Book: A Guide to Lettering by Hand

My new friend Emma Luczyn, who I met after her talk at the first Letter Luvvers, has just reprinted her little workbook, ‘A Guide to Lettering by Hand’. I can’t wait to get my copy, which I bought as soon as I saw the reprint announcement. Get yours before it’s out of print again!

Magazine: BLAG

On the subject of printed goodies, a surprise package arrived in the post the other day from BLAG (Better Letters Magazine). Thanks so much, Sam! Although focussed on sign painting, the content here is sure to appeal to anyone reading this. And apparently the founders are subscribers to this very newsletter! Warm feelings all round.

Lesson: how to typeset a date range properly

What with the Queen’s funeral last week, there were a lot of poorly typeset date ranges out and about. If, like me, you winced every time you saw one, you might enjoy Rich Rutter’s guide on how to typeset a date range properly.

Typeface: Rollerscript

Is it just me, or is it really hard to find a decent handwritten-style typeface? I mean, there are a lot of handwriting fonts, but, in my opinion, it’s difficult to convey a casual vibe without looking unprofessional, and it’s also difficult to balance readability with something that actually looks handwritten. So I was pleased to stumble across G-Type’s Rollerscript, which manages to get that balance just right, especially with its clever implementation of contextual alternates, which help lend it a more authentically handwritten feel. Very on (ball)point.

New: variable fonts on my site

This week, I finally switched from the static to variable version of Degular on my personal site and wrote about the process. It’s been great to have a more gentle transition between the typeface’s different optical sizes, and writing a blog post full of CSS made me feel like I was in my 20s all over again.

(FYI, I’ve also written a more general guide on switching from static fonts to variable fonts for Google Fonts Knowledge, which’ll be published in the near future.)

Event: the printing bike

I try not to be too Bristol-specific with this newsletter, but given that I now know I have some local subscribers (hi Ben!) and, as Laurence has been so helpful with my web type woes recently that, when he held up this letterpressed poster in front of me at last week’s Letter Luvvers, and said, “Elliot, you should put this in your newsletter,” it felt only right to say… great idea. So here you go. This Sunday, One Portwall Square, 2–5pm. Sadly, I can’t make it because it’s my birthday 🥳 but you should.

Film: Luis Mendo

This last one’s not typographic in nature, but I think you’ll enjoy it anyway. Illustration agency Handsome Frank have made ‘A Little Film About Luis Mendo’, the Spain-born, Japan-based illustrator whose work you might recognise from his collaborations with Creative Boom or Craig Mod. One to enjoy over your morning coffee tomorrow, perhaps?