Our thoughts on all things brand related.
Must we give up good typography in the name of convenience?
As a design professional, the recent flap over IKEA’s decision to change its typeface from Futura to Verdana really struck close to home for me.
IKEA has long been held up as a prime example of good design that reflects and contributes to the brand. Futura is a very clean, contemporary typeface that dovetails perfectly with IKEA’s Swedish heritage and streamlined, efficient product line. Continue reading
From dipthongs to tittles—everything you wanted to know about type but were afraid to ask.
My lifelong relationship with type began on my 7th birthday with the gift of a tiny hand cranked printing press. It used adhesive backed rubber type stuck to a revolving drum and inked by hand with a roller, known in the trade as a “brayer.”
Fast forward 10 years to my high-school Graphic Arts class where I learned the mysteries of lead type. Hand kerning headlines, “locking up” a job with “furniture” and “quoins” and my immense pride at being able to correctly identify the contents of each compartment in a California job case¹ – those wonderful wooden drawers with a separate compartment for each and every character and punctuation mark in a font – blindfolded.
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