Behind the type — Typography
How to Use Ligatures in Pumped Up Kicks
Learn how ligatures change letter combinations in Pumped Up Kicks, with visual examples and practical steps for enabling them in Adobe Photoshop.
How to use stylistic alternatives in my font: Pumped Up Kicks
Learn how to use stylistic alternatives in Pumped Up Kicks, find alternate glyphs in Photoshop and give repeated letters different forms.
Legibility vs Readability: What’s the Difference?
Legibility vs readability explained with real typography examples, from newspaper headlines and safety signs to line length, leading and contrast.
Why do designers hate Comic Sans?
Why do designers hate Comic Sans? I look at the font’s comic-book appearance, its misuse, the backlash against people who choose it, and what the research actually says.
Gods Own Junkyard: A Neon Font With a Real Story
Discover Gods Own Junkyard, Simon Stratford’s neon font inspired by Chris Bracey, with 92 glyphs and a Photoshop action for realistic neon effects.
10 Graphic T-Shirt Designs I’d Actually Wear
Ten graphic T-shirt designs that get the type, illustration and layout right—from vintage workwear and tattoo graphics to a fish finger sandwich.
Straight-Line Typography for Clean Science-Fiction Posters
I drew Separator in 2012 after watching the Prometheus trailers, and took every curve out. Here's what curve-free letterforms actually do at poster scale, and how to set them.
15 John Lennon Quotes — and the Story Behind Each One
I made posters of 15 John Lennon quotes before I knew three of them weren't his. Here's what I found out about where each one really came from.
Which Font Licence Do I Need? A Guide for Designers
Choose the right font licence for logos, websites, apps, PDFs and client work. A practical guide to desktop use, embedding, file sharing and commercial projects.
The Lowercase Type Trend Explained
Lowercase logos and branding are everywhere. Discover why brands use lowercase typography, what it communicates and when the trend falls flat.