became one big illustration. I was hugely inspired by
David Klein’s TWA posters, especially that cohesive
feeling of wholeness he manages to get between his
lettering, illustration and colour.”
Linzie Hunter, who describes herself as a
hand-lettering artist, is also interested in cohesion: “The
letters I draw only exist to be placed next to the letter
beside it. The advantages are that I only ever have to
worry about creating the characters in the word or
phrase I’m working on and not a full typeface. As a
hand-letterer I have greater flexibility and freedom
when it comes to creating letters and I’d say, an easier
job on the whole. For me it’s a less technical approach.
I use my instincts to decide on placement, spacing and
decoration. I rely solely on what looks or feels right to
me and I don’t measure anything out. Talk to me about
leading or kerning and my eyes quickly glaze over and
I’m soon out of my depth. When I visualise how a piece
of custom lettering might look, I’m usually seeing each
letter as an individual illustrated or graphic element- each of these complement each other and combine
together to hopefully create a cohesive illustration.”
Hand-lettering is just as popular in the world of
motion graphics, with Cummins explaining that
“designers are embracing the imperfections these
produce. These types of fonts provide a more
personal touch which is sometimes lost by traditional
computer fonts. Another trend is the use of
installation and environmental typography where
creatives use physical objects and materials to create
letterforms. This also succeeds at humanising the
message of a piece.”
I guess the eureka moment
for me was when I realisedthat by hand drawing my own
letter forms they perfectlymatched my illustration and that
it worked so well because it wasmy hand that had both illustrated
the image and illustrated the text- it became one big illustration
STEVE SIMPSON / HTTP://STEVESIMPSON.PROSITE.COM/
TOP 10 FONTS
- GOTHAM
Web: typography.com/fonts/gotham/overview/
Price: $199 (1-8 styles, for 1 computer)
A modern classic, Gotham is perfect for headlines. Seth
Mach explains that the 2000 font was based on “signage
and architecture from the Thirties and Forties,” and “still
feels uniquely contemporary with its proportions and
powerful geometric structures.”
2. FUTURA MAXI
Web: fonts.com/font/monotype/futura-maxi
Price: £108 (4 font family)
There any many different versions of Futura out there,
but Maxi “has such a nice balance between being
approachable yet established,” says Brandon Nickerson.
“It’s clean, legible, unique and not as commonly used,
which is always a plus.” - FELL TYPE
Web: iginomarini.com/fell/the-revival-fonts/
Price: Donation
Typefaces from the time of the Reformation have been
brought back in digitized form, and are remarkable in
their power. “I like revival fonts,” says Steve Simpson, “It’s
the imperfections from their original reproduction
methods that gives them a warmth for me, in much the
same way I like the sound of vinyl over MP3s.”
4. KNOCKOUT
Web: http://www.typography.com/fonts/
knockout/styles/
Price: $169 (5 styles, 1 computer)
“Such a great font with an abundance of diversity,”
says Brandon Nickerson. “Each weight not only gets
bolder but expands in width while keeping
proportions consistent. Knockout is also one of
those fonts you don’t hear much about.” - AVENIR
Web: http://www.linotype.com/72/Avenir-family.html
Price: £108 (4 typefaces)
Another classic, Seth Mach calls it “one of the best
typefaces I have found to complement Gotham. It is also
san-serif and a good alternative to common serif
typefaces for body copy.”
6. UNIVERS
Web: http://www.fontshop.com/families/univers
Price: £39 (1 style)
Univers was a ground-breaking sans-serif achievement
when Adrian Frutiger designed it for the Deberny &
Piegnot Foundry in 1957. Now it’s the designer’s secret
weapon for establishing a steady, even tone. - DOVES TYPE
Web: http://www.typespec.co.uk/doves-type/
Price: £40
Not only is this a digitised version of an old typeface
(punchcutter Edward Prince’s single-sized 16pt type
from the turn of the 20th Century), but Robert Green had
to rescue the metal letters from the Thames to re-make
it, after Thomas James Cobden Sanderson dumped them
when fighting over ownership with Emery Walker. - ROCKWELL
Web: http://www.fontshop.com/families/rockwell/
Price: £30 (1 style)
This strong, slab serif font from the Monotype
Design Studio first appeared in 1934, and remains
popular to this day. - NEUE HAAS UNICA
Web: monotype.com/libraries/neue-haas-unica/
Price: £42
Everyone knows Helvetica, but not everyone knows
Haas Unica, which was designed to be its replacement
but was forgotten when the company behind it had
financial difficulties. Now, it’s back, remade for the
digital age. - COMIC SANS
Web: fontsgeek.com/fonts/Comic-Sans-
MS-Regular
Price: Free
Probably the most mocked and reviled font in existence,
Comic Sans has a surprisingly cool history, having been
“based on hand lettering from the graphic novels The
Dark Knight Returns (lettered by John Costanza) and
Watchmen (lettered by Dave Gibbons)” says Steve
Simpson. It’s also supposed to be easier for dyslexic
readers to understand.
“Sometimes,” Andy Hau says, “legibility and readability take a back
seat and you let the emotive qualities of the text wash over the viewer first. Even with the most cursive of lettering and typefaces,
you can maintain readability by treating the letters as a composition to ensure that the flow of words is natural and easy”© Andy HauOUR EXPERTS REVEAL THEIR FAVOURITE TYPEFACES AND WHAT MAKES THEM STAND OUT
Pro type techniques
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