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Thursday, March 5, 2009

For Glyph Nerds

I'm taking a Typography course this semester which is very intense in a good sort of way and it is giving me loads of appreciation for basic and complex font forms. I'm not supposed to seek inspiration online for the class (the teacher advocates seeing type in its physical form--magazines and books)...but we all know I am an Internet junkie.
I'm in love with Nikki Farquharson's ornate words. (P.S. I posted on some of her other work before.)
This wall was created in the 1960s by Lou Dorfsman of CBS is absolutely amazing and only recently saved and restored. It contains more than 1,450 letters and is full of random (?) food imagery.
The Journal of Urban Typography is a tumblr account that showcases pictures of urban signs that are created for purely utilitarian reasons. Some of the signs are really quirky and wonderful, while others are beautiful in their simplicity and striking colors.

47 comments:

Gisele said...

The works by Nikki are amazing, and that seems like a very interesting course!

Kira Fashion said...

The first one!!

I also love typography, I studied this at university :)

a kiss and hug girl!

Ambroisine said...

I'd love to study Typography ! The second picture from Nikki's work is awesome, I love the colors ! And the wall is really impressive, in which city is it ?

caro. said...

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! this post made my day. especially the first photograph

Wanderlusting said...

What an interesting course!

Ha ha NERD! I need that on my nameplate.

Actually, mine should be DORK.

Tahda said...

whoa, this is really cool. I like Nikki's work and that CBS wall in particular!

Diana said...

haha, i totally subscribe to T.J.O.U.T in my Reader! Very excited you appreciate this!
I would love to hear more about your class.

KATLIN said...

Wish I could take a class like that! I somehow convinced my linguistics teacher to let me do my final paper on the interaction between language and our association with letters, specifically how they're designed and how artists use letters to convey certain meanings. She keeps reminding me to make it more language and not design, but it's hard for me! :)

Diane said...

Thank you so much for sharing this!!! It's just fueling my love for different types of type (ha ha).

deedoubleyou said...

neat! i took a history of graphic design course in uni and we talked a lot about typography. its so interesing...
i came across this artist a while ago, she does a lot of type work and makes some amazing letters with paper..if you havent seen if before you should check it out!
http://www.artyulia.com/index.php/Illustration/PAPERgraphic

Penny said...

i love typography stuff, a big part of my graphic design course was on it.
i adore the lou dorfsman wall!!

Tru said...

thats really cool

Rebecca said...

That wall looks amazing and I love the Breakfast sign!

Emz said...

That seems like a really cool class! maybe i shouldve taken an art class instead of a music class... where all I do is suffer haha

copperoranges said...

i love typography! i wish we had a course offered here at my school so i could learn more!

Trisch said...

Ooo I love font and text and textual image. I was lucky enough in highschool to have a teacher who encouraged us to do text images in illustrator.

Trisch xo

muchlove said...

Aah, I regret not taking Typography when I was at Uni.

I love it!

Hannah is Narnia's Closet said...

what a cool class! i love the look of words, half my doodles are just words and letters. i would love to take a class like that!

ann said...

these are gorgeous - thanks for sharing that tumblr!

indigotangerine said...

I wish I could take typography, I think it's so beautiful. I love the first one, and the wall. You should post your project
-indigo

chloe in the sky said...

very interesting stuff!

indigotangerine said...

typography is so great and fun. i love the first two, they are so intricated, and the colors in the second one are so awesome bright! and that wall is amazing. :)

-tangerine

sammi-lise ^_^ said...

i like the first two

surimay said...

oh wow. these are great! i love the first two and the one about food. haha.

good luck with your course! it looks really interesting.

Winnie said...

I think that sounds like a fun course. I've always been fascinated by typography. I overhead a conversation today about someones love of Helvetica and Arial Black which is rather fitting!

Also, when I first started my current retail job one of the storeworkers had just been fired and arrested for shoplifting. So Internal shoplifting is definitely common! Haha, I didn't think you were implying that I was a shoplifter....

LJ said...

ooh all very cool!
xx-LJ from SOS!

Kelly said...

the second one is LOVELY...i wish i could make something this prettty...

Denise said...

wow! i don't have any idea with Typography or whatever about it, but you made me curious about it. You are a very interesting girl, i think you're smart. those images are so cute

Chester said...

I like it a lot. It looks like some kind of rock that has been shaped into a kind of tooth shape. Where did you get it? There are a few necklaces I own that I love.

Sarah said...

The wall is amazing. Type was still so simple, honest and beautiful then.

Becca Jane said...

those words by ms. farquharson are so intriguing. really cool

The Voguette said...

haha thanks!! they were an unexpected purchase i just went into zara to return something and i found them.... and the rest is history!!

i love that you post artsy things on here. it makes me really happy.

Flashes of Style said...

Wow those are really cool fonts! That seems like such an interesting class to take.

Ziling said...

I love the first one! Wish im talented enough to do something like that..

Divinity Avenue said...

Have you seen these: http://www.graphic-exchange.com/images/01graphic/ybrodskaya/paper-go-white.jpg ?

They are so beautiful and ornate yet so fragile looking. I am such a font goon.

Andrea said...

Augh, I hate it when the InterWeb eats my comments!
I love all of these, especially the Dorfsman wall. I like the idea of words as works of art, kind of a play on the whole picture being worth and thousand words idea.
I'll be sure to tell the bat story soon.

Tina { Luphia Loves... } said...

i love typography art! i've subscribed to "i love typography.com" updates & the weekly post is so cool!

J. Rene' said...

Wow, that is so interesting. I know nothing about this area of design. I love the eggs and bacon-now I need to eat!

molly said...

looove the "dont be lazy" - i wish i could follow that advice!

Emily said...

Great inspiration!

Amelia said...

Ooh, I'd love to take a typography class.

dapper kid said...

Wonderful post :) My brother bought me a few books on typography and text styles in advertising a few years ago and I was blown away. I love the Lou Dorfsman wall - I'm guessing that the food on the wall is next to its corresponding word? Because the sliced onion next to his head is next to the word onion and the word wheat seems to have a bundle of wheat there?

Dee said...

This reminds me of the time I tried to turn my handwriting into a Word font using a website I found. However since my handwriting is a mix of cursive and print, it didn't look right.
I saw this huge book of fonts in the bookstore, but it was way out of my price range.

Parapluie said...

Oh, I love this! The first one is stunning!

SwanDiamondRose said...

thanks so much for sharing Nikki Farquharson's site. wow! i went through everything on her site, i really like her.

Swell Vintage - Frankie said...

wow, your course sounds great! x

Yanna said...

you're so lucky! i always have wanted to take a typography class, but unfortunately, they don't have those electives for economics majors like me. :(

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