Bargain Hunter

Whilst in Glasgow I visited an old book shop bursting at the seams with piles and piles of books from the past 10 years, the 90s, 80s and 70s etc. The shop itself was a mess, what carpet you could see was filthy and any small child or short adult faced the danger of being crushed under mountains of dusty old books. The books themselves though were great, a huge variety were on display and it was kind of a challenge retrieving the book you desired especially when every one I liked the look of was near the bottom of a 7 foot tall tower!

Anyway, I managed to snag a couple of bargains. One from 'The £1 room' and the other from the larger, less price-specific room:

This one was £2.95 and as you can see came with a CD-ROM featuring 53 digital typefaces from independent foundries all across the world. I couldn't believe my luck when I found it. I will be able to scan some pages and use them for development of some of my ideas regarding my Extended Specialist Techniques unit. I want to go the extra steps necessary to create a comprehensive sketchbook on Typography and to express my particular passion for it. I will achieve this through further development of research and my own ideas with influence from practitioners and designers. This book will help me as it has a vast collection of digital fonts lesser known in the mainstream world of typefaces as well as more popular ones. Also, it will allow me to work digitally with my work and try out the typefaces provided on the CD-ROM.

For £1 I became the owner of this mint-condition encyclopaedia on the art of calligraphy. Like Indie Fonts this book should prove a worthwhile investment. Throughout are examples and step-by-step instructions allowing the reader to pick up practical and creative methods of achieving beautiful and unique outcomes. It's collection of techniques has already ignited ideas in my head of how I am going to attempt them.

Picking these up has really made me think about checking more books out from the library, as I don't do it often enough!

Some amazing advertising

I found this on Pinterest last night when I was researching examples of conceptual text in commercial typography. 

It took me a second to realise what they were trying to communicate. But when it came to me I was amazed, and also deeply dissapointed I never came up with it myself...haha. Nonetheless it's a very clever use of type that combines deep sleep and the awakening effect that 'Nescafe' apparently has on people.

Symptom of a potential typo-maniac? Maybe...

So I was flicking aimlessly through my Facebook news feed earlier and couldn't help but notice this picture below... It was the most annoyed I've felt in a while, it irritated me so much that I just stared at it for a good 5 minutes. The absolute nerve someone had to post this without thinking of others!

...so is it just me that thinks the 'u' in 'Shut' looks a LOT like and upside down 'n'? Surely I can't be the only one! It's grammatical errors like this that make me question peoples judgement, NOT their political standpoint...

World Peace is None of Your Business

Morrissey's new album on vinyl arrived in the post today and I'm loving it! 

Just wanted to share the lyric sheets that accompanied the record. Really like the layout and choice of typeface...

My Interests

I have noticed with every unit we have embarked on, I have taken a keen interest in each topic we are asked to research and develop.

This may already be obvious due to my previous posts but I felt the need to address it's importance!

The latest unit my frantic curiosity has chosen to pursue is 'Viewpoint'. Coming right after 'Typefaces and Letter forms', it has managed to keep hold of my attention and in doing so has made me feel aware of magazines, their purpose and how they are created.

My years subscription to GQ (Gentleman's Quarterly) is becoming more and more worth the money with each issue that arrives in the post. I can now appreciate the text and typefaces on the front cover, along with the content inside. I look at the cover for while before beginning the magazine. Just figuring out what they want you to take from the information they have displayed. It's always so glossy and sharp, not to mention the smell! But that's beside the point...
What I am trying to say, is that as well as the research and cutting and pasting into your sketchbook, I feel if you actually understand the system in which magazine design is held under, it will help you a lot more in the long run.

Here's hoping I'm able to display this enthusiasm and understanding in my work!