Fonts In Use

Centrefold Magazine, Issue 08

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:35:00 +0000

Centrefold uses Monotype Modern Extended for their logo and throughout this issue of the print magazine. The turn-of-the-century typeface sets a striking, classical tone for the publication and brand. Monotype Grotesque is a fitting companion from the same era. The website designers could have simply gone with the webfont version of the typeface (available at MyFonts and Fonts.com), but they chose Playfair Display instead. Playfair is a fine alternative with a similarly high stroke contrast, and its large lowercase helps it work for the midsized copy on the web, but its readability is really stretched at small sizes. I would consider bumping up the text or using a family like Benton Modern RE that is specifically for screen text.

“Frances Ha” Poster and Website

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:11:45 +0000

Director Noah Baumbach co-wrote his latest movie, Frances Ha, with its star, Greta Gerwig. Shot digitally with a Canon 5D, it is entirely black and white. From the IFC description:

Frances lives in New York, but she doesn't really have an apartment. Frances is an apprentice for a dance company, but she's not really a dancer…

The poster has a nice verticality to it. The black and white allows for a color multiply that makes it easy to place type anywhere. The title is set in Rudolph Ruzicka’s Fairfield (designed in 1940; digitized and expanded in 1991 by Alex Kaczun).

The rather simple serif treatment gives the movie a classic feel without looking deliberately New Wave. But this is just marketing—while there’s no experimental sans here, the trailer with its hip New Yorkers could've been covered in one. Surprisingly, the type in the trailer is actually Didot, which is also used for the title on the website's navigation.

The film’s promotional site is rather adventurous. It begins with an interpretation of the poster and then a long, dotted line leads the visiter through clips, quotes, stills, Google-map locations from the film and gifs. The cast gifs even use Fairfield in some frames.

Now that it’s possible to match a movie poster’s type on the web, you might expect to see Fairfield (especially Fairfield Light which the poster uses) in use here. Unfortunately, the designer has settled for less.

The text of the site is primarily set in Fanwood, an open-source "revival" that is vague about its origins. Only its text style is served even though a text italic is provided with Fanwood’s download. So throughout the site bold and italics are faked, usually at the same time—a faux-faux faux pas.

Near the bottom of the page is a Press section that is really a Reviews section (Press is typically reserved for media kit materials). Review pull-quotes are set in all caps with Playfair Display, free via Google Fonts. In a couple instances it is combined with Fanwood. Using a different font for text that is beyond the movie's own promotional copy is not entirely a bad idea. But there's no reason to introduce a whole new typeface. With such limited use, Fairfield Heavy would be more appropriate.

Ovomaltine

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:45:18 +0000

Ovomaltine (or Ovaltine, as it is known in English-speaking countries) was developed in Berne, Switzerland. The name comes from ovum, Latin for "egg", and malt, originally its main ingredients. According to Wikipedia, in 1909 "it was a misspelling in the trademark registration that led to the name being shortened to Ovaltine in English-speaking markets" when they started exporting to Britain.

The German label sports one of Europe’s most frequently used packaging typefaces, FF Dax. The logo is customized with a modified ‘t’. The official Swiss website uses FF Dax as webfonts throughout.

Appsters

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:07:18 +0000

New website for Appsters uses Trim Poster in combination with Siri Core.

Volksfeinde by Kati Marton (Die Andere Bibliotek Edition)

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:20:10 +0000

Die Andere Bibliotek’s edition of Volksfeinde (Enemies of the People) by Kati Marton has a cover by Erik Spiekermann using a family from his FontFont library: the condensed 19th-century woodtype-inspired FF Hydra, and the much wider Text version intended for small sizes.

Die Andere Bibliothek Website

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:45:12 +0000

In the course of their new visual identity, the website of Die Andere Bibliothek was redesigned, too. The publishing program now is presented in a double list: the main column on the right has the currently available books, while the secondary column on the left holds yet to be released issues or such that are out of print. Pictograms like a crown for original editions are introduced to establish some navigational structure, but it is not always clear what they signify where. A convenient feature is the direct link to a directory of antiquarian booksellers for those books that are not available anymore – denoted by a cobweb.

Apart from the logo which is included as pixel graphic, the whole site is rendered with webfonts. Apparently, the publishing house managed to strike a special deal with Lineto, since the Swiss font makers don’t really allow their products to be used on the web yet.

While the “Reclined” styles of LL Brown add an interesting element of novelty to the printed matter, they hardly work on screen. The diagonals of these “Contra Italics” as well as those of the conventional Italics render poorly and create a distracting pattern. The upright styles are not amongst the most pleasantly readable sans-serifs either. This is a prime example why it is crucial to consider all relevant types of media before deciding on a corporate typeface.

Die Andere Bibliothek – Fall 2013 Preview

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:43:47 +0000

Die Andere Bibliothek (“The Other Library”) was established in 1985 by writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger and book designer Franz Greno. Their idea was to publish one extraordinary book each month – extraordinary both in terms of content and form. It has since become one of the most prestigious European book series.

In late 2010, Die Andere Bibliothek moved from Frankfurt to Berlin and is now edited by Christian Döring. Since July 2012, every issue is commissioned from another book designer, many of them well-known figures like Sabine Golde, Uta Schneider, Friedrich Forssman, Victor Malsy, Erik Spiekermann or Wim Westerveld. Renate Stefan is the executive production editor.

