Typographica
LightNews LightNews
banner
typographica.org
Typographica
@typographica.org
2K followers 160 following 7.8K posts
A review of #lettering and #typography. Since 2002. Posts by editor @stewf.com.

Primarily on Mastodon with many from the type community: https://typo.social/@typographica
Posts Replies Media Videos
typographica.org
but the Script – a cursive/italic hybrid – is what makes this design special. The only thing kinda like it is Commercial Type’s Control Cursive (commercialtype.com/catalog/cont...), which was inspired by Van Dijk (fontsinuse.com/typefaces/35...).
Rotina Script. Specimen of an italic sans serif typeface in 8 weights. Some letters (r, z, s) have a cursive shape. Control Cursive. Specimen of an italic sans serif typeface in 8 weights. Some letters (S, a, g) have a cursive shape.
November 5, 2025 at 8:04 PM
typographica.org
Erik Marinovich & Lucas Sharp’s new Rotina is very fun. www.sharptype.co/typefaces/ro... I like how Erik brings his lettering instincts into his type design.

The Swash, a refined improvement on 1970s Helvetica & Univers Flairs (fontsinuse.com/typefaces/16...), is what the promos feature most,
Rotina Swash. “New York City” logo set in in red with a purple 3D shade. The type is a neo-grotesque sans with swashes on caps and ending letters. Univers Flair. Specimen of a glyph set for a neo-grotesque sans typeface with many swash alternates.
November 5, 2025 at 8:04 PM
typographica.org
Another view of ITC Zapf Dingbats in U&lc, vol. 5, no. 2, 1978. Layout probably by Herb Lubalin.

archive.org/details/ulc-...
Spread of a magazine filled with symbols in black, yellow, green, and red. The title: ZAPF DINGBATS (SIGNS, SYMBOLS & ORNAMENTS) Cropped detail of previous image focusing on heart exclamation dingbat.
October 25, 2025 at 8:19 AM
typographica.org
Image: detail from ITC Zapf Dingbats specimen booklet via @nicksherman.bsky.social flic.kr/p/fvHrm7

BTW, Nick and Grießhammer gave a great talk about Zapf Dingbats at TypeCon2016 in Seattle. Here’s the view from JP’s control booth.
Photo of a ballroom with a person presenting at the front behind a lectern. On the screen: Base-35 Fonts: ITC Avant Garde Gothic (4 styles) Helvetica (8 styles) New Century Schoolbook (4 styles) Palatino (4 styles) Symbol ITC Zapf Chancery ITC Zapf Dingbats
October 25, 2025 at 7:58 AM
typographica.org
❣️ (Heart Exclamation) has become a go-to emoji for me. Strangely, I never stopped to think of its origin. Hermann Zapf, of course! It was among dozens of his 1978 Dingbats adopted into Unicode 1.0 in 1991. The block was even initially named after the typeface! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingbat...
Cropped page showing many symbols, each with a code beneath it. Among them is Heart Exclamation, sitting next to a bulbous exclamation mark.
October 25, 2025 at 7:58 AM
typographica.org
It’s puzzling that in 2025, with all the energy and money Google has invested in web fonts, these are still the only options in Gmail.

(Of course, this low on the list of the many reasons not to use Gmail.)
Screenshot of Gmail’s compose panel with the font menu opened to show all the fonts available: Sans Serif Serif Fixed Width Wide Narrow Comic Sans MS Garamond Georgia Tahoma Trebuchet MS Verdana
October 22, 2025 at 3:58 AM
typographica.org
Everett’s Bar, Arcata, CA.

