davidthedesigner

from albertus to zapf dingbats: the 52 fonts that you could use instead of helvetica

This was a series of posts that I started to celebrate the first birthday of this blog in November 2007. It was inspired by Gary Hustwit's Helvetica movie and the intention was to post two fonts every two weeks for the second year of the blog and working through the alphabet from A to Z.

Well I did complete the task within the year, although I didn't always make the fortnightly schedule. And then it had been my intention to go back and present these 52 fonts in a more accessible fashion (than having to work backwards through the category listings). It's taken me another year to get round to doing that (sorry) - but at least I'm well in time for the blog's third birthday next month.

Now, to explain why the 52 fonts, here's what I wrote at the time by way of an introduction:

"...before I start, let's get something straight. Don't expect in-depth critiques on this blog. If you really want to get serious about typography, then there are better places to go: like I love typography or Dalton Maag. And if you're simply looking for a particular font, then try Indentifont.

No, this is about variety: a sort 'Joy of Text'. The design equivalent of 'there's more to life than the missionary position'. Because, speaking as a designer, it's very easy to get caught in a rut of using a few favourite fonts. Even more so if you work for clients who have a brand identity: because then you'll very often be told to adhere to guidelines which will specify the fonts that you're allowed to use. Usually one serif and one sans serif. Which is fine up to a point. But it probably wasn't why we became designers in the first place.

So this is an encouragement to let ourselves go. Loosen up those brand requirements. And have a bit of font fun (and, no, that doesn't mean you're allowed to use the one that dare not pass a designer's lips)."

And so here are the more easily accessible 52:

A for Albertus and Avenir

B for Bodoni and Bell Gothic

C for Century Schoolbook and Cooper Black

D for DIN and Didot

E for Edwardian Script and European Pi

F for Foundry Sans and Futura

G for Gill Sans and Goudy Old Style

H for Haarlemmer and Holloander

I for Ionic and Industrial Gothic

J for... well, J turned out to be the Joker in the pack - so you'll find J for Joanna here and J for Johnston here

K for Kabel and Kepler

L for Litera and Lubalin Graph

M for Meta and Modern

N for News Gothic and Nimrod

O for Optima and Octavian

P for Perpetua and Palatino

Q for Quadra 57 and Quay Sans

R for Rockwell and Rotis

S for Sabon and Snell Roundhand

T for Trajan and Trade Gothic

U for Univers and Utopia

V for Van Dijk and Verdana

W for Walbaum and Warnock

X for Xenara and Xheighter

Y for Yanus and Ying

And finally Z for Zemestro and Zapf Dingbats

all quiet on the eastern front

I was tootling around the blogosphere yesterday and I came across this: the identity for Art Setouchi 2010. The designer's name was mentioned: Kenya Hara - one that I didn't recognise. I don't know whether you do? Anyway, on further investigation I find that Kenya Hara is the art director of Muji.

A record of his work is full of very beautiful, elegant and restrained design solutions. And then I found a video of a presentation that he gave at the 2008 Imprint Culture Lab. Before you watch it, though, it's worth reflecting upon that TED talk given by Philippe Starck that I told you about a while ago. Compare and contrast, one might say. Because Hara certainly doesn't have the charisma and showmanship that Starcke possesses in spades. But listen to what he has to say - and then judge him (and Starcke, for that matter) by his work.

design for life (again)

It's five minutes in before you get to Harry Hill's take on 'Design for Life', but it's worth it. And the second Gandhi joke will put a smile on your face as well.

shop 'til you drop

The chances are that you're reading this post via some sort of news reader, so you won't therefore know that I've opened up a little shop on the blog itself. It is, to be honest, pretty much an experiment - and one that's been made possible by deploying one of the widgets that you can add to a TypePad blog. As you'll see, this particular widget has been developed by PayPal, which should mean that all transactions are carried out safely and efficiently.

This shop idea is something I've been mulling over for quite a while, but it's the convergence of two separate things that have made it possible. The first being the widget, of course. But by coincidence, my good friend John Hinchcliffe was commissioned earlier this year by the publishers Canongate to prepare a series of lino-prints to illustrate both the cover and the months of the year for 'The Country Diaries', which was published earlier this month. And this provided an opportunity for John to produce a limited edition set of prints from the original lino-cuts.

To cut a long story short, John asked me for some advice on how this edition might be marketed. And this little shop idea is therefore one of the outcomes from that discussion.

