During 2011, I had the joy of working on this book, written by Joel Pomerantz and illustrated beautifully by Lance Jackson. It’s the story of a child contemplating the world through language, [read more...]]]>

During 2011, I had the joy of working on this book, written by Joel Pomerantz and illustrated beautifully by Lance Jackson. It’s the story of a child contemplating the world through language, music, food and family. I’ve never encountered a story like it before.

The fun part for me (other than designing the book, which is always fun) was customizing the font. I created a version that had some OpenType properties that supported the fun and the ideas in the book. As an example, you can see on the page below with the piano river that the ‘e’ in “patterns” is inverted. In HalcyPom (the special version) that’s a built-in feature; every time you type the word “pattern”, the e inverts. It’s a pattern! (See what Joel did there? Very clever…)

Below are three spreads from the book. (Click them to enlarge.) You can see a slideshow of all the pages before you purchase a copy for yourself or for a creative family you know.

You might have noticed that music is central to the theme of the book. See that music running through the book? Now you can hear it, in a joyous music video that Joel put together to celebrate the book.

You can even find the sheet music and other supplemental fun stuff from the book on the Yums page. So don’t miss it.

Some images of the [read more...]]]> I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to acknowledge this! For a couple years now, fine graphic designer and human being Natesh Daniel has featured Splurge for the display font on his graphic design portfolio website. I think it looks beautiful!

Some images of the front page gallery (click to zoom in):

His work is quite lovely. Do consider him for your next graphic design project.

This new webcomic Little Hipsters is using Splurge for its lettering.

I am so glad they are not using Comic Sans, because they would have to use it ironically, and that’s hard.

If you’re into digital scrapbooking or other kinds of Photoshop layout, you know that fonts are great, but they can’t give you the shades of gray that say “real stamping”. Sometimes you want that authentic look but either you [read more...]]]> Free download of grayscale raster image files of vintage rubber stamp impressions for layout and scrapbooking.

If you’re into digital scrapbooking or other kinds of Photoshop layout, you know that fonts are great, but they can’t give you the shades of gray that say “real stamping”. Sometimes you want that authentic look but either you don’t want to get your hands dirty or you don’t own the stamp set you want to use.

With that in mind, I offer you this virtual stamping set of vintage rubber stamp alphas from honest-to-goodness ink-stamped rubber type. These impressions are from the same set that I used to make No 130 Fulton Street, but they’re not the same images I scanned to make the font; they’re completely unique!

Below is a demonstration of how you can use this transparent grayscale image file (Photoshop or PNG format) to cut and paste the glyphs together to set the type. I recommend you use the “multiply” blending mode for best effect.

A demonstration of virtual stamping

The images are at 600ppi which means if you are working at a lower resolution, you can enlarge the type and see all the squishy details, like so:

A full-resolution close-up

Another full-resolution close-up

Below is the set of characters that you get. There are two or more of each for more realism and of course, you can retouch and recolor them to your heart’s delight.

The virtual stamping set

The goods:

Download the virtual stamping set in Photoshop format (14.7M) or PNG format (6.53M).

Download the demo image (24M) from above to see how I layered and blended the type.

If you use this alpha set please let me know!

Another new font from antique rubber stamps! This set is probably the Fulton Sign Writer Artistamp set, but I’m not entirely certain because it was just thrown into the case with the larger Fulton Sign and Price Markers set I used for a previous font.

No. 130 Fulton St, Elizabeth, NJ was the address of the Fulton Rubber Type Company in Elizabeth, NJ. For over 50 years, they made hundreds of different alphabet sets in rubber, whether for making signage or for office use.

No 130 Fulton Street has a medium and a light weight, with a total of four choices for each letter. As always, it’s free. You can download the font here, oh! and if you’re into digital scrapbooking or other kinds of photoshop layout, you might like the virtual stamping set, available here.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, the folks there used two of my fonts, Respess Capitals and Halcyon, for their digital scrapbooking how-to tutorial. Like so…

Very [read more...]]]> Some of you have been dropping by from TheShabbyShoppe.com. Welcome!

For those of you who haven’t seen it, the folks there used two of my fonts, Respess Capitals and Halcyon, for their digital scrapbooking how-to tutorial. Like so…

Very cute toes indeed.

The other font they use, Artistamp by Harold’s fonts, is very similar to my own No 130 Fulton Street but Harold’s is more ubiquitous (and more expensive) to be sure. You see it everywhere!

Enjoy the fonts, my scrapbooking friends!

It works with [read more...]]]> I made Cricket sometime in the mid/late-nineties and I had always imagined I would provide an easy way to fill the open spaces in the design. Better let than never, I present to you, mesdames et messieurs and in between, Cricket Fills.

It works with Cricket Regular to provide perfectly-shaped and aligned fills that you can style how ever you like. Simply create your text in Cricket in your favorite graphics program, then duplicate the text (without changing its position) and change the font of the duplicate text to Cricket Fills. Then adjust the color, add a pattern or a gradient or whatever you like. Hey, go nuts!

Download both weights together for Mac or PC here.

This image of the holy family is very nice…

"Welcome the Lord"

And this card [read more...]]]> Now here are some super-sweet uses of Splurge and Halcyon: Tante Menoue, an online Christian stationers, is using my fonts for their logo and a few of their pieces.

This image of the holy family is very nice…

"Welcome the Lord"

And this card to help you with your Hail Marys…

"Holy Mary, Mother of God..."

Both pieces are available in French and Spanish — this is why I pack my fonts with accents whenever I can.

So, if you are into le Redempteur, go check out Tante Menoue.

