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The Best Faces of 2003
Posted by Joe Pemberton in
13 Dec 2003 — 6:40pm
13 Dec 2003 — 6:40pm
What typefaces came out this year that could be called "The Best of 2003?" I'm not suggesting we repeat which faces won awards (but don't rule them out either). Just tell us which faces deserved our attention.
_ Make sure it was released in 2003.
_ Post images if you have them.
_ Say which category it's in (revival, text, display, etc.)
_ Tell us why.
_ Post a URL to the site or foundry.
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13 Dec 2003 — 9:06pm
Lingua - Process type foundry
Locator - Process type foundry
fedra sana - Peter Bilak
14 Dec 2003 — 12:26am
The rather boringly named but very beautiful and useful 'Arabic Typesetting', designed by Mamoun Sakkal and Paul Nelson for Microsoft. It isn't shipping yet, so far as I know, but it was completed this year and was one of the winners in the last TDC type design competition.
Full disclosure probably requires that I mention that I designed what I think is a competent and attractive Latin for this typeface, but it's really all about the Arabic which is not only a fine design but also an incredibly complex and clever piece of OpenType work.
14 Dec 2003 — 7:45am
Oh, I think that Optima Nova was released this year. I've always admired Optima in signage, but in small sizes I thought it suffered by its color being too grey and dull. The new version solves the problems of weight and spacing, and adds a true italic. I don't know if this counts as new, or a revival. I am happy that Zapf had the opportunity, with his collaborator, to improve this classic design for the digital age.
14 Dec 2003 — 7:06pm
apex sans. so maybe it's not the best, or maybe it is, but i dig it.</font>
14 Dec 2003 — 10:32pm
Of the ones mentioned so far, I think Lingua and Amplitude deserve special attention because they break new ground.
--
John, some of the features (like the linkage variations) in that Arabic font system are very nice.
I'm wondering if:
1) There's some missing kerning? Like look at the big gap in "'amrihi" (4th word of 2nd line).
2) Does the font fully support the vertical floating aliph? "'aLaahi" (second word) certainly shows it, but some words (like "rahmaan" - 3rd word - and "
15 Dec 2003 — 5:09am
DTL Prokyon is amazing. It is a super clean Sans that looks like it would work in many situations. I haven't tried it yet, as it's a little out of my budget, but I really enjoy the letterforms.
15 Dec 2003 — 9:17am
Jeff, can you upload a link for purchasing DTL Prokyon? Thanks!
15 Dec 2003 — 10:16am
Here you go, Dylan:
http://www.dutchtypelibrary.com/Media/DTL_Fonts/enter.html
15 Dec 2003 — 10:24am
Thanks, Jeff.
Good lord above -- that's too rich for my blood! Wish it wasn't. Guess I'll have to 'slum' around for something else.
15 Dec 2003 — 10:43am
Tell me about it. It is a beautiful family, but their prices seem a little out of whack. I have no problem spending (or billing a client) a few hundred for a new face, but $1620 US? That's a bit much. Clients who would understand that kind of purchase ($2,125.28 Cdn at today's exchange rate) are few and far between in this little city.
15 Dec 2003 — 10:50am
I agree. I've spent hundreds during emotional binges when I've seen new faces, but, uhhhhhh....
...not this time.
15 Dec 2003 — 10:55am
I haven't seen it used, but there is something about the aesthetic of Prokyon I don't like; it seems slick and emotionally cold at the same time.
Locator, while influenced by Frutiger, like tons of others, manages to have its own look while being very neutral. And it is extremely well done.
I agree with Hrant that Lingua and Amplitude are very original. I just think that Lingua is too odd looking to be very widely used, whereas Amplitude looks to be very adaptable in spite of its quite original look - quite an achievement.
15 Dec 2003 — 10:57am
Re. Arabic Typesetting in response to Hrant:
1) There's some missing kerning? Like look at the big gap in "'amrihi" (4th word of 2nd line).
Quite probably. This is the only text sample I had on hand, a PDF that was prepared by Mamoun and Paul for the TDC annual early this year, and the font was not quite finished.
2) Does the font fully support the vertical floating aliph? "'aLaahi" (second word) certainly shows it, but some words (like "rahmaan" - 3rd word - and "
15 Dec 2003 — 11:17am
>>I haven't seen it used, but there is something about the aesthetic of Prokyon I don't like; it seems slick and emotionally cold at the same time.
i agree. this may reveal my lack of sophistication and/or ignorance, but prokyon has a little too much gill sans for me. am i the only one who sees it?
arabic typesetting: nice cursive feature. the complexity (from my standpoint) of the whole thing boggles my mind.
15 Dec 2003 — 11:38am
Unibody by Underware.
(Special honors go to the italic version of Unibody)
I haven't seen a more succesful pixel font this year. Not since sevenet or mini has there been such ruckus about a pixel font. And they give it away for free, how cool is that?
I probably get 2-3 e-mails a month inquiring about what the pixel font on Speak Up is.
15 Dec 2003 — 11:52am
>prokyon has a little too much gill
Gill sans is a bit agressive, but has considerable charm also. For me, Prokyon is like the chrome killer robot in Terminator II: beautiful and heartless.
15 Dec 2003 — 12:06pm
I think in the right environment, Prokyon could have its uses. I love how super-simplified the letterforms are. I don't see the Gill in it though--never been a huge fan, so maybe I'm just blocking it from mind. ;)
You're right though, it does seem to be a tad bit heartless and devoid of character.
