Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · 5d

You win among our contributors for most lines in your 1! Thank you so much, Matthijs. Can’t wait to share all the designs later this week.

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · 7d

The first step in making better type choices is learning how to see it in a new way. Develop your typographic eye with @stewf.com (Anatomy of Type) & @slye.bsky.social (Fontstand) in our weekend “Crash Course in Type Selection”.

Oct 25–26 at Letterform Archive
letterformarchive.org/shop/a-crash...

A diagram identifying various parts of letters (sometimes called type anatomy), including the spine of an S, the arm of a k, the eye of an e, the arch of an f, the ear of a g, and the tail of an a.

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Reposted by Letterform Archive

Typographica @typographica.org · 11d

@slye.bsky.social and I are bringing back our type selection workshop to @letterformarchive.org, Oct 25–26: letterformarchive.org/shop/a-crash...

A Crash Course in Type Selection

Learn techniques to make finding the right font the best part of any job.

letterformarchive.org

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · 23d

See you soon! 12:00pm PT letterformarchive.org/shop/type-we...

Type West 2026 Online Open House

Join us for an informative online session with Type West students and instructors who will answer your questions about the program.

letterformarchive.org

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · 23d

In this online event we’ll hear directly from designers around the globe who contributed to the campaign. They’ll share their submissions, and the processes, inspirations, and obsessions that shaped them.⁠

letterformarchive.org/shop/the-pas...

The Past is Always Present: 100 Tens

The international unveiling of our 10th anniversary celebration campaign, a collaboration with COLLINS and 50 of our favorite designers.

letterformarchive.org

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · 23d

Letterform Archive is a living archive, a perpetual project to not only preserve historic design, but to inspire new work. To mark our 10th anniversary we teamed up with COLLINS to create 100 Tens: 50 interpretations of the number “1” from the collection, paired with 50 contributions living artists.

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · 28d

Thank you, @sfneon.bsky.social @amandabartlett.bsky.social @sfgate.com!

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · 28d

The latest major donation to Letterform Archive made the local news: www.sfgate.com/local/articl...

#Neon #SanFrancisco #Lettering #Wonderlite

'Couldn't believe our eyes': Century-old history found in basement of SF home

"Somebody was too attached to let these go."

www.sfgate.com

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Sep 11

Making type is fun! Learn how to create your own font, from sketch to screen (and everything in between) in this 10-week online workshop with Fer Cozzi.

Introduction to Modern Type Design
Wednesdays, Sep 17–Nov 19, 2025⁠
5:00pm–8:00pm PT (10:00am–1:00pm AEST)⁠

letterformarchive.org/shop/introdu...

A photo of a woman with letters overlaid on top: “Intro to Modern Type Design / IMTD"

Graphic of a bold lowercase ‘a’ with vector outlines, nodes, skeleton, and other evidence of digital type design.

Graphic of a bold lowercase ‘n’ with vector outlines, nodes, skeleton, and other evidence of digital type design.

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Sep 8

Đức designed Homecooked while studying at Type West Online from his home in Vietnam. Learn more about the yearlong certificate program in type design—available in-person at the Archive or online—by attending one of our upcoming open houses: letterformarchive.org/events/?q=op...

Events - Letterform Archive

Lectures, workshops, and other events hosted online and onsite at Letterform Archive.

letterformarchive.org

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Sep 8

Đức Cao, Homecooked type specimen, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2021⁠
⁠
Homecooked is a casual sans-serif typeface exploring the warmth and expressiveness of the flat brush.⁠ The French foundry Blaze later released Đức’s typeface as Swirl: blazetype.eu/typefaces/sw...

#TypeDesign #Fonts #TypeWest

Sample of a typeface in a swirling, calligraphic, outline style.

Process work for the typeface showing gestural calligraphic marks on pages.

Sample of a typeface in a swirling, calligraphic, outline style and other solid styles.

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Reposted by Letterform Archive

Typographica @typographica.org · Sep 8

Just noticed the Ephemera Society of America posted my 2024 talk about our @letterformarchive.org Strikethrough exhibition. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7bL...