Feature layout using Cricket in the headline.

A [read more...]]]> Ooh, this one’s pretty. The Indiana University South Bend School of the Arts used Cricket in their August 2009 issue of Aspire, their news magazine.

Feature layout using Cricket in the headline.

A close-up on the headline

Very nice. Thanks, folks!

Eco-chick, blog about all things organic and girly has used my font Splurge in their masthead. I don’t know who designed it, but it’s kinda cute!

Here’s how he used Fulton Markers and Halcyon.

Three Silos

Here’s how he used Fulton Markers and Halcyon.

Fulton Markers in a funny
St. Patrick's day t-shirt design

Halcyon on a baby bib

Halcyon on a onesie

Click on the images to go see more designs and products — including more sweet baby stuff.

Thanks, Geoff!

At any rate, I introduce: Fulton Sign And Price Markers, my third rubber [read more...]]]> Last Fall, I created my first new font in a couple years. You see, this is how it goes; I’m ready to retire, hang up my font-making cap forever — then a new font comes out. It usually happens in one day!

At any rate, I introduce: Fulton Sign And Price Markers, my third rubber stamp font.

Here are a few shots showing the case of stamps themselves and some actual stamping. Of course, the trick when making a font like this is to stamp each character several times, then choose the ones that work best.

The font includes two weights, regular and light, and all the symbols that came with it, like the nifty Victorian-looking Each and Per.

As always, this font is free. Go ahead and download it, and if you use it, let me know!

Keiki Lunchbox Logo using Halcyon font

I recently got an email from designer Kate Weir to let me know that she’d used one of my fonts (Halcyon) in a design for a client job, Keiki Lunch Box. This was unusual for a couple [read more...]]]>

Keiki Lunchbox Logo using Halcyon font

I recently got an email from designer Kate Weir to let me know that she’d used one of my fonts (Halcyon) in a design for a client job, Keiki Lunch Box. This was unusual for a couple reasons: 1) people don’t usually tell me when they use my fonts (even when I ask nicely) and, 2) she used Halcyon really well; it was a great typographic choice and the alterations she made are perfect!

Kate lives and works in Hawai’i. Here is her blog.

Aren't these little food guys too cute?

On the other hand Halcyon is hugely popular, especially with digital scrapbookers.

Here’s an example of some of the scrapbooking work that Certain fonts of mine are more popular than others. For example, absolutely no one uses The Time of the Revolving Door and Friends. (And that’s really okay with me.)

On the other hand Halcyon is hugely popular, especially with digital scrapbookers.

Here’s an example of some of the scrapbooking work that Andrea Boyer, housewife extraordinaire, is doing with Halcyon:

You can check out her other uses of it here.

There’s a short interview each of the designers, and then they made a couple of layouts for each featured font. For me, they featured Duerer Latin and Halcyon.

Here’s one of the [read more...]]]> I have the honor of being one of the foundries featured in the first issue of Typeology, an online typography magazine.

There’s a short interview each of the designers, and then they made a couple of layouts for each featured font. For me, they featured Duerer Latin and Halcyon.

Here’s one of the layouts they created for Duerer:

I approve of the subject matter.

The magazine is full of good type and interesting stuff and it’s free, so go download it!

That’s my font Splurge up there. Imagine my surprise, driving down Ventura Blvd. and spotting that! (I can’t say it’s the most appropriate use of the font I’ve seen… it’s a fancy wedding boutique.)

(p.s. The image is really grainy because I took it [read more...]]]>

That’s my font Splurge up there. Imagine my surprise, driving down Ventura Blvd. and spotting that! (I can’t say it’s the most appropriate use of the font I’ve seen… it’s a fancy wedding boutique.)

(p.s. The image is really grainy because I took it with a cheap underwater camera. It happened to be the only camera I had with me — and it had only one exposure left on the roll!)

Imagine my surprise when I opened a flyer for a Holga show (“holgas @ olga’s”) and was faced with my own font, Cricket!

Here’s the flyer:

Holga.

Imagine my surprise when I opened a flyer for a Holga show (“holgas @ olga’s”) and was faced with my own font, Cricket!

Here’s the flyer:

Highly entertaining coincidence, huh?

Olga’s is a deli in Ottawa. Too far for me to go to, but maybe not for you?

This full-color book has 150 high-quality fonts, all free! It makes great browsing if you [read more...]]]> I am happy to report that Cricket will appear in Free fonts! Designer Fonts Online : The Best Fonts Money Can’t Buy by Kathleen Ziegler, Nick Greco, and Tamye Riggs.

This full-color book has 150 high-quality fonts, all free! It makes great browsing if you like type. Put it in the powder room and you will be inspired every time you sit!

Here’s the image used to show Cricket:

You can get a copy of the book at Amazon.

Like many of the other type designers going to TypeCon 2002 this summer, I’ll have a font in the TypeGallery which accompanies it. But you don’t have to go to Toronto to see it. Here is the poster I will be showing:

I drew that digitally, unlike the font — The Time Of The Revolving Door And Friends — which I drew in ink on paper for reelz.

Thicket — probably because it’s weird in many ways, and I almost never run into my work in a big retail store. So imagine my surprise as I am strolling through the jazz section in Tower Records and run into this:

That’s my work right alongside a couple of pretty big names. How’d that happen? Not only is Bill Frisell one of the top most respected jazz guitarists ever, that artwork is by famous surreal cartoonist Jim Woodring.  There’s more crazy images throughout the packaging which was designed by 27.12 design, ltd.

You can read more about (and preview and purchase) this Nonesuch release on their website.

the original stamps from Pic'n'Save that I made the font from