While we were shooting this sign, someone from behind asked why we’re taking photos. Turns out she’s the owner. There has been a bar at this location since the early 1900s. Her dad bought it in 1951, and it’s been in the family ever since. She invited us to see inside.
October 7, 2025 at 7:01 AM
typographica.org
From the Clement Mok collection at @letterformarchive.org
Marketing materials for the Apple Credit Card. Marketing materials for the Apple Credit Card. Sample Apple Credit Card.
September 30, 2025 at 5:15 PM
typographica.org
Without looking it up, guess when this theater was built.
Illustration of a theater facade in orange and blue with rounded, art-deco lines. The sign lettering reads “SAVAR” in a geometric style reminiscent of the typeface Stop – the S has horizontal strokes and spine, the A is an open triangle shape like the Adobe logo, and the R has an open bowl created by a stem that doesn’t continue to the top of the form.
September 20, 2025 at 9:58 PM
typographica.org
You know you’re at Neon Speaks online symposium (neonspeaks.org/2025-schedule/) when…
Screenshot of a zoom window showing a speaker video at top and shared screen slide with the following text: LEDs are: A. Unreliable B. Contributors to plastic waste C. God's curse upon humanity D. All of the above Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein
September 6, 2025 at 7:47 PM
typographica.org
A similar screenshot, but the word “War” is replaced with “Pete’s Tiny Weewee”.
September 6, 2025 at 4:48 AM
typographica.org
A similar screenshot, but the word “War” is replaced with “Distraction from Real Issues”.
September 6, 2025 at 4:46 AM
typographica.org
A similar screenshot, but the word “War” is replaced with “Bullies”.
September 6, 2025 at 4:45 AM
typographica.org
A similar screenshot, but the word “War” is replaced with “Overcompensation”.
September 6, 2025 at 4:42 AM
typographica.org
The extra space after the “of” is because you take a long breath before saying the next word.
Screenshot of the top few hundred pixels from war.gov which show a symbol depicting the Pentagon and the logotype, “Department of War”. The poor spacing between “of” and “War” makes it seem like there are two spaces.
September 6, 2025 at 4:26 AM
typographica.org
Still from a film or video in which several people (shot in extreme close up) in formal attire stare blankly in space while one person talks to the camera. Still from a film or video in which one man(shot in extreme close up) in formal attire talks to the camera while another man very close behind him stares at it. Still from a film or video in which several people (shot in extreme close up) in formal attire stare blankly in space while one person talks to the camera. Still from a film or video in which one woman (shot in extreme close up) in formal attire talks to the camera while a man very close behind her stares blankly in space.
August 2, 2025 at 4:39 PM
typographica.org
Rotated apostrophes are increasingly common. Maybe the fault of malfunctioning text editors?

On this Rolling Stone page it only happens after links. Anyone know what’s going on?

(Remember: if your apostrophe is shaped like a 6, it’s probably an opening single quote. smartquotesforsmartpeople.com)
Cropped screenshot from a web page at rollingstone.com in which quotes and apostrophes are properly displayed except when placed immediately after linked text.
July 25, 2025 at 4:47 PM
typographica.org
Jesse Ragan of @xyztype.com on Jim Parkinson and much more: backgroundlayer.xyztype.com/archive/back...
Photo of a man (Jim Parkinson) in a park rolling up his sleeve to reveal a “Born to Letter / Oakland” with a skull smoking a blunt in the center.
July 24, 2025 at 5:15 AM
typographica.org
Since the start of the pandemic, @laureola.bsky.social and I have been taking (almost) daily walks, some days seeking a new East Bay street so I can shoot more stamps. There are now over 1,000 photos in the album.
Another concrete stamp: G. MUSSO 12-37 Another concrete stamp: P WILLIAMS & CO. OAKLAND Another concrete stamp, this one in a shell shape: JEPSEM BROS 8X13 BERKLEY Another concrete stamp: P. A. MERO 1921 RICHMOND
July 10, 2025 at 7:59 AM
typographica.org
Friends, do me a favor and walk around the block wherever you live. Do you see any contractor stamps in the concrete sidewalk or driveways? How many?

