday last month and if that’s not a reason to go and check out one of the few editorial websites left on the internet not plastered in advertising, then I don’t know what is. Oh, but if you are in search of another, CB founder Katy Cowan recently interviewed me on episode #81 of their podcast and we had a lovely chat in my studio about the glory days of web design.

Instagram Sans

The folks at a little startup called Meta (you read it here first, people) sent me a box with a load of Instagram Sans swag. The typeface was created in collaboration with Colophon Foundry and, however you feel about those timeline changes, there are some interesting little details here.

CSS update

Lastly, a little housekeeping: most of you reading this should now be seeing web fonts and some subtle design tweaks, including fixes for dark mode. And, if you browse the archives or read a previous issue online, the changes are there, too. Massive thanks to Justin Duke — Mr. Buttondown himself — for his help in this department. Turns out I’m quite the web design dinosaur these days.