The masthead for Antiques Magazine resembles roman inscriptional fonts such as Trajan, yet the proportions of the A, E and S are wider producing a more even color. Surprisingly the traditional typography compliments the modern illustration of the Magi very well. Merry Christmas!
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Posts categorized in “Discovered” are listed below.
Eleventh Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 24, 2009You can’t go wrong with a typewriter font, and in this case nothing could be more appropriate. The industriousness of a typewriter font is mirrored by a series of charming modern illustrations of a family hard at work.
Keep Reading →Tenth day of Christmas Type
// Dec 23, 2009The headline for this Art Deco publication is geometric yet elegant. A perfect circle underlies the geometry of the “C” and the complexity of the “R” is streamlined. The crossbar of the “A” is high and if the “R” had a crossbar it would be low, two key characteristics of Art Deco lettering. Despite baby [...]
Keep Reading →Ninth Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 22, 2009For the Ninth Day of Christmas Type I bring you a December 1932 cover for The Country Gentlemen. Issues only cost 5 cents at the time. The “stenciled” hand lettering resembles the font Geometric Stencil, yet the “M” is a departure from most stencil fonts.
Keep Reading →Eighth Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 21, 2009With hairline thins and Didot-like terminals, this casual lettering utilizes a tall x-height to strike a friendly tone. The irregular baseline feels balanced in the word “easy”, however the baseline serifs in “mind” are too noticeably misaligned.
Keep Reading →Seventh Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 20, 2009An intriguing urban legend claims that Santa Claus wears red and white because the Coca-Cola Company depicted him in their brand colors. Illustrator Haddon Sundblom did help popularize the use of red in his classic illustrations of Santa for Coca-Cola, however White Rock Beverages utilized a similar Santa in red in their ads prior to [...]
Keep Reading →Sixth Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 19, 2009The casual hand lettered headline for this Pepsi ad outshines the logotype. The letter s is roman despite the other characters, such as the a, being italic. The lightness of Pepsi is conveyed by the weight of the lettering.
Keep Reading →Fifth Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 18, 2009Despite the typographic appearance, the headline is hand lettered. The lettering strikes a good balance between playfulness and structure. The letters rest on an irregular baseline that manages to remain balanced. Notice how the tails on each e in “Seven-Up!” vary in length making the kerning more even. There are more Christmas ads from beverage [...]
Keep Reading →Fourth Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 17, 2009The highlight of this Christmas 1950 ad is the Fortune logotype with it’s stylish and distinctive letter F. Logotypes from this time period were often recreated by hand for each ad providing a spontaneous quality.
Keep Reading →Third Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 16, 2009The star of this ad is the product packaging. I appreciate how the designer gives depth to flat color by overprinting the light blue and red to create a dark blue parallelogram. The encapsulated type looks brighter in contrast to the dark blue, subtly suggesting that GLEEM will make your teeth whiter. The red cleverly [...]
Keep Reading →Second Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 15, 2009In this 1957 ad for General Telephone System, custom spiked serif lettering takes center stage. The use of color and mosaic-like faceting aids in emphasizing the headline. Latino Samba by House Industries is a contemporary cousin.
Keep Reading →First Day of Christmas Type
// Dec 14, 2009Over the next 12 days I will be counting down to Christmas by featuring type from vintage Christmas ads and magazine covers. The original Mr. Potato Head required that you supply your own potato, which was considered an irresponsible waste of food when he was introduced in 1952.
Keep Reading →Lite-Brite Type
// Jul 02, 2009Brooklyn based collective GrandArmy designed the CD, 12 inch vinyl and promotional materials for Fabric. In addition to be an interesting representation of blackletter, GrandArmy used the ever popular children’s game Lite-Brite to construct the type. If you’re unfamiliar with Lite-Brite or simply nostalgic for the 80’s, be sure to check out the old school [...]
Keep Reading →Charles of the Ritz
// Jun 02, 2009This 1953 ad for the cosmetics brand Charles of the Ritz features two of my favorite hallmarks of golden age advertising: illustration and hand lettering. While this illustration is not spectacular, the hand lettered logo for Charles of the Ritz is a true gem. Revlon eventually acquired the Charles of the Ritz brand which was [...]
Keep Reading →Walking on Water Meters
// May 18, 2009I snapped these shots recently while taking a stroll through Wichita’s Old Town district. Despite the fact that the last water meter cover says “Wabash, Indiana”, all the photos were taken in Wichita. The first two examples have the same design and the forth and fifth examples use the same typeface for “Water Meter.” Which [...]
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