I’m wondering if #Oakland has more of these than anywhere else, or if it’s just my proximity bias.
Overhead photo of a sidewalk corner. A hand pulls back some grass to reveal a mark stamped in the concrete: “THE OAKLAND PAVING CO”. The Ns are mirrored. Overhead photo of a sidewalk. A horseshoe shaped mark is stamped in the concrete. Another concrete stamp, this one in a shield shape. Another concrete stamp, “Chas. Comers & Sons / General Cement Contractors”. Below the mark is a diamond shaped mark reading, “UNION MADE 149 LOCAL #594”
July 10, 2025 at 7:59 AM
typographica.org
That’s original hand lettering for the book cover of Sex and Broadcasting, ca. 1970. Via @letterformarchive.org’s collection.
Black and white cover artwork for reproduction purposes with crop marks in corners. At top is “The Original Sex and Broadcasting” see with “SEX” in a dry brush style with shadow effect. At the bottom is the text, “A HANDBOOK ON STARTING A RADIO STATION FOR THE COMMUNITY BY LORENZO WILSON MILAM”
July 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
typographica.org
@laureola.bsky.social spotted the New York location of #SpanjerBros right next to our hotel! 189 Chrystie St in Soho. Now the site of a The Box, a cocktail bar.

#Signs #PrefabLetters
Photo of a brick storefront with an awning. A metal sign reads “Spanjer Signs” in script and sans letters.
July 1, 2025 at 9:06 PM
typographica.org
Detail from a promotional poster featuring hand lettered logos and mastheads. Image: @letterformarchive.org
Logos for Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Citcus, Aerodrome, The Doobie Brothers, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and California magazine.
June 27, 2025 at 12:10 PM
typographica.org
Type specimen design: the letters-within-a-letter move.

Will Burtin for Craw Clarendon, ca. 1956–57
Kurt Weidemann for Folio, ca. 1962
Aldo Novarese for Forma, 1973

(All from @letterformarchive.org collection except Forma, loaned from David Jonathan Ross for letterformarchive.org/shop/type-by...)
Full-page ad from a magazine featuring a large zero filled with other numbers. Text below: Meet the youngest member of a successful family: Craw Clarendon BOOK DESIGNED BY WILL BURTIN Prominent figures in the type fashion parade, these ATF Craw Clarendons! This paragraph is set in the new Craw Clarendon Book, which supplements its bolder companion... forms a balanced contrast, yet retains the dynamic design of Craw Clarendon. Your local ATF Type Dealer delivers promptly from stock. Ask him for specimen brochures, or write directly to the Type Division, American Type Founders, 200 Elmora Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey. ATF TYPE NEWS IS GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYBODY Full-page ad from a magazine featuring a large C filled with other Cs. Text below: Use the popular ATF Craw Clarendons in the Regular and Book weights. DESIGNED BY WILL BURTIN Craw Clarendons: Classic Creations with the modern touch, "Current and Choice" among craftsmen with type everywhere. The two carefully balanced weights now available were designed for dynamic, modern typography. Never before was there a Clarendon family of such distinctive design and broad usefulness. This paragraph is set in Craw Clarendon Book. Your ATF Type Dealer stocks the Clarendons for prompt delivery. Just ask him for our specimen brochures, or write directly to the Type Division, American Type Founders, 200 Elmora Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey. ATF TYPE NEWS IS GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYBODY ATF Ad from a magazine featuring a large letter ‘O’ filled with other ‘O’s and the word FOLIO. Text in small at the top: Folio: hohe Vollkommenheit! [high perfection!] Cover of a booklet titled “Forma: SERIE TONDA CHIARISSIMA”. It shows a large letter ‘o’ filled with many more ‘o’s.
June 25, 2025 at 11:53 PM
typographica.org
Ron Jones (art director), Faith and Form covers, 1968–69.
archive.org/details/usmo...

#Architecture #Logos #Religion #1960s #Magazines
A magazine cover. The top half is black, with a white logo, “FAITH & FORM” in modernist geometric sans-serif letters. The bottom half is a black and white photo of a modern church interior. A magazine cover. A white sculpture is silhouetted on a black background, with the white logo, “FAITH & FORM” at the top. A magazine cover. A black and white photo of the exterior of a modern church, with the “FAITH & FORM” logo at the top. A magazine cover. A stylized black and white photo of a modern church interior, with the “FAITH & FORM” logo at the top.
June 23, 2025 at 6:27 AM