Commercial Type News

Jobs:

CommercialType — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

02 FEBRUARY 2012 | JOBS

Commercial Type has an immediate opening for a Font Technician

We are offering a full-time position with benefits for someone to handle mastering and testing of fonts in both current and legacy formats, and to handle technical support. Ideal candidates will have an interest in and experience with webfont production and implementation.

Requirements include:
- BA or equivalent in a relevant field
- A minimum of 2+ years of professional experience with font production
- Working knowledge of Python
- Fluency in both the Mac OS and Windows

We will provide assistance with relocation to New York if needed, but working offsite is a possibility. Interested parties please send CV and salary requirements to jobs[at]commercialtype.com

Releases: New release: Marian by Paul Barnes

CommercialType — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

12 JANUARY 2012 | RELEASES

New release: Marian by Paul Barnes

Commercial Type is pleased to announce the release of Marian, a new typeface family in 19 styles designed by Paul Barnes. Marian is a series of faithful revivals of some of the greats from the typographic canon: Austin, Baskerville, Bodoni, Fournier, Fleischman, Garamont, Granjon, Kis and van den Keere. The twist is that they have all been rendered as a hairline of near uniform weight, revealing the basic structure at the heart of the letterforms. Together they represent a concept: to recreate the past both for and in the present.

Stretching over a period of nearly two and a half centuries from the mid sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century, they represent a period when the serif typeface as used in book typography was the dominant style. From the high Renaissance of Granjon and Garamont through to the Scotch roman; all the styles are represented: old style, transitional, and finally the modern. Painstakingly researched from original sources, together they represent a concept album of cover versions of the standards of type design.

Faithful to the originals, Marian comes with small capitals in all nine roman styles, with lining and non-lining figures, with swash capitals (1554, 1740, 1800 & 1820), alternate and terminal characters (1554 & 1571). And like the hidden track so beloved of the concept album, Marian is completed by a Blackletter based on the work of Henrik van den Keere. Please click here to see more.

Custom typefaces, publications: Druk XXXX Condensed and more for 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek Year in Review

CommercialType — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

23 DECEMBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Druk XXXX Condensed and more for 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek Year in Review

2011 was a densely packed and chaotic year, so the type needed to help reflect this in Bloomberg Businessweek's Year in Review issue. Berton Hasebe added some very dramatically condensed versions to his already very condensed sans family Druk, while Christian Schwartz pulled some Neue Haas Grotesk numerals in the opposite direction. Berton also provided some impossibly condensed pieces of lettering, for places where even Druk XXXX Condensed wasn't quite narrow enough. The illustration on the 4-part cover is by James Dawe.

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CommercialType — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

01 DECEMBER 2011 |

Appearances: DesignThinkers 2011

CommercialType — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

02 NOVEMBER 2011 | APPEARANCES

DesignThinkers 2011

Christian Schwartz will be speaking at the Association of Registered Graphic Designers' 12th annual DesignThinkers Conference in Toronto, along with an impressive list of designers from all areas of graphic design. For more information please visit the DesignThinkers site.

Custom typefaces, publications:

CommercialType — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

24 OCTOBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Neue Haas Grotesk Stencil for Bloomberg Businessweek Sports issue

Bloomberg Businessweek Creative Director Richard Turley wanted something a little bit more flexible than just a piece of lettering to tie a special section on sports together, so Christian Schwartz created a stencil version of the Regular weight of their Neue Haas Grotesk, loosely inspired by the work of Lawrence Weiner (who, ironically, despises Helvetica).

Custom typefaces, publications, ipad:

CommercialType — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

14 OCTOBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS | IPAD

A new iPad app from The Guardian

The Guardian has launched a new iPad edition, using the typefaces we developed for their print edition. Mark Porter, former Guardian creative director, headed up the design of the app, adapting and reimagining the design principles from his 2005 redesign of the newspaper.

Exhibitions: Thieves Like Us:
Dino Sanchez & Commercial Type

CommercialType — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

13 OCTOBER 2011 | EXHIBITIONS

Thieves Like Us:
Dino Sanchez & Commercial Type

"Thieves Like Us" is a collaboration between Commercial Type and designer and artist Dino Sanchez. This temporary showroom will exhibit Marian, a new typeface by Paul Barnes that reduces classic models of serif type design to their basic skeletal forms, exploring the possibilities offered by these single stroke forms in a variety of media. Please note that the hours have changed because the show really works best after dark.

Popup showroom
29 Kenmare St (at Elizabeth St.)

