Give it a try here (the password is: character) and find out your true type!
The above image is a screen-grab of my "diagnosis," courtesy of Pentagram (thanks, Pentagram!)
Showing posts with label typography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label typography. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What's Your Type?
YOUR TRUE CHARACTER, REVEALED
When I came upon this fun, holiday quiz, What Type Are You?, from the folks at Pentagram Design, I couldn't resist giving it a try. I was curious to see just how accurate they'd be in matching my personality to a particular type face. After a series of four simple questions, they analyzed my answers, and pegged me as an "Archer Hairline" type of gal. The font is quiet, simple but elegant, with surprising details revealed when scrutinized more closely. I have to say, that does suit me.
Give it a try here (the password is: character) and find out your true type!
The above image is a screen-grab of my "diagnosis," courtesy of Pentagram (thanks, Pentagram!)
Give it a try here (the password is: character) and find out your true type!
The above image is a screen-grab of my "diagnosis," courtesy of Pentagram (thanks, Pentagram!)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Helvetica
ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES
It's no secret; I love type. There's something about letterforms that I find absolutely mesmerizing. As a I child, I would spend hours pouring over type specimen books, drinking in their subtleties of form. And my favorite was always Helvetica.
Later on, when I was off at college studying typography, I learned that Helvetica was the favorite of a lot of other folks, too. In fact, its use is "universal." (Pardon the pun, typophiles. :)
Think you DON'T know Helvetica? Check out this PBS short video: Helvetica. It's actually a clip from a movie about the type face. (See? I told you there were a lot of other Helvetica enthusiasts out there!)
Think you DO know Helvetica? Try this fun game, where designer David Friedman found 20 logos originally designed with Helvetica and swapped them out with Arial (blasphemy!). Your job is to pick out the original. Have fun! (I got a perfect score! How about you? :)
It's no secret; I love type. There's something about letterforms that I find absolutely mesmerizing. As a I child, I would spend hours pouring over type specimen books, drinking in their subtleties of form. And my favorite was always Helvetica.
Later on, when I was off at college studying typography, I learned that Helvetica was the favorite of a lot of other folks, too. In fact, its use is "universal." (Pardon the pun, typophiles. :)
Think you DON'T know Helvetica? Check out this PBS short video: Helvetica. It's actually a clip from a movie about the type face. (See? I told you there were a lot of other Helvetica enthusiasts out there!)
Think you DO know Helvetica? Try this fun game, where designer David Friedman found 20 logos originally designed with Helvetica and swapped them out with Arial (blasphemy!). Your job is to pick out the original. Have fun! (I got a perfect score! How about you? :)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
My Kind of Humor
(TYPE TEE HEE! :)
"Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator"
Refrigerator"
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Olympic Park Ampersand Sculpture
SHOW ME A SIGN...
I've always wanted to visit Seattle (almost made it in May, when my SO was traveling there on business, but one of those pesky paying jobs I get from time-to-time got in the way....). Anyway, now that I know Seattle's got a rotating ampersand sculpture (how awesome is that?!?), I figure getting there has gotta be my destiny now!
Click on the photo or the link to enjoy a "short long photo" of the ampersand by Striatic, found on Flickr. (Note the beautiful lighting and red-against-gray colorscape—very nice.) See you in Seattle some day...look for me by the neon red ampersand!
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Rather Difficult Font Game
TOO MUCH FUN!
Okay, I'm "easing back into things" here at the studio after a much needed long weekend of fun visiting friends and family down on Long Island (in the sun, no less!) So I couldn't resist taking a stab at this game I came across this morning on one of my favorite blogs, I Love Typography, called "The Rather Difficult Font Game." (And hey, it's still work-related: I'm honing my type identification skills, right?!?)
Now, I've been a typophile since way back in Junior High, and used to think I knew a thing or two about type identification. But lately, with all the new foundaries emerging, and programs which let folks design and sell their own fonts, I'm not always quick to recognize a new font I come across, and I was starting to wonder whether or not I was still as "up on things" as I used to be.... Well, I'm happy to report that I've still got it. (Check out the Rather Impressive Hall of Fame top scorer, above—it's me! :) There were only two fonts I missed (aarrgghh!). I only played one round, and it says the fonts change each time you play, but I figured, why mess with success? I'm in the number one spot (for now anyway), so I'll leave it alone.
The game is "rather fun" though (fun for type lovers anyway). Give it a try here. Then, get back to work!
Okay, I'm "easing back into things" here at the studio after a much needed long weekend of fun visiting friends and family down on Long Island (in the sun, no less!) So I couldn't resist taking a stab at this game I came across this morning on one of my favorite blogs, I Love Typography, called "The Rather Difficult Font Game." (And hey, it's still work-related: I'm honing my type identification skills, right?!?)
