Blog: Typography

From the reference #34


Big numbers, bright colours and big arrows, what hasn't this 8mm colour film packaging got??

I think it's from the 60s' or maybe even the late 50's, but the colours and the design are so 80's. You can only just make it out on the pic, but all the 8's are overprinted and the design on the reverse is really quite modern and I'm loving the big arrow.

#34 - vintage 8mm colour film packaging

Have a look through the rest of our reference box here.

Tue 24 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Reference box

5 Comments

Auto Type II

More fabulous logos and typography from the automobile world...


















Check out the first batch Auto Type here.

Mon 23 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , automobilia , lettering

3 Comments

Buchstabenmuseum - The Museum of Letters


These fabulous letters and many, many more can be seen at Buchstabenmuseum, the Museum of Letters in Berlin - they've been salvaging used letters and signage for the last 4 years.

To view the full collection book an appointment the next time you are in Berlin, or take a look at Core77's wonderful, sneak preview pics.

Images copyright Core77.
Via Sell!Sell!

Wed 18 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , signage , Exhibition

0 Comments

Andy Smith Book Covers


We're big fans of illustrator Andy Smith's work, so when he added us as a new contact on Flickr we had a good old snoop around his photostream and look what we found - a fantastic collection of all the book covers he's designed.


There's quite a few and they make a great set, bursting with bold colours and fun type - these are just a few of my favourites.

All images copyright Andy Smith.

Tue 17 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Illustration , Books

1 Comment

Classic Logos

I was looking through some reference books earlier, ones I've looked through a million times, but never really read. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the stories and background info I came across...

The classic Penguin logo we all know and love was originally designed by 21 year old office worker, Edward Young in 1934. He was sent to London Zoo by the publisher, Allan Lane to sketch penguins, which formed the early logo. It was 15 years later (in 1949) that the Jan Tschibold version was created.

British brewery, Bass boast that their red triangle is, 'The World's most famous trademark' and although there is no proof of this, it was the first British Registered Trademark.

Guinness first used the O'Neill harp (or Brian Boru harp) alongside their signature in 1862. It originally had 27 strings, but for design reasons this number was reduced over time first to 18, in the 50's and finally to 10 in the 60's.

When Ireland became an independent nation in 1922 they chose the O'Neil harp as the official Irish symbol, however because of copyright issues they had to reverse their version.

The winged-foot synonymous with Goodyear was originally inspired by a statue of Mercury in founder, Frank A Seiberling's childhood home. It has been their trademark since 1900.

You know how hard it is to come up with names for things, well, French petrol company Elf turned to a computer to choose their name. Elf was chosen from 8,253,000 three, four and five-letter combinations. Their simple, bold logo was then designed by Jean-Roger Rioux in 1966.

For more information about the history and background to classic logos and trademarks, have a look at Marks of Excellence: The history and taxonomy of trademarks. It really is a great book.

All information from Marks of Excellence.

Mon 16 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Inspiration , Books

2 Comments

Alternative Valentine Gifts

There are so many bad cliché Valentine gifts out there that I decided to share some fun, less obvious items I've come across recently.

First up is this fantastic poster for the Ettore Sotass designed, Olivetti 'Valentine' typewriter. Available as a limited edition of 1000 exclusively at the Design Museum.

Secondly this great Ace of Hearts tea-towel. Ok, so maybe a tea-towel isn't the most romantic of gifts, but Manicule's giant playing card design certainly is fun and look, it has hearts and everything - perfect...

Rob Ryan had to be on the list, his prints always have an air of romance about them and he's even created one especially for the occasion (below right). Both these prints and more are available from Soma.

And finally, you can't beat a bit of Marvin Gaye to get you in the mood for love, so these lyrical prints are just perfect. It's Pop, It's Art was a collaborative project between London design studio Airside and EMI Publishing UK - "built upon a love of both music and art".

Below left, lyrics to Marvin Gaye's - What's Going on? and below right lyrics to Primal Scream's - Come Together. Both available in the sale at Soma!

Fri 13 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Prints , Things to buy

1 Comment

Vintage Typewriter Ribbon TIns



Thanks to Ryan at Sell! Sell! for the link to these great old Typewriter Ribbon tins - they are part of Uppercase's collection on Flickr.

They're really gorgeous items that look fantastic as a group - the graphics, typography and bold colours, just make them so interesting.

I'm sure I have some of these somewhere, I'll have to try and route them out!

Images copyright Uppercase.

