dynagirl

How can I learn to recognise more languages?

Gorgeous animation and type, deconstructed here.

Type in Web 2.0 logos round, soft and friendly. Also, the official color is chartreuse, but I already knew that. There’s chartreuse everywhere you look in women’s clothing this spring, too.

I noticed this some time ago already ( the current look, Disco CoolVetica, dates from May 2004 ) — which means that Helvetica, timeless as it is, and as gorgeous as it is, is somewhat played. What, then, is the new brown? Or is Helvetica’s resurgence a harbinger of a larger trend, towards elegant “classics” that may have been ahead of their time with their clean lines and optimistic, future-looking design?

For one thing, look for a lot more Century Gothic, Elephant, Engravers, Futura, with clear colors. Oh, sort of like I already did over here. I wish the client would send me copy so we can launch that already. HI, MOM!!

The Design Encyclopedia. It’s just started, and it’s fabulous, and will be moreso as it grows.

Ä Hïstöry öf thë Hëävy Mëtäl Ümläüt.

A design critique of the (Latin) alphabet.

Metro logos from around the world.
Thanks, CzelticGirl!

And then I’m like screaming at them THAT’S LIKE NOTHING LESS THAN THE FINEST, FUCKINGEST, INTERLOPINGEST F-LIGATURE EVER TO APPEAR ON AN INSTITUTIONAL WAREWASHING DETERGENT BOX!!!

Gallery of telephone ads from the 1910s – 1970s. Interesting for the language (shall we bring back “to-day”? Let’s do!), typography, technology and sociology.
Via BoingBoing

Wow, cool, here’s something I just learned:

The Latin word et (meaning “andâ€?) was first written as two distinct letters, but over time the ‘e’ and ‘t’ were combined into a ligature of sorts. Once the ampersand was accepted as a single character, artistry took over and a more flowing design evolved. … The word “ampersandâ€? is an alteration of the phrase “et, per se andâ€? (that is: “et by itself [means] andâ€?), which became corrupted to “and, per se andâ€?, and finally, ampersand.

UPDATEBut wait, there’s more!

The initial configuration of the exclamation point, which is descended from a logotype for the Latin word io (“joy”), was a capital I set over a lowercase ‘o’. As with the question mark, the design of the exclamation point was gradually streamlined to its present form.

Hicksdesign gives us a non-sucky BBEdit icon.

Helvetica Lovers Anonymous. If this were a real site, I’d sign up. For those of you who care, Dynagirl.com will be returning to the Helvetica-rific Swiss Army design after the US election. (If we have one, that is.)

Wes Anderson’s World of Futura. Related: the trailer for his new film is out.

I’m usually very happy when I find a font repository that contains nothing I need. Unfortunately, that was not the case with this collection of mostly alte Deutsche typography from Dieter Steffmann where I’ve just spent the last hour downloading really gorgeous stuff.

I got 8 out of 10 correct on this Arial or Helvetica quiz. Yay, me.

Stare at the phrase “Hell on Heels” long enough and believe me, it makes no sense.

How to get proper typographical quotes and apostrophes (like “ ”) without having to type “ every freakin’ time you need to use them. It’s also advantageous because it separates the content from the style (blah blah blah) and keeps devices that can’t handle all the ’s rendering somewhat properly. DaringFireball has another mod that catches the em dashes, too. Neat! Well, it will be, when I get a chance to fix my MT next week.
via What Do I Know