The invention of movable type printing sparked the knowledge revolution and changed the world forever. Named after the inventor, the Gutenburg series is a great accessory for people of a certain type.
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Helvetica
GFSmith‘s latest stock selector, designed by SEA, is the ultimate toolkit for design and print professionals.
In the coming weeks, members of the creative world will be taking receipt of the latest GFSmith stock selector. Coming over three years since the release of its predecessor, the brand new
selector boasts an ambitious format and fresh thinking.
The GFSmith stock selector has always been widely regarded as the benchmark specification tool for coloured and textured papers. Invaluable as a catalyst for creativity or as the solution to design challenges, the GFSmith selector takes pride of place on the shelves of every self-respecting creative studio. The latest version of this iconic creative mainstay will not disappoint its devotees.
At first glance, the beautifully produced box format is significantly more substantial and comprehensive than earlier incarnations. On closer inspection, it offers two modes of paper selection, reflecting the different ways in which its users specify paper. For those making specification decisions based on colour, every substrate has been arranged in spectrum order, regardless of material type, texture or weight, and then divided into two swatches: one for black and white stocks, and one for colours. For those searching by paper type, the Colorplan, Smooths, Textures and Specials ranges are displayed separately.
In letterspace, no one can hear you scream!
You’re the A from Helvetica and the other letters want to take you out! Blast your way through 13 levels, each with their own unique boss encounter while racking up points to beat your friends’ high scores.
- A modern take on the classic vertical shooter, lovingly inspired by the International Typographic Style.
- 12 different weapons to suit every playstyle. Whether you love to charge into the fray, or snipe strategically there’s a favorite weapon for you.
- Grab powerups to slow time, regain health or increase your score multiplier.
- Earn awards and compete with your friends on leaderboards through plus+.
- Three difficulty levels so you can be daring or play it safe.
Helvetica and the New York City Subway System
For years, the signs in the New York City subway system were a bewildering hodge-podge of lettering styles, sizes, shapes, materials, colors, and messages. The original mosaics (dating from as early as 1904), displaying a variety of serif and sans serif letters and decorative elements, were supplemented by signs in terracotta and cut stone. Over the years, enamel signs identifying stations and warning riders not to spit, smoke, or cross the tracks were added to the mix. Efforts to untangle this visual mess began in the mid-1960s, when the city transit authority hired the design firm Unimark International to create a clear and consistent sign system. We can see the results today in the white-on-black signs throughout the subway system, displaying station names, directions, and instructions in crisp Helvetica. This book tells the story of how typographic order triumphed over chaos.
The process didn’t go smoothly or quickly. At one point New York Times architecture writer Paul Goldberger declared that the signs were so confusing one almost wished that they weren’t there at all. Legend has it that Helvetica came in and vanquished the competition. Paul Shaw shows that it didn’t happen that way—that, in fact, for various reasons (expense, the limitations of the transit authority sign shop), the typeface overhaul of the 1960s began not with Helvetica but with its forebear, Standard (aka Akzidenz Grotesk). It wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s that Helvetica became ubiquitous. Shaw describes the slow typographic changeover (supplementing his text with more than 250 images—photographs, sketches, type samples, and documents). He places this signage evolution in the context of the history of the New York City subway system, of 1960s transportation signage, of Unimark International, and of Helvetica itself.
About the Author
Paul Shaw, an award-winning graphic designer, typographer, and calligrapher in New York City, teaches at Parsons School of Design and the School of Visual Arts. He is the coauthor of Blackletter: Type and National Identity and writes about letter design in the blog Blue Pencil.
Available February 2011
11×9.5, 144 pp., 273 color illus.
$39.95/£29.95 (CLOTH)
Very nice Helvetica and minimal project from French Art Director David Vineïs.
You can download both 2K11 Mac Desktop and iPhone Lockscreen Calendar here.
