Creative Bloq has popped up in numerous searches that I have done for this blog. It seems to have an abundance of information including articles, opinion pieces, freebies, tutorials, and numerous other goodies all concerning creative industries such as design, web, and typography. Seems like a good site to check frequently.
Some of the items that I have recently read:
ILoveTypography.com is a great resource for those who also love typography, or at the very least those who want to learn more about it. It appears to be a collection of articles on varying topics, and book reviews, and interviews, and history, and tips and resources for creating fonts. As a newbie in the world of typography, one of the areas I always look for on these sites is the basic type education. And ILT’s beginner articles are no disappointment either. You can find the main page of resources here.
Some of my favorite resources in particular are the following:
Who Shot the Serif? – A history and education on serifs, followed by part 2 which is The Return of the Serif which is quirkier dive into the topic of serifs.
Identify That Font – A collection of resources out on the web to help find specific fonts.
So You Want to Create a Font – Step by step guide to creating your own fonts. (Something I would love to attempt in the near future, time permitting).
There is also a list of recommended references too for typographic terms.
Some of the more interesting articles I read and appreciated:
Beauty and Ugliness in Type Design
All in all, ILT seems like a fun, educational, and entertaining way of learning and reading about all things type. With archives stretching back to 2007, I have lots of reading to do!
Someone recently suggested this site (? application? tool?) to me because I was stumped at finding a font similar to those used on manhole covers. It’s through the My Fonts website and is called What the Font. What it does is help you find fonts used in pictures you submit. All you do is upload an image with type in it (there are lots of tips for optimal images). Next you will get a screen with multiple thumbnails in it in which the tool (? generator?) outlines what it believes to be the type. In this example, I was given over 50 thumbnails with suggestions by the generator. You fill in the little box with the letter that is outlined. If there isn’t a letter, you leave the box blank. Sometimes it automatically recognizes the letter for you.
Once you make it though all the thumbnails and hit submit, What the Font will give you five suggestions of fonts they think are similar.
Unfortunately, I was not happy with the suggestions given to me, so I went the long route and ended up browsing font catalogs for the right font but I’d love to give this a try again, with a better picture (I obviously didn’t read the tips) and with more time. They do provide options if you are unhappy with the suggestions such as posting the image to their forums in the hope someone might recognize it or they listed this link: identifont.com, which upon a brief glimpse at, seems like something to take a longer look at.
Melissa Srot 