Their new visual identity by BANK™ mixes LL Brown (Aurèle Sack) and Larish Neue (Radim Peško).

Die Andere Bibliothek – Spring 2013 Preview

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:43:44 +0000

Their new visual identity by BANK™ mixes LL Brown (Aurèle Sack) and Larish Neue (Radim Peško).

Monoqi “Welcome” email

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:50:05 +0000

Berlin-based online retailer Monoqi uses some pretty poor handwriting fonts on their website but I thought Xtreem (recently honored at Typographica) worked quite well in their Welcome email. Used sparingingly, it’s an energetic contrast to the calmness of the products and photography. The logo appears to be a modified Gotham.

The Age of Wire and String by Ben Marcus, 2013 Granta Books edition

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:13:53 +0000

Until tomorrow, 24 May 2013, dalla Rosa Gallery in London exhibits …

artwork by Catrin Morgan for the new hardback edition of Ben Marcus’ book The Age of Wire and String published by Granta in May 2013. This will be accompanied by a wider body of work which takes the novel as its starting point, developing a language that draws from vintage photos, geological diagrams, and meteorology.

The typeface in use is Aurèle Sack’s LL Brown. The title is set in its “Reclin” cut, a style also known as “Contra Italics”.

Snowflake Gelato

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:26:53 +0000

Snowflake Gelato is a UK-based artisan gelato shop that uses Agenda on its homepage.

University of Illinois Political Science and International Interdisciplinary Studies 2013 Convocation Program

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:40:59 +0000

Even if most everyone who picked up one of these programs looked at it for thirty seconds only, I have to believe it mattered that it clearly reflects the fact that it took longer than that to put together.

Bad am Kreuzberg

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:07:39 +0000

The brush script on the facade of this medical spa in Berlin-Kreuzberg (est. in 1957) is Slogan by Helmut Matheis (released in 1958). Comparing it to the original typeface design shows that several modifications have been made: the ‘M’ got tamed, the ‘s’ is taller, and the ‘ä’ suffers from a serious case of diaeresis lagomorphica.

University of Illinois Social and Behavioral Research Council Awards 2013 Program

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:45:21 +0000

I can see myself at the awards banquet now, telling people they should also turn the card over to see the back. Good thing I couldn’t go.

Gandalf magazine covers

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:16:37 +0000

via @BooksLoveLiza

The alternative culture magazine Gandalf that was published between 1964 and 1971 played a taboo-breaking role in the Netherlands. — nl.wikipedia.org

It was not that easy anymore in the more liberal sixties, but Gandalf still succeeded [to provoke] in 1968: the magazine was convicted of publishing images that were offensive to public decency. It was about obscene nude photos, but in addition to that, a fiercely satirical, anti-establishment attitude of the magazine played a role, too. Especially royals, politicians and priests got theirs. Sacred cows were happily killed and the good taste was firmly put to the test. Publisher Guus Dijkhuizen characterized his magazine as “sexatiric”. — kb.nl

The cover typeface on the first eight issues is some unadorned bold condensed Helvetica. Most of the Gandalf covers feature Novarese’s funky Italienne Estro. This anarchically spaced masthead lasted for five years and thirty-eight issues. In 1970, it was replaced by another typeface by Aldo Novarese: Eurostile Bold Extended. The covers of the last issues from the year after don’t use type, but rather some dilettante lettering.

Almost all of the 58 covers can be found on Het Verzameloord. As you may expect, most of them are not safe for work.

The Great Gatsby – 2010 Penguin edition

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:08:23 +0000

Coralie Bickford-Smith, Reading graduate and senior cover designer at Penguin Books, used Penumbra Serif for the hardback edition of The Great Gatsby that marked the 70th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's death. It is part of a whole series of books by Fitzgerald.

I designed the patterns in an attempt to give these books something of the elegance and glamour of the art deco period, with the sense of ornate detail fused with the modernist aesthetic of mechanical repetition. The combination of metallic foil and matt paper is designed to feel good in the hand as well as look good on the shelf; by evoking the jazz age of Fitzgerald’s stories, I hope these books will give a little tactile enhancement to the reading experience. — Coralie Bickford-Smith

The Great Gatsby – 2004 Scribner edition

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:26:51 +0000

With a new theatrical version of this book coming out recently, a lot of television and internet sources have been talking and writing about the book and flashing this cover. I thought this version (some other versions use the same artwork, but I was unable to identify the type), which must at least be newer than 1996, used a pretty unique typeface. It turns out it’s Minimal, designed by Keystrokes AKA Douglas Olena for Monotype.

The lowercase glyphs are just alternate version of uppercase letters, and this cover only uses the alternate ‘a’. The designer also created a custom ligature for joining the ‘C’ to the ‘O’ in the author’s name.

University of Illinois Political Science 2012 Student Awards Ceremony

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:34:11 +0000

There is no law anywhere saying that if the content is less than exciting, the design has to match.

RECAPP Logo

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:33:35 +0000

It took us a while to find the perfect font for our logo. Because we’re a sports app, we needed something both bold and modern. Stratum 1 was perfect with its sharp corners and strong edges. We tilted it a little bit to give it a sense of movement and energy.

Barrel Website

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:30 +0000

Focusing on brand/product development, along with website design, Barrel chooses Benton Sans for its own website.