I made it.

I actually made it.

After nearly a year of writing and illustrating and designing it, my book, Universal Principles of Typography, is now with the publisher for review. I made a quick video last week to celebrate the moment.

However, like I mentioned in the video, it’s not quite done yet. First the publisher does a copyediting pass, then I action change requests, then they send that version to be proofread, then I fix any last finds, and then that is the final version that goes to print. So a couple of months to go, really. But the ‘main’ deliverable is in the bag.

Aaaaaaargh! Oh, don’t mind me, that’s just the sound of blind panic setting in while I attempt to finish every single illustration in my book before the school holidays are over. But there’s nothing like a looming deadline to prompt some intense procrastination, is there? So please join me in a bit of typographic distraction...

First up, I’m going to sneak in one of my own links — hope that’s alright. I’m really excited to be partnering up with I Love Typography to teach a Mastering Web Typography workshop for ILT Academy at the end of September. Over a weekend (2 × 4-hour sessions), we’re going to deep dive into fluid type scales, variable fonts, colour fonts, OpenType, and the most modern CSS for getting the most out of type on the web. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy — or something a friend or colleague might enjoy — please email academy@ilovetypography.com to book a place!

First of all, a huge thank you to all of you who replied to the last issue with such lovely, supportive messages about the book. I can’t tell you how motivational they were. I mean, I’m motivated to finish the book, of course, but in many ways a finished book is a somewhat abstract concept. Someone saying something like “I can’t wait to buy this and read it” suddenly transforms it into something almost tangible.

After the book announcement (which I’ve now also put on my blog), I was going to take a bit of a newsletter breather, but the type world had other plans, with a load of news that just had to be shared.

I had to check, double-check, and then triple-check that I hadn’t read something wrong, but no, it appears that this is actually real: Off Type (Pangram Pangram Foundry’s new offshoot, which I linked to not long ago) are offering a bundle called The Off Set, which collects all 9 of their typefaces (a total of 45 fonts) in one package for just… $14. Yes, $14. You can see why I had to check this. I bought The Off Set and can confirm that this is a total bargain. I feel almost guilty linking to it.

Happy Monday, folks. It’s a new week — and it’s going to be a tough one because my kids are off school with chicken pox — but I’ve been promising a big reveal for a while now, so here we go. Okay. Let’s do this. Finally. No, you first. Alright, fine...

🥁

I’m writing a book! It’s called Universal Principles of Typography and it’s going to be published by Quarto in spring 2024. Here’s the (WIP) cover:

I wrote the majority of this issue on the trains to / from London last Thursday. I was visiting Erik Spiekermann to interview him for… well, I can’t say just yet. But I can tell you that this is one of the big typographic-in-nature projects I’ve been teasing for a while. I promise I’m going to reveal one of them in the next newsletter! Promise promise promise.

Anyway, onto this issue, which is sporting some small-but-important refinements: the text is now set in Ty Finck’s Def Sans (if your email client supports web fonts), and the images now click through to their respective links rather than showing full-size versions (which you prefer, right?). I’m front-loading this one with a load of URLs that have been open on my phone since attending the most recent Letter Luvvers event, prompted by talks I had with the many fine folks there. I figured I’d share them here, as you fine folks might be interested, too (and phew, I can finally close those tabs).

Happening at the end of this month, Meticulous Ink’s On Paper Festival is a whole week of workshops, talks, demonstrations, and opportunities to — as Athena herself says — “drool over our printing presses and expand your mind via the medium of beautiful paper”. There’s even a free wayzgoose on the Saturday! If you’re not near the Bath area, what a great excuse to come and visit our lovely little corner of the world. The festival kicks off on the 27th.

Weird times at the mo. As part of the big tech industry cutbacks, which I’m sure you’ve heard about, I’m no longer contracting for Google Fonts — for now, anyway. On the one hand, it’s come at the perfect time because it’s finally allowing me to spend some solid daylight hours breaking the back of two very big projects — which I’m itching to tell you about, by the way, and will do very soon, because they’re both 100% typographic in nature — but on the other… well, there’s that whole earning money thing, isn’t there? And I’m really good at filling my time with projects that rarely make any money.