'But you're a designer, why lino-cuts?' I hear you ask. A good question. And there are two answers: first, I have to sometimes surprise you - otherwise you wouldn't keep coming back here would you?; and second, I've been pondering the original manifesto of the Bauhaus - particularly the line 'Architects, painters, sculptors, we must all return to crafts! For there is no such thing as "professional art".' That may seem pretty profound, and it's a subject that I'll return to and discuss another time. Maybe.

In the meantime though, we're offering a marvellous deal on John's set of prints - just £35 each (and remember they're individually printed and signed by John himself), plus we'll mail them anywhere in the world for a flat rate of £2.50, no matter how many prints you order in one transaction. We might come to regret that of course - but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

And let me know what you think of the idea - even if you don't want to buy.

UPDATE: OK, so a ran this experiment for a couple of months and I've decided to switch the shop to ebay - if you've got any questions, just drop me an email: david(at)studiohyde.com.

awayday

I'm off to Bristol a bit later today. I haven't been there for a long, long time. So wish me luck.

And because time is short I thought it might be nice to let you have some music to listen to. "Oh no, not Neil Young again", I hear you say. Now Neil's a big hero of mine. But, you know, I have to tell you that I'm not just an ageing hippy and that it is possible to teach an old dog about some new tricks.

So let's stick with the animal theme for just a minute - and if you're in need of cheering up then give Frightened Rabbit a go. Over on the right (on the link, that is), look for 'Swim Until You Can't See Land' and press 'Play'. You won't be disappointed. (Thanks to Middle Boop for the heads up on that one.)

If on the other hand you need calming down, then you need do nothing more than spend nine and a half minutes or so in the company of Nicola Benedetti.

Ah, I feel better already. (And thanks to Woman's Hour for the tip-off on that one.)

some things to look forward to (maybe)

It's approaching this blog's third birthday and, as is usual when anniversaries roll around, I like to give a bit of thought to how I can add new topics or themes, or otherwise rearrange the furniture. As it happens, the actual date of this next birthday (22nd November) coincides with the trip that Mike has planned as a result of his winning the competition.

Yes, on 22 November Mike and his Missus will be hopping aboard the Eurostar for their own little break. Rather rashly, I fear (and perhaps without Mrs Reed's knowledge), Mike has offered to report back here (that's right: right on this blog) about the experience. And he's going to be seeking your help in tracking down some of the lesser-known delights that Paris has to offer. So, more about this closer to the time. But certainly something to look forward to, don't you think?

Before then I'm planning to launch a little shop, right here in the top right-hand corner (it's why I swapped left to right and right to left). So you can buy some lovely things, carefully selected by yours truly, and all handmade - and all at the touch of a button. I'm busy writing out the sales tickets even as I type. And once I'm happy that the kerning's right and the H&Js are behaving themselves I'll be ready to go. I'm hoping that will be next week (well, last week I was hoping it would be this week - but, hey, it has to be right, doesn't it?).

Next up is that it really is time that I got my '52 fonts you could use instead of Helvetica' series in order. That was something that I intended to do last December: sort them in a way that the 52 fonts could be read from A-Z in one go. So that's something I really have to get done by the 22 November deadline. Perhaps you should nag me about it.

And finally, what about you? Is there anything that you'd really like to see here? Drop me a line - david(at)studiohyde.com - if you think there's something missing.

it's a walking stick that's had a boob job

And so Design for Life comes to an end. And, just as I predicted back at the start (in a comment on Ben's blog) "I think the blonde girl will win. Says it all, really."

Now, absolutely no disrespect to Ilsa, but here's what this series has taught us: in Phillipe Starck's world, it's how things look that counts.

But then I guess that's what most people think designers are for - to make things look nice. Or 'sexy', as Starck would say.

design in every department

Despite rumours to the contrary...

...you definitely won't find me lurking in lingerie.

left to right and right to left

Now I know that most of you read these posts via a news feed service, but there are still some out there who do things the old-fashioned (ie last year's) way. And if you are one of those, you'll see that I've done a little bit of rearrangement. But don't worry, it's not much. I've just swapped over the left- and right-hand columns, but the content is just the same (for the time being). I'm getting ready to add a widget which will allow you to buy things straight from the blog, which will be exciting, won't it?

More news next week. Probably.

this made me smile #93