Unibody looks great! I love the Italic. It seems so abnormal to have a good italic pixel font. I'm d/ling it right now.
15 Dec 2003 — 3:30pm
John, thanks for the elaboration.
--
> I haven't seen a more succesful pixel font this year.
Heh heh heh.
hhp
15 Dec 2003 — 3:48pm
Yeah, I'm quite curious from Chris Lowery's emails just what you've got in store Hrant...
15 Dec 2003 — 4:08pm
Please let's not forget the Morisawa winners, specially Australis and Borges!
Oh, and those Greek and Cyrillic versions of Emigre (and other foundries) typefaces by Cannibal.
There's also Sebastian, from Storm...
Bitmap fonts? Miguel Hernandez at Atomic Media!
And the 'superpixel' stuff from TiD too.
(BTW, Hrant, Man
15 Dec 2003 — 4:34pm
Mana is The Force, dude. ;-)
http://www.punawelewele.com/halepai/iulai/mana.htm
Actually my use of it comes more from "mano" (Spanish). And my next one will have a Spanish name too: Atanasia, which is an archaic term for 14 point.
Nathan, I've shown peeks of Mana now and then since '98, so it won't be a huge surprise, at least not to some people... except maybe the number of kerning pairs.
hhp
15 Dec 2003 — 5:15pm
Sebastian is my favourite from this year. I was the third person to buy it, Frantisek said. Here's a sample:
Yes, it is another humanist sans, but there's nothing else like it. The italic is funky, to say the least. I've used it on my latest business card. It looks great printed by letterpress (photopolymer plate).
15 Dec 2003 — 6:06pm
I just bought Mezcal from Atomic. Thanks for the tip, Eduardo.
16 Dec 2003 — 1:15am
My Favorite of 2003 ist NURI by Frank Rocholl. available over http://www.die-gestalten.com
16 Dec 2003 — 3:49am
heres the NURI PDF. FONTALICIOUS!!!
16 Dec 2003 — 3:50am
... double
16 Dec 2003 — 5:20am
A correction: the Cyrillic Emigre typefaces were developed at Paratype.
---
More 'the best of 2003':
Axis, designed by Isao Suzuki and Akira Kobayashi.
FB Prensa, an Electra-esque face by Cyrus Highsmith.
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> Mana is The Force, dude. ;-)
:-)
> Actually my use of it comes more from "mano" (Spanish).
Hehe, in Portuguese 'mana' usually means 'sister'. I guess it comes from the Spanish 'hermano'/'hermana', simplified here to 'mano'/'mana'.
16 Dec 2003 — 5:58am
I just bought Fedra Serif A, and I love it!
Designed by Peter Bilak at Typotheque.
http://www.typotheque.com/fedra_serif/
16 Dec 2003 — 6:14am
Interesting. There's a similarity in concepts of Apex and Nuri - the counters in round letters are very similar. Nuri has sharper arcs in hmn, and Apex a two story g.
16 Dec 2003 — 7:20am
Another one: Letterror's Twin Cities Project.
22 Dec 2003 — 10:25pm
Probably the most significant font project I worked on this year are faces of 2003 that haven't seen the light of day in the commercial market yet.
The Bitstream BTN Collection with Brian Bonislawsky and I has been a religious experience for me this year.
Some examples: http://www.bitstream.com/categories/developer/devfonts/btn/examples.html
Stuart :D
23 Dec 2003 — 7:29am
Fonts I've purchased in 2003 :
Foundry Form Sans
Pedestria
Solex
Digna
ITC Friz Quadrata
Neuland TT
Kare Five Dots
Circa
+ a copy of Building Letters containing 38 fonts
My favorite is probably Foundry Form Sans.
23 Dec 2003 — 7:51am
Jim, could you post links?
26 Dec 2003 — 8:06am
I don't know which of the fonts at the new www.ourtype.com are new, or just released this year, but I am very impressed by Sensa, which I hope becomes very popular. It is somehow happy while being restrained - more restrained than Sauna, another wonderful roman sans that uses aspects of italic.
27 Dec 2003 — 5:58am
Correction: It is Sansa, not sensa,and Sauna is a semi-sans or semi-serif roman. Both do seems to take ideas from italic and apply them to roman. Both are outstanding new faces, Sauna being last year - Sansa this year?
27 Dec 2003 — 7:56am
Anyone know how an ignorant American like me can buy from ourtype.com? They don't offer U.S. currency as an option. As I mentioned in a related thread, I'd like to get my mitts on Sansa.
27 Dec 2003 — 9:42am
How to order at OurType: on the site the amount due is calculated in Euro. When you post an order you'll be contacted by OurType (by phone) in order to complete the payment. At that time you can ask them what's the amount due in Dollar. Easy as that.
27 Dec 2003 — 3:28pm
You can check the dollar/euro exchange rate here.
13 Dec 2003 — 7:10pm
Amplitude and Whitman, both from FontBureau, are just wonderful.
Amplitude, a sans with 'traps' used as decorative elements is very widely usable, I think, but has a fresh and unique look, fascinating to the eye.
Whitman, a serifed text face, manages to be calm, graceful and crisp at the same time. Influenced by Dwiggins, but fresh and different. I hope it will turn out to be a favorite for books.