By Julia Kaestle ‘Arabic Calligraphy’ is a hybrid English term. ‘Calligraphy’, taken from the Greek kallos (beauty) and graphe (writing), is literally understood in the western perception as ‘beautiful (hand) writing’ of the Arabic language. Yet the Arabic term for what we call calligraphy invites closer inspection. Within the Arabic […]
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Sunday Type: stern type
Metal Digital First, I’d like to thank Matthew Buchanan for helping me with coding for my comments. Thanks too to everyone who commented on the Type Camp feature. I think there are places left. If you’re interested, or have questions, then mail Shelley—info[at]typecamp.org. A lovely photo from a talented photographer:
Read MoreType Camp 2008
The ultimate vacation Are you interested in typography? Do you feel that you don’t quite know what you’re doing when it comes to letterforms and text? Do you want to know more? Or perhaps you just want to visit the ‘Typographic Archipelago’ (and get your company to pay)? TypeCamp is […]
Read MoreSunday Type: garbage type
roman, italic, rotalic August marks iLT’s first birthday, and I’d like to ask you all for suggestions on how we might celebrate. I have begun organising some prizes, so if you can think of a competition or whatever, then let me know in the comments below. Don’t be shy. I’ve […]
Read MoreSunday Type: vintage type
Parachute Type Last week we led with a beautiful found type photo from David John Earls. This week we lead with another stunning photo from Adam Polselli. It just happens to be one of my favourite cars too. Anyone have a spare one languishing in their garage?
Read MoreA Brief History of Type—Part 5
Slab Serif / Egyptian Welcome to the early 1800s and the birth of the Slab Serif, otherwise known as Egyptian, Square Serif, Mechanical or Mécanes. What’s with the name Egyptian? Upon Napoleon’s return from a three-year Egyptian expedition and publication in 1809 of Description de l’Égypt, Egypt was all the rage, and […]
Read MoreSunday Type: paragraph type
strength of character An exceptionally hectic week meant foregoing the usual mid-week post. Hopefully back to normal now, and I can finish the next instalment of the Type History series, Why Type Matters, and more. OK, sit back, relax and enjoy. First up is some beautifully photographed found type. Richard […]
Read MoreSunday Type: typesetting type
Questionable Type First, thanks to Kris Sowersby for his wonderful review of FF Balance. It certainly had me looking at that particular type in a fresh light. Today, we have quite a hefty Sunday Type, so let’s get started. A couple of weeks ago I posted an illustration of ten […]
Read MoreSunday Type: Ale Paul type
In the Beginning Welcome to this week’s roundup of what’s hot in type. Before I get started, I’m thinking of renaming Sunday Type to something like This Week in Type (a nod to my favourite tech show, This Week in Tech, perhaps). Work commitments sometimes make it difficult to publish […]
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A Brief History of Type
Part Four: Modern (Didone) In the previous installment of this series, we took a closer look at Transitional style typefaces, so-called because they mark a transition from the former Old Style types—epitomized by Baskerville—and the subject of today’s brief history, the Moderns, also known as Didone (the terms Modern and […]
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