Opening reception
Thursday, October 13 7-10pm

Hours
Noon-8pm ~~Daily~~ Saturdays & Sundays
5pm-8pm Monday-Friday

Closing party
Methods & Madness presents Dinner with Marian at Jo's, 264 Elizabeth Street. We're collaborating with Art Director Jaspal Riyait and Chef Tessa Liebman on a 9 course dinner of updated European dishes and a limited-edition poster to take home with you. Seatings for dinner start at 7pm and 8:30pm, at the Barn Door Room at the back of the restaurant. Feel free to bring your own wine although Jo's has a full wine list and wonderful cocktails. Please book ahead at the Gusta page as space is very limited. $100 includes meal, service and art work.

Releases: New release: Austin Hairline

CommercialType — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

07 OCTOBER 2011 | RELEASES

New release: Austin Hairline

When we first designed Austin in the middle of the last decade, we always imagined that it was as extreme as it could possibly be. Well of course it wasn't, as our new release Austin Hairline amply demonstrates. Designed by Berton Hasebe in a single weight, it really can only be used in the largest sizes: 100 point and above. Commissioned originally for WSJ, the weekend fashion lifestyle magazine of the Wall Street Journal it pushes the contrast between thick and thin strokes to the maximum. Its design will seem suitable in editorial design and where large type is needed; posters, advertising hoardings, and the largest of book titles. Particularly exquisite are the wonderfully elegant and fine italic swash capitals. Click here to see more.

Custom typefaces, exhibitions:

CommercialType — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

13 SEPTEMBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | EXHIBITIONS

Platform Stencil for a show at SALT, Istanbul

Berton Hasebe drew a custom stencil version of Platform for an exhibition at SALT Istanbul called "Becoming Istanbul" designed by Project Projects, seen here during the installation process. Images of the final show, also featuring Lyon Display, can be seen on the Project Projects site.

Appearances: Lecture by Christian Schwartz at Les Rencontres internationales de Lure

CommercialType — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

26 AUGUST 2011 | APPEARANCES

Lecture by Christian Schwartz at Les Rencontres internationales de Lure

Christian Schwartz will be speaking on "Obsessions in Type Design" at the 2011 Rencontres internationales de Lure, a weeklong conference on typography taking place the week of August 21-26 in Lurs, Alpes de Haute Provence, France. For more information, please visit the conference website (in French).

Custom typefaces, publications:

CommercialType — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

15 AUGUST 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Kaiser and Zizou for Fast Company

The September 2011 issue of Fast Company is the latest step in a redesign by creative director Florian Bachleda, with Alice Alves and Ted Keller, introducing three new typeface families from Commercial Type: Kaiser, Zizou Sans, and Zizou Slab.

Kaiser, a condensed sans serif in 3 widths designed by Vincent Chan, is used for display and is the primary typeface on the cover. Insipred by 1920s and 30s-era German display typefaces, it is characterized by tight and regular spacing, and by a highly simplified lowercase. Zizou Sans originally began as Christian Schwartz’s attempt to draw Antique Olive from memory, but ended up with its own distinct personality. Zizou Slab takes a straightforward approach in adapting these forms into a slab serif, resulting in a simple, personable and compact slab serif. These two families are used at a wide range of point sizes for headlines, captions, sidebars and info graphics throughout the magazine.

Rounding out the type palette is Meret, originally designed as Nils Thomsen’s degree project at Type]Media in The Hague. This family will soon be released by OurType. Section head lettering in the front of book section by Simon Page.

In January 2012, fastcodesign.com launched a redesign by Simple.Honest.Work using a selection of styles from the Kaiser and Zizou family to help extend the feel of the print magazine to the web. These styles were carefully hinted to ensure that they would be attractive and readable on all browsers.

Custom typefaces, publications: Druk for Bloomberg Businessweek

CommercialType — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

05 AUGUST 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Druk for Bloomberg Businessweek

Berton Hasebe has designed Druk, a condensed sans serif in 4 weights, for Richard Turley and his team at Bloomberg Businessweek. Based loosely on late 19th century condensed sans serif styles common to many Continental foundries (and popularized again during the middle of the 20th century), Druk's 4 weights are designed to add heft and volume to spreads and especially to covers, complementing Neue Haas Grotesk by doing things it can't.

Appearances: Interview in Codex

CommercialType — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

15 JUNE 2011 | APPEARANCES

Interview in Codex

Christian and Paul were interviewed by Sébastien Morlighem for the inaugural issue of Codex a new journal on typography from John Boardley, the man behind I Love Typography. The print run was limited, but copies should still be available at codexmag.com.