That said, this project (the newsletter) brings me a lot of joy. There’s something about this new creative outlet that I’m particularly enjoying at the moment, although honestly I’m struggling to articulate exactly why that is. Is it that writing issues of this newsletter feels more like composing a postcard than a blog post? Is it the sense of a more immediate connection to you folks? Is it that I essentially get to brain-fart my way through all of my recently saved typographic links for the benefit of like-minded type nerds? Oh, speaking of which…

Rosetta have published an online book called Legibility: how and why typography affects ease of reading, written by Mary C. Dyson and María González de Cossío, and although I haven’t made my way through the whole thing yet, it seems like a great resource.

Hello! If you detect a hint of excitement in this issue of the newsletter, it might be because it was mainly composed while on a plane heading back from Brooklyn, where I spent two wonderful days attending Kinference. This was an event that’s not really a conference, but more an intimate gathering of like-minded folks noodling away on creative conundrums, like the looming clouds of the global economic crisis, the threat of AI in the design community, and most of us just, well, being 40-ish and wondering why everything looks a little different these days. A bit of group therapy, really. And the chance to hug a lot of friends I’d not seen in a long time. Craig Mod said much the same earlier today.

My sustained state of semi-euphoria has actually been bubbling away nicely since I finished running my Universal Principles of Typography masterclass for SmashingConf near the middle of March, and also from when spoke at Letter Luvvers #5 shortly after that. Both sessions were filled with such lovely people, it’s been hard not to feel optimistic about… I don’t know… human connection? I guess that’s the thing — because, hey, let’s face it, it’s not easy to feel optimistic about earning money at the moment. (Wait, is this weird euphoria a stress reaction?) Anyway, on with the show! It’s been a while.

My friends over at FontWerk have just released a new typeface called Hamster and the promotional video for it is just fantastic. Did they actually really make physical characters and then dip them in paint? Who even knows what’s real anymore? I don’t mind either way. I love it.

Today, a super-quick “special edition” of the newsletter (oh, lucky you) to let you know about two upcoming things I’m doing with the lovely folks at Smashing Magazine.

The first is Smashing Hour — a live-streamed chat between me and Vitaly Friedman, which is happening tomorrow at 4pm UK time (check your timezone). It’s going to be a very informal affair, so come and join in, or throw the proverbial rotten tomato, via Zoom.

Welcome to the first issue of the newsletter now officially called Typographic & Sporadic. Somewhat ironically, while looking back through the publish dates of the issues to date, I noticed that I’ve not actually been that sporadic, and have generally sent out a new issue about once a month. So clearly I’ve got some work to do in imposing a bit of chaos.

Stop stealing sheep 4.0

The fourth version of Erik’s seminal book, Stop Stealing Sheep & find out how type works, has recently been published — you probably already know this. But did you know that you can get the PDF version of the book for free from Google Fonts Knowledge? Okay, I’m probably biased about this, but seriously, that’s pretty cool, eh?

This newsletter has perhaps found its way into your inbox a bit too far into January to wish you “happy new year”, but hey, I’m going to go for it anyway. Happy new year to you, and thanks so much for returning! Personally, I could’ve done with a longer rest in many ways, but there’s so much new stuff on the horizon, I’ve been eager to jump back into things this year. Specifically, there’s so much typography stuff I’m excited to announce, I’m calling 2023 “the year of typography”. Well, for me, anyway. You’re welcome to join in, though. Let’s see if it sticks.

Typographic & Sporadic

The first item of business today — and I must apologise in advance because this issue is a bit of a self-indulgent one — is to say that this newsletter finally has a brand. To avoid any potential confusion, I’ve not renamed everything yet, but starting from the next issue, watch out for Typographic & Sporadic rather than (the very accurate but not particularly inspiring) Elliot Jay Stocks’ newsletter. Huge thanks if you took part in my very lo-fi user research for the naming. Now, who can name the three typefaces used in the logo?

