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by Randy Cassingham

Randy Cassingham's Bonzer Web Sites of the Week: Recognizing Interesting Sites that are Beyond the Microsoft/AOL-Time Warner/Media Megalith

Identifont

OK, so you see a font in a magazine or something that you like, and you want to be able to use it yourself. You've got a billion fonts that came with your word processor/art program/desktop publisher, but you're not sure which one is the one you need, or whether you need to buy it. Identifont to the rescue! Answer a series of questions (does the middle stroke in the capital M go all the way to the baseline? Does the $ have one line or two?) and it will narrow it down for you. Very handy for those who care what their printed work looks like.

From This is True for 29 January 2006

Suggestions for further reading:

Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Stude...
By: Ellen Lupton
List Price: $19.95
Amazon Price: $13.37
Editorial Review:
The organization of letters on a blank sheet -- or screen -- is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills.
Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid).
 
The Elements of Typographic Style
By: Robert Bringhurst
List Price: $29.95
Amazon Price: $19.77
Editorial Review:
This lovely, well-written book is concerned foremost with creating beautiful typography and is essential for professionals who regularly work with typographic designs. Author Robert Bringhurst writes about designing with the correct typeface; striving for rhythm, proportion, and harmony; choosing and combining type; designing pages; using section heads, subheads, footnotes, and tables; applying kerning and other type adjustments to improve legibility; and adding special characters, including punctuation and diacritical marks. The Elements of Typographic Style teaches the history of and the artistic and practical perspectives on a variety of type families that are available in Europe and America today.

The last section of the book classifies and displays many type families, offers a glossary of typography terms, and lists type designers and type foundries. The book briefly mentions digital typography, but otherwise ignores it, focusing instead on general typography and page- and type-design issues. Its examples include text in a variety of languages--including English, Russian, German, and Greek--which is particularly helpful if your work has a multinational focus.Renowned typographer and poet Robert Bringhurst brings clarity to the art of typography with this masterful style guide. Combining the practical, theoretical, and historical, this edition is completely updated, with a thorough exploration of the newest innovations in intelligent font technology, and is a must-have for graphic artists, editors, or anyone working with the printed page using digital or traditional methods.


 
Curious George Goes to the Beach
By: H. A. ReyMargaret ReyVipah InteractiveH.A.Margret Rey
List Price: $3.95
Amazon Price: $3.95
Editorial Review:
MODEL- SUNCD97838WMAE VENDOR- SUNBURST FEATURES- Sunburst Type through Time Single Sunburst Type through Time Single Direct Ship to either Reseller or End-User only. Non-returnable. MANUFACTURER WARRANTY:andnbsp;andnbsp;90 DAYS
 
New Vintage Type: Classic Fonts for the Digital Age
By: Steven HellerGail Anderson
List Price: $39.95
Amazon Price: $26.37
Editorial Review:
Retro is the new modern. And nowhere is that fact more evident than in typography, which today uses vintage type in ads, book and magazine design, movies, and everywhere words convey meaning. Viewers may not even realize that the type itself conveys mood, information, and a sense of style, but graphic designers know the power of vintage type. Now the world’s foremost historian of graphic design presents New Vintage Type, a remarkable rethinking and rediscovery of old and classic typefaces for today’s modern needs. Hundreds of amazing, astounding, and obscure examples from around the world are gathered here, organized into five historically and stylistically grouped sections: the Victorian Age, the Woodtype Era, Art Deco Style, Modern Movement, and the Eccentric Movement. With hundreds of lively and one-of-a-kind examples, plus informed, intriguing text, New Vintage Type is the graphic designer’s guide to choosing and using vintage type for maximum impact.
 
The The Non-Designer's Type Book, 2nd Edition
By: Robin Williams
List Price: $24.99
Amazon Price: $16.49
Editorial Review:
Seven years is a long time in any industry, but when it comes to the worlds of design and technology (and particularly the point at which the two merge), it's an eternity! No wonder, then, that you (and about a million other readers!) have been eagerly awaiting this latest update to Robin Williams' enormously popular Non-Designer's series. In these pages, Robin defines the principles that govern type as well as the logic behind them so that you learn not just what looks best but why on your way to creating effective print and Web pages. Each short chapter in this thoroughly updated guide (which includes new coverage of typography in Adobe InDesign and Mac OS X) explores a different type secret or technique, including understanding legibility and readability; tailoring typeface to a particular project; mastering pull quotes and captions; working with spacing, punctuation marks, special characters, fonts, and justification; and more. The nonplatform- and nonsoftware-specific approach and Robin's lively, engaging style make this a must-have for any designer's bookshelf!
 
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