Appearances: Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz in Australia: AGDA International Speakers Tour

CommercialType — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

13 JUNE 2011 | APPEARANCES

Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz in Australia: AGDA International Speakers Tour

13 June: Perth, WA
14 June: Adelaide, SA
~~15 June: Hobart, Tasmania~~ cancelled
16 June: Melbourne, Victoria
17 June: Workshop in Melbourne
20 June: Sydney, NSW
21 June: Brisbane, Queensland
~~22 June: Canberra, ACT~~ cancelled

Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz will be touring Australia in June, giving 7 talks and a workshop over 12 days. Their lecture will touch on a number of the projects they have collaborated on, and discuss how they came together to form Commercial Type.

For more information on exact time, locations, and ticket pricing, please visit AGDA's website.

Appearances: Lecture by Paul Barnes at The Design Society, Singapore

CommercialType — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

10 JUNE 2011 | APPEARANCES

Lecture by Paul Barnes at The Design Society, Singapore

Paul Barnes will be lecturing about his work at The Design Society in Singapore. Please visit The Design Society's website for more information and to make a booking.

Custom typefaces, publications: New widths of Graphik for Esquire
and Bon Appétit

CommercialType — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

20 MAY 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

New widths of Graphik for Esquire
and Bon Appétit

During their 2011 top-to-bottom redesign, creative director David Curcurito and then art director Darhil Crooks at the US edition of Esquire chose Graphik to accompany Granger, their new serif display family. To give the family added flexibility, they commissioned a Condensed width that soon grew to several additional widths, including one designed to satisfy Curcurito's need for a face that would allow him to make a drop cap as tall as the page, but still leave room for plenty of text next to it.

Alex Grossman had more functional needs for his 2011 redesign of Bon Appétit: how to fit a large number of recipes in a limited amount of space, leaving as much room as possible for beautiful food photography while keeping the recipes very readable. He also needed a versatile set of display faces, and commissioned a modified version of the new condensed styles of Graphik with some of the signature characters redesigned, resulting in a friendlier sans that is more reminiscent of classic French and Italian food packaging than of mid-20th century Swiss Modernism.

Appearances: Wei sraum. Forum Visuelle Gestaltung Innsbruck

CommercialType — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

10 MAY 2011 | APPEARANCES

Wei sraum. Forum Visuelle Gestaltung Innsbruck

Christian Schwartz will be speaking on collaborations in type design as part of the wei sraum lecture series at aut in Innsbruck, Austria. The lecture is open to the public and admission is free. For more information please see www.weissraum.at.

Appearances: Lecture and Workshop by Christian Schwartz at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia

CommercialType — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

31 MARCH 2011 | APPEARANCES

Lecture and Workshop by Christian Schwartz at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia

Christian Schwartz and esteemed calligrapher and type designer Kris Holmes will each be teaching a weeklong workshop for students at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the last week in March. The two will also be lecturing as part of the local AIGA's "Exposed" lecture series. The lectures will be open to the public and will be held at University of the Arts, Levitt Auditorium, Gersham Y, Broad and Pine Streets. More information can be found here.

Custom typefaces: Ebony for Ebony

CommercialType — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

02 MARCH 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES

Ebony for Ebony

Berton Hasebe designed a new slab serif headline typeface in two weights for a complete revamp of the iconic Ebony by new creative director Darhil Crooks, which debuted with the April 2011 issue. Commercial Type also assisted with redrawing the nameplate, marking its first change since the magazine was founded in 1945.

Custom typefaces, publications: Granger for Esquire

CommercialType — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

10 FEBRUARY 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Granger for Esquire

After 5 years with Stag, the US edition of Esquire was ready for a change. In additon to adding two new sections and replacing Stag Sans with Graphik, they also commissioned a new serif display face called Granger, designed by Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho. The new design made its debut in the February 2011 "Fresh Start" issue, which has the fitting theme of "creative destruction". The redesign was done internally by creative director David Curcurito and art director Darhil Crooks.

Releases: New release: Dala Floda by Paul Barnes

CommercialType — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

30 NOVEMBER 2010 | RELEASES

New release: Dala Floda by Paul Barnes

Today we announce our final release of 2010, Dala Floda, designed by Paul Barnes. Originally inspired by worn gravestone lettering and lettering on shipping crates, this typeface has its roots in the typefaces of the Renaissance but adds the twist of being a stencil letterform. First designed in 1997 for a logotype, Dala Floda eventually became the headline typeface for the art magazine frieze in 2005 and was used as the basis for our own logotype. Dala Floda is unusually full-featured for a display typeface, with small caps available in all roman weights and contextual swashes, alternates, and an extensive set of historical ligatures in all italic weights. Click here to see more.