Hello from shivery Somerset. It is cold here right now. Oh boy. But at least things look and feel a bit like our “traditional” idea of the festive season for once. And the other wonderful thing about being perpetually cold during the end-of-year wind-down is that it’s 100% socially acceptable to sit in front of the fire with a glass of port every night. Well, that’s what I’ve decided, anyway. And this edition of the newsletter is a particularly long one — I don’t want to say “Christmas special”, but it’s kind of heading that way — so I can thoroughly recommend you digest this at night, maybe in front of a fire, perhaps with a little tipple, but most definitely with a jumper or two on. Or at least metaphorically, if you’re in warmer climes.

Oh, and before we get going with the links, I wanted to let you know that I think I might finally have a name for this thing: Typographic & Sporadic. What do you think? Does what it says on the tin, right? For what it’s worth, I actually prefer The Sporadic Typographic, but I don’t want to tread on Micah and Olivia’s toes. Anyway, let me know if you love it or hate it in the replies. User testing, people!

My first link’s pretty timely. UX designer Mattias Ott is currently running an Independent Type Foundry Advent Calendar; that is, he’s posting about a different foundry every day in December right up until Christmas. And what a wonderful way to discover some new type-makers! Today’s is Interval Type, who are new to me. (If you like this, you might also enjoy Mark Johnson and Thomas Drach’s Type Foundry Index.)

How’s everyone doing? I’m gutted, because I’ve just realised that I’m going to miss next week’s Letter Luvvers, as my wife and I are going to see Widowspeak that night (which will also be loads of fun). However, I’ve got some exciting type-related news for you.

I designed some festive cards

Please forgive the shameless plug right upfront, but I finally realised a career-long dream and actually designed myself some cards for the festive season. I know, I should probably get out more. But hey, they’re here, they’re printed on GF Smith card that’s made from recycled coffee cups, and you can also buy a pack of 4 to send out to your friends and family. If you’re interested in knowing more, I’ve just — just! — published a blog post with all of the details. You (probably) heard it here first, folks.

Happy Thursday, folks. Hope you’re all having a good week, despite all… er… [points to a montage of news headlines]. Let’s distract ourselves with some typographic goodies!

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!

Greetings from rural Somerset, UK, where the leaves are starting to turn, the kids are back at school (both of mine now), and everyone’s starting to think about about change; and not just because of the country’s two new leaders — neither of whom were in charge when I sent my last newsletter. One change I really need to get to is: coming up with a proper name for this newsletter. Any ideas? Please feel free to suggest one in reply!

Typeface: GT Pressura

I’ve always been a real sucker for microsites, especially when it comes to fonts, and this one, for the refreshed GT Pressura, made me sit up and take notice. The original version went under my radar when it was released 10 years ago, but I’m really into this revision. I guess I’m starting to enjoy these ever-so-slightly soft typefaces in my old age.

I’ve just got back from a much-needed and all-too-short holiday in Corfu. My family and I (there’s a Gerald Durrell joke in there somewhere) managed to find a little corner of paradise in a part of the island unspoiled by sunburned Brits, with the sea quite literally at the end of our Airbnb’s garden. Bliss!

But you’re not here for the postcard from my holiday, are you? On with the typography!

A Guide to Sinistral Hand

Luvvers & castles — July 22, 2022

Happy Friday, folks. I didn’t expect to be sending out another newsletter so soon (when I said this’d be “sporadic”, I was trying to make life easier for myself), but hey, some interesting type stuff came up, and who am I to ignore it? Oh, and hello, all you new subscribers! Lovely to have you all here.

Letter Luvvers

Welcome to the inaugural issue of my newsletter. Another newsletter? Really?!? Its existence is absolutely not necessary, but I hope you’ll enjoy it nonetheless. The plan is to collate a load of links every now and then, and those links will probably be about type and typography. The occasional link may not be. This edition’s links are. Lucky you!

Something that doesn’t work — and why

In this week’s Font Friday, Oliver Schöndorfer picks a font that’s well designed, but let down by its spacing. However, rather than dismiss it entirely, he uses it as an example of how to get the most out of type that may lack polish: “I’d rather educate you on it than keep you from it.”