Audio: To the Best of Our Knowledge – I usually catch this Public Radio International show while driving through Wisconsin. Apparently, in between my trips to the bager state, I’m missing episodes like this.  Listen to type luminaries Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Matthew Carter, and Tracy Honn discuss typefaces past and present. Check out the stream.

Words: Book Design: Beauty in the Details – Wonderful post by Joel Friedlander about the three essential elements in book design: typeface, line length and leading. (via Meryl Evans).

It’s alive! ALIIIIIIVE!

Quality Free Fonts: Sinister Fonts – This chilling collection from designer Chad Savage contains some really unique takes on scary fonts. Well worth checking out.

Font Worth Paying For: Spooky – Designer Ted Staunton recently unveiled this aptly named typeface for the Sherwood Collection. Buy it during the Month of October for a few bucks off the very reasonable price of $19.95.

Creepy Letterforms: Gorgeous, drawn lettering by Stephen Rapp.

LOL:

Size matters: The Flea’s Knees -  Super small but amazingly legible, this work in progress subpixel type family has a 3px x-height. Shown above, actual size. (via Typophile)

Once more into the breach: Mozilla Supports Web Open Font Format – Mozilla jumps onboard to officially endorse the Web Open Font Format (WOFF) specification. (via Jeffrey Zeldman)

Quality free fonts: 20+ Quality Free Sans Serif Fonts – Nice collection, cleanly presented. (via thinkdesign)

Knowledge is Power: Typeface != Font – An excellent overview of the difference between a typeface and a font. Great fodder for cocktail party conversations.

Comic: Real Life Comics (thanks to Aaron White)

I’ve always been passionate about efforts to reduce or repair the damage we’re doing to the planet. Since having children, this issue has gotten personal. I want to do all I can to make their future better. Aside from supporting groups and candidates  working to make a difference, I’ve struggled with how to make more of an impact. That’s when I started thinking about the unique role design could play this battle.

Thoughtful design can convey complex ideas and act as a powerful agent for change. While hardly a new concept, we are entering a time when grassroots design activism could produce some very interesting results. Coupled with the immediacy of social media, it seems that the potential to create change is within everyone’s reach.

Here are some folks leading the charge:

Living Climate Change was launched last month by IDEO, the design and innovation firm. The goal is “to expand the dialogue about our environment beyond policy positions and national sacrifice, and instead explore new possibilities” utilizing what they call “Design Thinking.”

The TckTckTck campaign has created a great tool for learning the stories behind the human face of climate change. It’s called the Climate Orb and it is an animated interactive tool housing first-hand stories searchable by country, keyword and timeframe.

The Environmental Defense Fund designed this infographic detailing how carbon caps can actually create jobs. Then they made it available online for reporters, editors, and bloggers around the country to use.

Of course, this is just a sampling. There are more great examples popping up everyday. Please share some of your favorites in the comments.

Flickr photo by me.

This is not just any notebook, mind you. These notebooks are known for their hipness (they even have their own Facebook fan group) and are prized additions to schwag bags at other local conferences and events. Seeking only the best for UnSummit attendees, and a little excited to break in my new Flip cam, I accepted the challenge. Joined by fellow Unsummit co-coordinator, Meg Canada, you could say the results were…  moving.

Clockwork Dance – UnSummit3 from Mykl Roventine on Vimeo.

To their credit, the folks at Clockwork Active Media Systems have been so complimentary of our little video on their blog and on Twitter. I’ve even started contemplating a different career path. If only I looked better in a leotard…

Quality free typeface: Paranoid – A purely geometric display face collaboratively designed by Simon Carrasco, John Stuart and Kevin Yuen Kit Lo. (via abduzeedo.com)

Commentary: New Fonts: A Graphic Designer’s Perspective – Great post by Brian Hennings, resident designer at the Hoefler & Frere-Jones foundry.

Here’s the slide deck for a presentation I gave today at the MIMA Summit. Thanks to the folks at MIMA for having me and all the great participants who attended my session. Working on getting a video up soon. ]]> http://www.myklroventine.com/2009/10/personal-branding-bootcamp-presentation/feed/ 1 http://www.myklroventine.com/2009/10/typography-thursday-101/ http://www.myklroventine.com/2009/10/typography-thursday-101/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:29:49 +0000 Mykl Roventine http://www.myklroventine.com/?p=1027

So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica? David Friedman from Ironic Sans has taken 20 logos that were originally designed in Helvetica, and I’ve redone them in Arial. Can you tell the difference? It’s harder than you think. I got 14 out of 20. Share your score in the comments. (via LoveHelvetica)

If you printed the internet – Fun and cleverly designed stats (via Becky Nowlin)

76 Dirty, Extreme And Creative Free Grunge Fonts (via 1stwebdesigner)

Type News – Slick aggregator of the latest type news culled from photos, blogs and Twitter. Created by Rob and Sonja Keller.

Helvetica-Kinetic Typography from Jonathan DeBoer (via LoveHelvetica)

The League of Moveable Type – An interesting entry in the the embeddable fonts movement by designers Caroline Hadilaksono and Micah Rich. Features gorgeous design, free fonts, great information and they even have a manifesto. Join the revolution! (via The Nerdery)

And finally, today is National Punctuation Day! Seriously. Apparently we have Jeff Rubin, a former copy editor who lobbied for the holiday to be recognized by Chase’s Calendar of Events in 2004, to thank.