Neon, vector, letterpress, concrete, pixels and BlueTac - November's TypoMusings explore multiple mediums!

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. Douglas Adams

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Hello! Hope you're well and finding some time for your creative practice in this busy lead up to the holidays! I have been struggling to get the right balance this month and have not had as much time as I would like to dedicate to my research (& play!) in the printpavilion or on TypographJournal volume 04 (which is slowly getting under way along with a new book I am working on!)... I am very grateful for the client work that is keeping me busy, and also am really enjoying the action in industry with Graduate shows and lots of local exhibitions. (Some of the work coming out of our local Australian and New Zealand universities and colleges is quite exceptional!)

Alongside the busy backdrop of Christmas client deadlines, I recently had the privilege of visiting Michael Blazek's workshop (& Neon Graveyard). It is fantastic to see such a passionate maker creating letterforms in an analogue medium. The glassbending process (and Michael's enthusiasm for neon) was inspiring! Neon signs have a long, colourful (& bright!) history. But unfortunately like many analogue crafts fewer and fewer contemporary practitioners are becoming skilled in this trade. Michael is one of the last remaining Neon Sign Manufacturers in Queensland. Read more about Michael, my visit and crafting letterforms from gas filled glass tubes here.

This months TypoMusings are packed with letters, lettering and type in many mediums, including Michael's Neons, Gravity distorted Bluetac, Audible letters, phototypesetting, vectors, letterpress and even stunning tactile calligraphy you can sit on.

I encourage you to find a little time for yourself in this pre-holiday mania and explore the TypeTreasure below!
x Np

2015 is another year for outstanding graduate work from the TypeMedia program at the Hauge. See more of the beautiful typefaces here.

Typewritten Portraits is an ongoing art project by Brazilian designer Ãlvaro Franca, who has developed a technique for creating grayscale literary portraits on a typewriter.

Those of you with the paitence to develop your type into functional fonts will be excited to know the Handbook Glyphs 2.2 is out now. You can download the 196-page PDF here. The document has loads of great information on editing paths and type metrics that is valuable insight for anyone constructing and digitzing type (whichever platform you use to do it!)

Check out the insanely talented Gemma O'brien on hand lettering, expressiveness and authenticity in visual communication in this video filmed as part of the #deFrost speaker series

â€œI came from an illustration background and was always scared of typography, it seemed really hard to get right. All the rules felt too complicated and it was only when I started to work with letterpress that I really began to understand type.â€ Anthony Burrill discusses getting started and staying focused.

Print magazine recently ran this interview with the lovely Dr. Shelley Gruendler (powerhouse type educator responsible for TypeCamp)

Metal Calligraphy collides with Concrete furniture, in these stunning works by Beirut based designer, Iyad Naja, via Type Worship

I was honored to have the TypographGlossary featured on Brett Torrey Haynes I am The Lab. Brett is a true champion of the handemade and creative industires so I am always so grateful of his support.

Type designers have been using BÃ©zier curves to design typefaces for more than thirty years, the thirty years that preceded the digital era witnessed great changes, as metal type was superseded by photographic processes. Phototypesetting represented a radical transformation in the way typefaces were produced and handled, challenging years of well-established practices in type design and manufacturing. In this talk, Alice Savoie explains why phototypesetting is still of relevance for practicing designers today.

Saturday is the opening of Maria Montes Breaking the Ice show, which combines patterns, lettering and illustration with cocktails to celebrate the finer things in life. Cheers to that!

TDK chat with Paul Russell a talented designer based in NZ about his ACE 100 days project!

If you're looking for a gift for a Type Enthusiast consider Hype For Types second volume of the Little black font book or use the code 7YQ26NY to get $5 off your order of TypographJournal here.

In this Student Spotlight, we talk to Griffith University QCA Brisbane student Ryan Humpheries about his typeface Bad Beach Faded Deja which was inspired by exhaustion. Each character was created with BluTac and hung upside down for 48hrs to let the natural effects of gravity alter their form - a communication of feeling 'heavy' while in a state of tire.

'It may give the appearance of a simple, four-weight typeface, but FS Brabo has hidden depths beneath its simplicity and beauty.' FS Brabo is an eloquent typeface by Fernando Mello with Specimen by the Counterpress and both the typeface and the spec have me weak at the knees.

â€œIf you only make work because youâ€™ve seen similar projects and think others will like it, then people will scroll right past it. But if you do something that feels undeniably you, people will notice.â€ The Great Discontent talk to letterer Mary Kate McDevitt in this insightful article.

Fraser Muggeridge explores the unexpected diamond forms of the full stop and comma from Transport for London's New Johnston Bold.

TypeTone converts letter into tone and loops sounds to create music while typing! Its very cool (and very addictive!)

In this installment of the Student Spotlight Series we talk to 2nd year Griffith QCA student Sarah Goodhew about the construction complexities and inspiration behind her first typeface Cathedral.

Do you grit your teeth if someone says â€œfontâ€ when he or she really means â€œtypeface?â€ Does bad kerning just about ruin your day? All type geeks should take this fun quiz.

If (like me) you were not able to get to the Letterpress the Shit out of that exhibition in Melbourne this month you can purchase the beautiful prints that fuse lettering and letterpress with a little potty mouth! Featuring Dominique Falla, Luke Lucas, Barry Spencer, Jamie Clarke, Dave Foster, Jess Cruickshank, Carla Hackett, and Jasmine Dowling... expertly printed by Amy Constable of St Gertrude

FontReach by Jesse Chase and Jason Chan scans the top million sites to show font usage across the web. You can search for a specific Font - or browse the most common.

New events on the Typography calendar include; Philippe Apeloigâ€™s latest exhibition Using Type, Design Assembly's End of Year Party, Type Design for Non-Type Designers, The Face Forward Typography Conference, Jess Cruickshank's Newcastle workshop, a Tibetan Calligraphy workshop and TypeCamps in the USA and India.