Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age

Sunday I picked up a book at Hennessey + Ingalls (my local bookseller), and I spent the day marveling at the treasure trove of typographic gems it contains. The book is “Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age” by the dynamic duo of Steven Heller and Louise Fili.

If you’re like me, and love type—especially vintage scripts—you must get this book. The culmination of over 30 years of digging through swap meets, flea markets and antiquarian bookstores, it is a priceless collection of ephemera by two passionate collectors.

The book’s 352 pages are filled with well over 300 examples from around the globe, from advertising to street signs, from type specimens to invitations and personal letters, spanning the period from the 19th to the mid-20th century. I could spend days poring over this book. It is as rich a collection of typographic material as I have seen in years—and much of it I have never seen before. I LOVE this book!

The book is readily available from Amazon.com, but (personal note) why not shop locally and check out the book in person at your nearby (non-chain) bookstore? You might pay a few dollars more, and it might not be as “convenient”, but in this day and age wouldn’t it be worth it to give them your support?

In-Depth Interview Just Posted

I recently did an in-depth interview with Sonali Vora a writer based in India for the blog VectorTuts+. This is a blog of tutorials, articles, freebies and more on all things vector. Their roster of writers is truly international, coming from such diverse countries as Ukraine, India, Australia, England and the good ol’ US of A.

Sonali introduces the interview with these words: “We recently had the opportunity to interview this award-wining designer, lettering artist, and illustrator. Michael talks about his childhood influences, his education and his brilliant start at a freelance career. He tells us about his experience working with some of the big clients and the valuable projects that challenged him to explore his creative potential”. Those of you out there who are curious to learn a little more about what makes me tick might want to take a look at it.

Fonts In Use: Steinweiss Script in Mexico

Another in my series of Alphabet Soup “Fonts In Use” this post highlights Steinweiss Script. I just heard from graphic designer Eric Baker who used the font in a design project for the graphic identity of Casa Cantil, a beautiful villa just a couple of hours outside of Mexico City. Here’s his design in the context of a business card:

What strikes me is that in this context Steinweiss feels quite contemporary—not quite the “vintage” look that one might have expected from such a font. My intention was to create a font that would be kind of like a chameleon – in that it could feel appropriate in many different contexts. Here it seems perfect for the 1960s Mexicana feel I think Eric was going for.

If you’ve used an Alphabet Soup font in an interesting way, email me some images—I’d be happy to post them!