Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · 3d

Double posted “Budapest” when I meant to post this one instead

1 6

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · 4d

Part 2

1 5

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · 4d

Here’s every typeface that I’m currently working on (to some degree or another). Hopeful that they’ll all see the finish line before I start drawing 2 dozen new ones. Which one are you most excited about?

8 4 45

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · 5d

Thanks for the invite. Will proudly display my Most Lines Award.

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · 5d

The most minimalist “1” I could manage drawing, in honor of @letterformarchive.org’s 10th anniversary. I think that everyone in the typosphere has, at some point or another, benefitted from the Archive and its tireless efforts to preserve, showcase, and honor the mighty letterform.

A highly decorative number “1”, colored in red and gold and blue on a black background.

As most of my illustration work, this was drawn in procreate on the same rusty trusty iPad that I’ve owned since 2020. The lettering is inspired by classicist Baroque ornament of acanthus and garland and cherubs, but this isn’t here applied to decorate any object: it *is* the object. I opted for mono-width lines with a bit of texture to them (using the default “narinder pencil” procreate brush), which makes it look more like a seventies children’s book than a seventeenth century bible.

A highly decorative number “1”, colored in tan and gold on a black background.

As most of my illustration work, this was drawn in procreate on the same rusty trusty iPad that I’ve owned since 2020. The lettering is inspired by classicist Baroque ornament of acanthus and garland and cherubs, but this isn’t here applied to decorate any object: it *is* the object. I opted for mono-width lines with a bit of texture to them (using the default “narinder pencil” procreate brush), which makes it look more like a seventies children’s book than a seventeenth century bible.

A highly decorative number “1” in black and white.

As most of my illustration work, this was drawn in procreate on the same rusty trusty iPad that I’ve owned since 2020. The lettering is inspired by classicist Baroque ornament of acanthus and garland and cherubs, but this isn’t here applied to decorate any object: it *is* the object. I opted for mono-width lines with a bit of texture to them (using the default “narinder pencil” procreate brush), which makes it look more like a seventies children’s book than a seventeenth century bible.

1 2 10

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

S’more

3

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

In use: Ubique, the new & custom house typeface for Foreign Affairs magazine. Here it is seeing the light of day for the first time in the July/August issue. #typedesign #caslon

The cover and a front page spread of the latest edition of Foreign Affairs Magazine, meant to showcase the custom typeface within in its natural environment.

A photo of an open spread of Foreign Affairs Magazine, somewhere outside with a pond in the background. Clouds reflect in the pond. The small caption reads “read in public to look smarter”.

Several stacked pages of Foreign Affairs’ July/August edition, showcasing Ubique in headline and text sizes.

An illustration of a bookshelf shaped like a globe.

1 7

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Aug 27

#typedesign #artnouveau #jugendstil

7

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Aug 27

Font WIP: Better Böcklin (better name yet to be workshopped).

A waterfall specimen showcasing 5 weights of a new version of Böcklin, a jugendstil typeface originally from 1904. Creme letters on a dark green background.

A waterfall specimen showcasing 5 weights of a new version of Böcklin, a jugendstil typeface originally from 1904. Dark green letters on a creme background.

“Better Bocklin”, full alphabet uppercase, thin weight (image erroneously states “light”).

“Better Bocklin” full alphabet, lowercase

2 4 24

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Aug 20

I often post procreate timelapses on my IG page. I hadn’t noticed until just now that bluesky has added video, so I’ll start sharing them here too.

1

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Aug 19

Wordmark redesign for Lore.

1 1 19

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 23

Crisp italics, drawn in procreate.

1 3 25

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

I drew the medium weight first, and edited the light and bold from there. The distribution of weight onto the “skeleton” of the underlying letterform comes naturally to me after having drawn letters for a decade, so it doesn’t really feel like “redesign” so much as variations on the same drawing.

1

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

Letters speak beyond words, whether you intend them to or not. As it happens, I have devoted my adult life to getting really good at drawing them. If you are serious about the message you want to deliver, you too must learn to speak beyond words. Let me help you do it.

3

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

A ham fisted example: “You’ll be mine forever” changes meaning significantly when written in elegant cursive, versus being scratched out in blood. Less obvious: a logo will make us feel differently when it is set in helvetica versus futura (this is a little thing we like to call “graphic design”).

1 4

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

These forms stir us deeply, more instinctual than the words we read subsequently.

For better or worse, letters are just like us. Often, they speak thoughtlessly, unaware of their greater context. This harms the perception of what is meant to be conveyed.

1 2

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

In our dependence on the written word for communication, we often neglect the medium’s architecture. Because the word (or sentence, or paragraph) speaks also visually, prior to being understood to represent a noun (blackbird) or a verb (flies), through the forms of its letters.

1 2

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

Here’s my elevator pitch, presuming we are in a very slow elevator:

A word (or a sentence, or a paragraph) conveys a message through its literal meaning. “The blackbird flies”, you read, and now you picture a blackbird aloft in the sky.
But there’s a catch, as always.

1 2

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

Lettering in 3 weights.

3 1 24

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 13

Well said. At times I envied your minimalist approach, but still so full of life. The “o” in Lórien made me question everything I know, it’s perfect.

My process was partially driven by the needs and wants of Foreign Affairs’ creative director; the softness of Ubique fits me regardless.

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 9

Thanks so much Rutherford. Big fan of Lórien, won’t hesitate to say I peaked at it a few times.

5

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 9

Much obliged, Max

1

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 9

Cheers Patrick!

1

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 8

Constantly

Herzberg Design Co @herzberg.bsky.social · Jul 8

Full write-up and some nice shots of Ubique in its natural environment coming soon(ish).

1 8