U&lc Online Issue: 30.1.1

The nature of the type world keeps changing. And any online publication is, by definition, about change. U&lc Online began life as an online companion to U&lc, ITC’s award-winning magazine; from here on in, it will begin a new life, in a new format, as ITC’s online voice. Expect the unexpected. U&lc Online is ITC’s international journal of graphic design and digital media. U&lc Online needs no subscription; it’s part of the ITC web site, itcfonts.com. To read U&lc Online, just bookmark this page and check it out every month.

Featured Designer: Martin Wait “Looking back, lettering and type design was probably a strange career choice,“ says Martin Wait. “I’m color-blind and dyslexic.” The career choice may have been strange but, with over two-dozen popular display type designs and many logotypes to his credit, it was certainly the right one.

Type Trading Card: Stone Sans/Korinna ITC Stone Sans is an “extended” family that satisfies a broad range of users, needs, and address a multitude of graphic problems. ITC Korinna is often labled as a “workhorse” typeface, able to work under a variety of typographic conditions.

Type Trading Card: Weidemann/Goudy Sans ITC Weidemann is slightly condensed making it perfect when space is at a premium, while ITC Goudy Sans is friendly – almost playful.

Type Trading Card: Charter/Franklin Gothic The design of Charter follows traditional 18th century Roman types in proportion and form, but with some very untraditional traits of its own. Franklin Gothic was originally drawn by Morris Fuller Benton in 1902.

Type Trading Card: ITC Fenice/Mixage ITC Fenice is a neoclassical design in the tradition of Didot and Bodoni, while ITC Mixage is a sans serif in the tradition of Optima and Pascal.

Border Fonts Every designer has used a border at one time or another. Most likely it was a thick or thin solid rule (or a thin-thick combination, sometimes called a “scotch rule”), a double or dash rule. But sticking to these traditional borders is like eating only vanilla ice cream when there are hundreds of other flavors to choose from. Next time you need a border to help organize, group and emphasize elements in your design, consider using a border font.

Art Nouveau Typestyles The highly decorative style of the Art Nouveau period continues to inspire type designers. Here, we take a look at the distinctive traits that set these elegant typefaces apart.

Spencerian Scripts Some design projects, such as invitations and ceremonial announcements, call for a type treatment that is formal yet personal, lyrically beautiful yet authoritative. A Spencerian script can be the perfect typeface for this kind of fine design.

Currency Symbols Currency symbols appear frequently in typeset copy. In the United States it’s the dollar and cent signs that are most commonly used, but others are often seen as well. Here’s a roundup of the currency symbols found in the character complement of most fonts.

A Garamond by Any Other Name If it’s called Garamond, then it’s Garamond – true? If there were only one version of Garamond, perhaps. But in fact, there is more than one Garamond, just as there are multiple versions of many other designs.

Condensed Typefaces Like Jack Sprat, condensed typefaces cut out the fat. These lean design powerhouses are indispensable for a (dare we say?) wide range of uses, from packing lots of text into small spaces to maximizing the impact of headlines and display copy.

Designing for Seniors Like it or not, our bodies change as we get older. For many seniors, with age comes increasing farsightedness, which means difficulty in seeing objects that are close by. Obviously, farsightedness can make reading more challenging.

Type On A Curve Sometimes you want your type to get straight to the point, but other times it’s nice to take a few turns along the way. Try these tips for for setting type along a curved baseline while keeping it readable and evenly spaced.

Featured Designer: Timothy Donaldson As a mere toddler, Timothy Donaldson showed an amazing talent for focusing on the tiniest details. Now an award-winning type designer, Donaldson has added more than two-dozen typefaces and families to the ITC library.