« Delettering the Public Space | Main | DesignOff! 2005 Round Eight »

Type-O-Rama

by , (8 comments)

typeorama.gifOn a night about 2 years ago I had nothing better to do so I sat down and spent about 5 hours bookmarking a huge list of type and typography links (mostly type designers and foundries).

While some of these links are now probably outdated and some only offer a few poorly designed typefaces, I figured I’d share the list with everyone so someone else could get some use out of it (since I usually visit the same typography sites and haven’t visited a ton of the links on this list since I made it).

The Huge List O’ Type Links

Posted on July 11, 2005 | |

Sponsored by:

Media Temple
contact badg

Comments (8)

lucian said:

on the same topic, here is a smaller list similar to yours

these links were given as references at a typography seminar in bucharest

http://drumandbass.ro/dnb/fu/files/82.208.177.145/fonts.gif

Posted on July 12, 2005

JonSel said:

I think the best name prize goes to “I Shot The Serif”. Unfortunately, the fonts offered should be shot themselves.

Posted on July 12, 2005

Christian Zalben said:

I’m not looking for a collection of links but I’d love a collection of typography books, or at least the best typography books. Just the other day I picked up a copy of U&lc (the book chronicling the phenomenal and seminal U&lc magazine of the early 70墜 through late 90墜) and it is without a doubt the most gorgeous comprehensive look at 20th century graphic design/ typography that I墜e ever come across. Why isn墜 this book required reading for all graphic design and art students? It墜 fascinating and absolutely beautiful!

Posted on July 12, 2005

Michael Dogan said:

History is one of those interesting subjects. And I can say that, because of the different views people have on it. Some people enamor it, where others don’t feel it’s of any use.

You learn history, to learn from human kinds mistakes. You learn history when you learn communication design to see what did work and why - even though you probably hated it in design school. How could a Botticelli painting make you communicate your clients Saturday-only sale? I agree with you; it does seem trite.

But when you talk about fonts and use them in your work, you have to appreciate them. They are, in a way, your masters. They can crumble a successful design, or they can bring the most abstract uncommunicative thing glorious clarity.

Serifs, Sans Serif, chiseled, hand script, slab, garalde, venetian, greek, Italian etc etc and etc., When you understand these, and they’re fonts, you understand the powerful grace of human written communication.

When you understand their history, you understand them.

Learn their history, if just a little.

Posted on July 12, 2005

clinton carlson said:

I once heard a wise typographer say, “Buying fonts is like buying meat. You want to know beforehand whether it is rancid or not…. 49,500 of the 50,000 fonts available can be dropped directly into the garbage can.”

I wonder if the list should be categorized or ranked. I’d like to see ratings that range from links that deliver mostly well-designed, crafted and kerned type, to links that serve up crap type that is a scab on the skin of type design.

There’s your next post Travis… or do I smell a topic for the upcoming “BeAware” posts?

Posted on July 12, 2005

JonSel said:

Without going through all of the list, here are a few places where the type designs and quality are beyond reproach:

Fountain Typotheque Porchez Veer Thirstype Process Type Foundry LettERROR LucasFonts Jeremy Tankard The Foundry Hoefler & Frere-Jones Enschede Dutch Type Library Font Bureau

Posted on July 12, 2005

Bennett said:

Travis, Thanks for sharing the list with all of us. I think I might just bookmark this page, so I don’t have to use the search feature when I want to find it again.

Here is the start of a typographic book list. In college we were given two books for typography class. The simple and the in-depth. Beyond the Mac Is Not a Typewriter by Williams and The Elements of Typographic Style by Bringhurst. I recently read Thinking With Type and it was as an enjoyable book. I also have Texts on Type edited by Heller and Meggs and it keeps taunting me to finally read it. It should be a great overview of essays on type from some of the greats. I found a small book in a college library by Stanley Morison called Principles of Typography. After I read it in one night, I realized the entire book was include in the aforementioned collection by Meggs and Heller.

Here are a couple of type related books that we have reviewed on the site.

House Industries

Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type

Posted on July 12, 2005

Travis said:

I apologize for all the crap font links in the above list, but at the time I was going for quantity and not quality. However, there are some quality links in the list if you have the patience to weed through them.

Posted on July 13, 2005

Post a comment


Make sure you understand our COMMENT POLICY before you comment. If you haven't left a comment here before, your comment may need to be approved before it will be published. Once it has been approved, it will appear on this entry. Thanks for waiting.