Now, I've been a typophile since way back in Junior High, and used to think I knew a thing or two about type identification. But lately, with all the new foundaries emerging, and programs which let folks design and sell their own fonts, I'm not always quick to recognize a new font I come across, and I was starting to wonder whether or not I was still as "up on things" as I used to be.... Well, I'm happy to report that I've still got it. (Check out the Rather Impressive Hall of Fame top scorer, above—it's me! :) There were only two fonts I missed (aarrgghh!). I only played one round, and it says the fonts change each time you play, but I figured, why mess with success? I'm in the number one spot (for now anyway), so I'll leave it alone.
The game is "rather fun" though (fun for type lovers anyway). Give it a try here. Then, get back to work!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Double Daggers
GOTTA LOVE THE GLYPHS, NO. 1
A Beautifully Designed Anicillary Character Gives Me Pause
Yes, it's true, the name of my business, Ampers&® Studio, is centered around, and includes, an ampersand (&) character. Not so surprising. I am, after all, a typographer. And what typographer doesn't love ampersands? I've written about them here.
But in this instance, the letterform giving me pause is that third-order reference mark used in punctuation, a.k.a. the double dagger (‡), pictured here in a graphic I came across on Typography.com. (And isn't it lovely?) The graphic accompanies an article about Reference Marks:
"Daggers come from that archipelago of typographic symbols known as reference marks, which refer readers elsewhere for explanatory or exegetic notes. The traditional first-order reference mark is the asterisk (*)…."
And that, my friends, makes fascinating reading for typography fanatics such as myself (seriously). If you love type, too, you might enjoy reading more from H&FJ News' article, House of Flying Reference Marks, or Quillon & Choil, here.*
A Dire Dagger Dillema
This glyph, in particular, happened to catch my eye because of a situation in a recent project I'd been working on. You see, an asterisk had already been used within the project's text, as had the dagger (the second-order reference mark). So when my client requested to add in a third reference set, I used a double dagger, which is standard operating procedure in typography.
Well, as it happens, the dagger had been used to indicate those deceased individuals mentioned within the text (which, if you think about it, is kind of ironic...). Anyway, to use the double dagger as a reference for a distinguished position held, even though proper, somehow didn't seem right. Further, it was difficult to tell who had been honored and who had passed on! (This would not do at all.) So instead, I threw the rules of typography right out the window (gasp!), and went with a lovely lozenge or diamond (◊), which seems like a much more distinguished mark to use for signifying a distinguished position. So forgive me, my mentors—who taught me the differences between, and proper usage of, EM- EN- and regular ol' dashes—I know the situation called for a double dagger, but "sometimes you just gotta do whatcha gotta do, eh?"
*Check out the asterisked bit at the end of H&FJ's article, an advisory notice from the New Oxford English Dictionary on pronunciation. (Don't you just love it? :)
A Beautifully Designed Anicillary Character Gives Me Pause
Yes, it's true, the name of my business, Ampers&® Studio, is centered around, and includes, an ampersand (&) character. Not so surprising. I am, after all, a typographer. And what typographer doesn't love ampersands? I've written about them here.
But in this instance, the letterform giving me pause is that third-order reference mark used in punctuation, a.k.a. the double dagger (‡), pictured here in a graphic I came across on Typography.com. (And isn't it lovely?) The graphic accompanies an article about Reference Marks:
"Daggers come from that archipelago of typographic symbols known as reference marks, which refer readers elsewhere for explanatory or exegetic notes. The traditional first-order reference mark is the asterisk (*)…."
And that, my friends, makes fascinating reading for typography fanatics such as myself (seriously). If you love type, too, you might enjoy reading more from H&FJ News' article, House of Flying Reference Marks, or Quillon & Choil, here.*
A Dire Dagger Dillema
This glyph, in particular, happened to catch my eye because of a situation in a recent project I'd been working on. You see, an asterisk had already been used within the project's text, as had the dagger (the second-order reference mark). So when my client requested to add in a third reference set, I used a double dagger, which is standard operating procedure in typography.
Well, as it happens, the dagger had been used to indicate those deceased individuals mentioned within the text (which, if you think about it, is kind of ironic...). Anyway, to use the double dagger as a reference for a distinguished position held, even though proper, somehow didn't seem right. Further, it was difficult to tell who had been honored and who had passed on! (This would not do at all.) So instead, I threw the rules of typography right out the window (gasp!), and went with a lovely lozenge or diamond (◊), which seems like a much more distinguished mark to use for signifying a distinguished position. So forgive me, my mentors—who taught me the differences between, and proper usage of, EM- EN- and regular ol' dashes—I know the situation called for a double dagger, but "sometimes you just gotta do whatcha gotta do, eh?"
*Check out the asterisked bit at the end of H&FJ's article, an advisory notice from the New Oxford English Dictionary on pronunciation. (Don't you just love it? :)
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