Last Week in Type #23

Special characters, redesigned famous logos, typefaces made of paint stroke, and much more. Plus another list of some of the best fonts of this year. Keep them coming! Enjoy!

The Designer’s Guide to Special Characters

When it comes to clear writing, the importance of the mechanics of spelling, grammar, and proper punctuation are always stressed. However, for some reason, the importance of using the correct typographic special characters is often overlooked. So, it’s time for designers to stand-up and use the right typographic marks for the job. Here’s a quick run-through some of the important symbols you should be using. You’ll also find a handy table of common typographic marks for reference.

Infographic: 16 Different Elements of Typography

What makes up a letter? Diane Kelly Nuguid put together this infographic to provide insight into the 10 different parts of a letter in typography. For beginners, but not only. Definitely something to keep for future reference.

85+ Redesigns of Famous Logos

Here is a vast collection of some of the world’s most renowned logos, revamped from different perspectives. You will find fonts twitched, while some artwork or text replaced. Despite being redesigned, some logos still hold the essence. What do you reckon? Do they convey the same message? Or at least a similar one?

Graphic Design Studio Creates a Gorgeous Typeface Made of Paint Strokes

Here’s a great studio experiment created by London-based graphic design studio Sawdust: a gorgeous paint typeface. Using acrylic paint, by folding clear strips and manipulating shadows, designers Rob Gonzalez and Jonathan Quainton examine ‘dimensionality’. Pursuing personal work and having fun even while producing content for the commercial world? Sounds like a win win situation.

Quickest Way to Get List of Font Names in any Font Family

There are many ways to get a list of fonts names for a font family on iOS, for example: looping or via block. However, here is another approach, that promises to be much quicker, with just two lines in the LLDB debugger. Take a look.

The Best Fonts of 2013

It looks like 2013 has been a bumper year for type design, that’s why in this article you’ll find a rather interesting list of the best fonts in the last 12 months. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice there are no winners for December. With the month only half-way through, there’s still plenty of time for new designs to appear. Check out the selection and nominate your own winners. Thanks!

And have a fabulous new week!