Appearances: Lecture by Christian Schwartz at Cooper Union

CommercialType — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

15 NOVEMBER 2010 | APPEARANCES

Lecture by Christian Schwartz at Cooper Union

Christian Schwartz will be delivering the lecture "How Can You Change a Modern Classic?: The Story Behind the Guardian's Typefaces" to the students at the Type@Cooper program at Cooper Union.
$17 for TDC members. $20 for non-members.

Appearances: Lecture and Workshop by Christian Schwartz at BITS MMX in Bangkok, Thailand

CommercialType — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

30 OCTOBER 2010 | APPEARANCES

Lecture and Workshop by Christian Schwartz at BITS MMX in Bangkok, Thailand

Christian Schwartz will be speaking and giving a workshop at BITS MMX (Bangkok International Typographic Symposium 2010), the first ever typographic conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Schwartz's lecture, "Plays will with others", will discuss his collaborations with Paul Barnes, Erik Spiekermann, and others. Other speakers at the conference include Jean-François Porchez, Masayoshi Kodiara, Hubert Jocham, and Ekaluck Peanpanawate. The event will be hosted by L'Alliance Française de Bangkok, along with Goethe and Japan Foundation, and has been organized by Cadson Demak. More information on the conference (mostly in Thai) can be found here.

Appearances: Paul Barnes at EDO Type Night

CommercialType — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

27 OCTOBER 2010 | APPEARANCES

Paul Barnes at EDO Type Night

Paul Barnes will be speaking at the EDO's October event, a Type Night also featuring UK Esquire creative director David McKendrick and Kuchar Swara of Swara & co. The event will be held at The Screening Room at MPC, 127 Wardour Street, London W1. Additional info should be posted soon to the EDO's website.

£5 for members and student members, £15 for non-members, £10 for student non-members.

Commercial Type News

Jobs:

02 FEBRUARY 2012 | JOBS

Releases: New release: Marian by Paul Barnes

12 JANUARY 2012 | RELEASES

Custom typefaces, publications: Druk XXXX Condensed and more for 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek Year in Review

23 DECEMBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

:

01 DECEMBER 2011 |

Appearances: DesignThinkers 2011

02 NOVEMBER 2011 | APPEARANCES

Custom typefaces, publications:

24 OCTOBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Custom typefaces, publications, ipad:

14 OCTOBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS | IPAD

Exhibitions: Thieves Like Us:Dino Sanchez & Commercial Type

13 OCTOBER 2011 | EXHIBITIONS

Releases: New release: Austin Hairline

07 OCTOBER 2011 | RELEASES

Custom typefaces, exhibitions:

13 SEPTEMBER 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | EXHIBITIONS

Appearances: Lecture by Christian Schwartz at Les Rencontres internationales de Lure

26 AUGUST 2011 | APPEARANCES

Custom typefaces, publications:

15 AUGUST 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Custom typefaces, publications: Druk for Bloomberg Businessweek

05 AUGUST 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Appearances: Interview in Codex

15 JUNE 2011 | APPEARANCES

Appearances: Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz in Australia: AGDA International Speakers Tour

13 JUNE 2011 | APPEARANCES

Appearances: Lecture by Paul Barnes at The Design Society, Singapore

10 JUNE 2011 | APPEARANCES

Custom typefaces, publications: New widths of Graphik for Esquire and Bon Appétit

20 MAY 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Appearances: Wei sraum. Forum Visuelle Gestaltung Innsbruck

10 MAY 2011 | APPEARANCES

Appearances: Lecture and Workshop by Christian Schwartz at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia

31 MARCH 2011 | APPEARANCES

Custom typefaces: Ebony for Ebony

02 MARCH 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES

Custom typefaces, publications: Granger for Esquire

10 FEBRUARY 2011 | CUSTOM TYPEFACES | PUBLICATIONS

Releases: New release: Dala Floda by Paul Barnes

30 NOVEMBER 2010 | RELEASES

Appearances: Lecture by Christian Schwartz at Cooper Union

15 NOVEMBER 2010 | APPEARANCES

Appearances: Lecture and Workshop by Christian Schwartz at BITS MMX in Bangkok, Thailand

30 OCTOBER 2010 | APPEARANCES

Appearances: Paul Barnes at EDO Type Night

27 OCTOBER 2010 | APPEARANCES

Exhibitions: Thieves Like Us:
Dino Sanchez & Commercial Type

Custom typefaces, publications: New widths of Graphik for Esquire
and Bon Appétit