Chris Coyier’s Icon Fonts are Awesome demo pushed me up to the edge, and seeing how fuzzy image icons look next to ultra-crisp retina display text threw me over. Now, I’m testing out an icon font on this site for the comments, 3 footer links, and even my logo (why not push it all the way). The icons I use are a hodge-podge, pulled from my own stuff, Glyphish, and Gedy Rivera, so I had to toss them all into a font.
For that, I used the fantastically simple mac app, Glyphs. It gets an A+ for suiting my needs perfectly. I put in a B+ amount of effort for results I’m pleased as punch with, though as I learn & test I may shoot for minor improvements from time to time. The font icons may render a tad on the jagged side for older machines, but it’s a fair tradeoff when you’re browsing from a retina iPad.
While I think the Freelancers Union site has some great resources & goals, I can’t get on board with the attitude of the longest invoice page. Since being in business, I’ve had 2 unpaid invoices. Sure, I’m disappointed in the clients, but I’m more disappointed in myself. I run a small business and like the fact that the buck stops at my desk, but I also realize it’s my responsibility (through things like contracts, legal advice, and payment schedules) to be sure that the buck gets there in the first place.
Grab your wallets! Reagan just opened up the shop section of his website. He’s been designing & screen printing posters this spring, and two are available for purchase now. I’ve got both, but have to admit I’m partial to this one as a fantastic visual representation of AFI’s top 25 movies of all time. It’s a poster and a game—a game in a poster!
This weekend I got carried away browsing The Old Car Manual Project yet again. Here are some of my favorite finds. Oh, and I got that Chrysler advert from fulltable.com. It’s worth a few minutes of your time as well.
Paravel got really busy from November thru January. I spent the majority of my time with my head down, focused on client work, deadlines, basecamp, and email. We were a part of some funprojects, but when it came time for me to speak at New Adventures this year I realized I was a little used-up. I felt disconnected from my identity as a web designer because I wasn’t experimenting or blogging much, both of which are core to my work and where I especially find value. Fortunately, my talk & workshop preparation afforded me ample time in the lab to gain back that sense of wonder and enthusiasm I like to carry with me when sharing with my peers. There are always going to be times when work gets busy and we have less time to inventory our thoughts and ideas. The trick is resolving to get back into it when time becomes available.
This post is my small way of participating in Ideas of March.
The fine folks over at Wood Type Revival asked me to design some specimens for their latest release, Grecian Light Face. After experimenting with a few different directions, I went with some of my favorite song lyrics over a dark texturized / illustration combo. To say the least, it was a privilege to take part in what WTR has going on.
Issue #1 of Offscreen Magazine just landed here at the office. Kai Brach has done a fantastic job assembling all the interviews, essays, and profiles. I wish all magazines looked like this. Subscriptions (and one-off purchases) are available through their website.
The project (and overall cause) reminded me of this story Aaron Draplin tells about an old sign he bought on Ebay and its horrific replacement.
Aaron’s right. Nothing depresses me more than seeing shoddy replacements for classic American signage. I recently heard we could have lost the neon signs at The Bluebonnet Cafe (site redesign coming soon) due to a proposed city ordinance in my hometown.
Thankfully, the city council seems able to recognize the historic nature of the signage and has taken a sensible, negotiable position on things. I grew up visiting the Blue Bonnet for pie happy hour, and that sign is part of what makes summers on Lake LBJ so memorable. Heck, I’d argue it’s the coolest thing in the entire city.
Today, Paravel launched the new responsive website for Typofonderie. We had a great time with the challenges that arose from building a font-selling, ecommerce-driven, responsive web site. We took extra care to scale things like category & search navigation, and to preserve image hierarchy (like the home page banner graphic).
This project was a collaborative effort. Jean François Porchez and the Typofonderie team designed their new logo and all the specimens & images found on the live version of the site. They’ve been adding content to the new site for a couple of months now, and it’s great to see them fully moved in. Taecho Group worked with us on development, primarily in the Ecommerce department. Adam and Robert are the real deal, and the Paravel team was thrilled to seize the opportunity to work with our Austinite comrades.
The Typofonderie fonts were a joy to work with. We used Allumi and Le Monde Courrier for the site text and spent a great deal of time getting to know the typefaces while developing some guides for specimen creation. Here are a few samples of what Paravel came up with:
Paravel’s initial specimen & color palette design work Expanded specimen guide to accommodate the need for more color options
Thanks to Typofonderie for all their hard work, and for hiring us. Now, go buy some fonts!