Wed 11 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Inspiration , lettering

0 Comments

Alpha-Robot


How cute is this Alpha-Robot - I love the ears! He's from a collection of hand-pulled screenprints available at Bold & Noble, many of which are typographic including the one below, a modern version of the iconic 'LOVE' graphic, that would make a great Valentine's Day gift...


Images copyright Bold & Noble.

Tue 10 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Prints , Things to buy

1 Comment

Sellotape® Tins



I found these old Sellotape® tins at the weekend. To think Sellotape® was packaged in such an extravagant way seems crazy these days, but they are gorgeous and I love the giant 'S' on the front.

I was told they were from the 60's, but after some research I actually think they are from the mid to late 50's. These product pics (below) are from the 60's, showing the original self-adhesive tape in mostly blister-pack style packaging or sold individually from large tin tubes. There are some tins on the bottom row of the display rack, so it's my guess they were being phased out by the early 60's.

The display box (below left) is from the 60's and shows some of the new product range available from Sellotape® - Masking, Insulating and Double-sided tape, "Tapes for the Handyman". The box below right shows the more modern looking 70's packaging for the original clear tape.

The ads below ran throughout the 60's to advertise this new range of DIY tapes in DIY magazine and Practical Householder.


For more information about the history of the Sellotape® brand go here and for more info about the history of sticky tape see here.

Product display images copyright Sellotape.

Mon 09 Feb 2009

Posted under: Advertising , Design , Typography , Packaging

4 Comments

Branding in Arabic


I saw these yesterday on Graphicology, they are photos taken in Dubai of products branded in both English and Arabic. The packaging designs are nothing to write home about, they are just your regular, cheesy supermarket packages, but I find the way some of them have translated their branding into Arabic really interesting. Of course Arabic is a phonetic language and I think the best of these packages are the ones were the branding has been mirrored to reflect this.

There are also some pics of store signage, which are equally as interesting. I really like the look of the Arabic GUCCI with all the dots.



Images copyright Graphicology.
Via Notcot.

Thu 05 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , signage

5 Comments

The Indoor Noisy Book


I just saw this gorgeous little book on Etsy, 'The Indoor Noisy Book' written by Margaret Wise Brown in 1942 and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard.

It's a story about a dog called Muffin that has to stay in all day with a cold and hears all kinds of strange noises. The illustrations are fabulous - detailed, yet bold and bright and there's even a bit of beautiful, big typography!

There are also some copies here and a re-printed edition available here from 1994.

Images from WhimseyHouse.

Tue 03 Feb 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Illustration , Books

1 Comment

Alphabirds



How great are these bird images by Dust Breeding's, Marcus Fischer?

They are created with Letraset transfers - finally I hear you shout, a use for all those half used sheets gathering dust in design studios across the world.

I imagine they take quite a while to produce as they're very detailed, but I hope he does more, it would be great to see a whole collection of them.

Images copyright Marcu s Fischer.
Via Notcot.

Tue 27 Jan 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Illustration

3 Comments

From the reference box #31




# 31 - Do It Yourself Annuals, 1959, 1960 & 1961. I really bought these for the bold graphic covers, but as usual, they are packed with wonderful adverts, articles, illustrations and type:







The '60 and '61 issues also have ads in for the new, DIY Gardener Annual which looks to have had equally great cover designs. I'll have to watch out for one of those.

So there we have it, #31 - DIY Annuals, 1959, 1960 & 1961.

Tue 27 Jan 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Reference box , Illustration

1 Comment

Winter Works on Paper


These gorgeous prints are reproduction NY Subway destination scrolls c. 1940. I found them on Winter works on Paper, a great website that has some really unusual, original and reproduction, prints and photography.

Photographer Don Dudenbostel's x-ray pics are definitely worth a look. His collection includes some really beautiful flowers, some sealife and of course, my favourites - the toys.


And here's something you don't see everyday - Japanese woodblock prints of Kimono designs from the 1900's. i think they are actually reproductions, but still very beautiful.

Images copyright to the artists, from Winter Works on Paper.

Thu 22 Jan 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Inspiration , Illustration

2 Comments

Vintage 60's Zodiac Posters






How gorgeous are these vintage zodiac prints? I just love the colour combinations and the illustrations. Originally designed by Simboli Design in 1969 for Poster Prints, these bold, bright posters, were used more recently by fashion house, Paul Smith Ltd.

All star signs are available here apart from Gemini,which has already sold out! They're 24" x 36" and signed by the artist (Joe or Gerry Simboli).

Via Orange You Lucky.

Thu 22 Jan 2009

Posted under: Design , Typography , Inspiration

3 Comments

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