Ampersands, &c.

Jul 15, 2019

Goudy Oldstyle Italic ampersand

The ampersand has been with us perhaps since the first century CE in one form or another. It’s a conjoining of the e and t, forming the Latin et, which means “and.” You can still make out both letters in even the most abstract designs since typographers know that the ampersand is a ligature and design it as such. Because ampersands are so highly stylized, they can add verve to a workhorse typeface. read more…

Beware: “web hosting” billing scams

Jul 10, 2019

It looks like an annual web hosting bill"Web Host Agents" phony web hosting bill

A company called Web Host Agents sends businesses what appears to be an invoice for “yearly web hosting.” At a glance, it does look like an invoice, but buried within the text you’ll see “This is a solicitation…not a bill.” One can imagine a busy accounts payable office simply sending a check. read more…

American Type Founders Specimen Book…

Jun 27, 2019

1923 American Type Founders specimen book

American Type Founders was born of a merger of 23 type foundries in 1892. In the early 1920s, American Type Founders had come to dominate the huge metal foundry type market in the United States. They budgeted a whopping $300,000 (millions in today’s dollars) to produce 60,00 copies of their 1923 Specimen Book. read more…

Georgia: old style text figures

Jun 25, 2019

Georgia old style figures blend into textOld style figures blend invisibly into text.

Old style text figures (or lower case, non-lining numerals) have become popular in graphic design in recent years. read more…