Stephen Coles

YouTube video by Ephemera Society of America

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Letterform Archive

Tenderloin Museum @tenderloinmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 4

@sfneon.bsky.social's Randall Ann Homan & TLM's Katie Conry appeared on @ktvufox2.bsky.social to talk about the upcoming annual #NeonSpeaks Festival & Symposium — of which the Tenderloin Museum is a proud sponsor — as well as the Museum's plans for a neon gallery in our upcoming expansion project.

San Francisco neon sign exhibit and festival | KTVU

YouTube video by KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco

www.youtube.com

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Sep 4

As part of the festival we are doing a special tour of sign related material in our collection at Letterform Archive. Still a few tickets left for 1pm on Saturday, Sep 13. www.eventbrite.com/e/letterform...

Letterform Archive Tour for Neon Speaks

A hands-on tour of neon, sign, and lettering artifacts curated for the Neon Speaks Festival.

www.eventbrite.com

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Reposted by Letterform Archive

Linotype Pilgrim @symbo1ics.bsky.social · Sep 4

not much of it is authentically Bauhaus really

i went down the "what typefaces did the Bauhaus actually use?" rabbit hole recently; there are some great resources online

letterformarchive.org/news/bauhaus...

letterformarchive.org/news/bauhaus...

Also, join @letterformarchive.org !

Typefaces Inspired by the Bauhaus

From Futura to ITC Bauhaus, our survey of Bauhaus type continues with a look at typefaces that adopted the school’s simplified, geometric ideals.

letterformarchive.org

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Reposted by Letterform Archive

Typographica @typographica.org · Aug 22

It’s been a joy trawling @letterformarchive.org with @typozon.bsky.social for this salon. See you next week in person or online. letterformarchive.org/shop/the-pas...

The Past is Always Present: Chosmos—Time Travel in Heavyweight Type

Decoding a decade-long journey through graffiti, signage, and stone carving.

letterformarchive.org

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Aug 19

Joe Caroff, West Side Story movie poster, United States, 1961⁠
⁠
Caroff, designer of book covers, posters, and logos, including the “007” for the James Bond franchise, died on Sunday, just before his 104th birthday. Among his iconic creations was this poster often misattributed to Saul Bass.⁠

Detail of a poster focused on the words “WEST SIDE STORY” in a weathered stencil style, and an illustration of a man dancing on a stairway.

Detail of the same poster but showing more of the dancing illlustration, including a woman on the stairway.

Full, uncropped poster with this text on the top, “The screen achieves one of the great entertainments in the history of motion pictures.”

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Reposted by Letterform Archive

Aree Worawongwasu 🇵🇸 @areeworawongwasu.bsky.social · Aug 14

I’m honored to share that I’ve completed the inaugural Donald Knuth & Charles Bigelow Type Design Incubator (KBI) course. KBI is a groundbreaking program launched by @stanfordsilicon.bsky.social, @letterformarchive.org, and @wordsoftype.com! 🙌🏽 #TypeDesign #LanguageJustice #KBI #KnuthBigelowIncubator

Donald Knuth & Charles Bigelow Type Design Incubator
awards Areerat WORAWONGWASU
this completion certificate of the programs's
South East Asian cohort,
2025 edition.

Stanford, Letterform Archive, and Words of Type logos

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Aug 12

New Job Opening: Editorial Assistant letterformarchive.org/news/new-job...

New Job Opening: Editorial Assistant

Support the creation of our editorially rich website and exemplary, visually driven publishing program. Apply by September 5.

letterformarchive.org

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Aug 5

TypeCon2025 happens this week in Portland, and Letterform Archive will have a table at the first-ever Volumes Market (www.instagram.com/p/DMGG9HNP2eG/) which is free and open to the public. Aug 8–9, 11am–6pm at Revolution Hall. See you there?

#VintageBooks #BookFair #Books #TypeCon #Typography

Graphic with a collage of books, apparel, and other design ephemera. Text:
VOLUMES PRESENTS MARKET
NEW & VINTAGE COLLECTIBLES BY MULTIPLE VENDORS
AUGUST 8th - 9th, 2025
FREE & OPEN TO ALL @ REVOLUTION HALL

Graphic with the “Volume Presents Market” at the top and a list of vendors in the middle:
Chess Club
Hi Books
Letterform Archive
Monograph Bookwerks
Outlet
Passage Bookshop
The Idea of the Book
The Shop at Matter
& More
11AM - 6PM
8/8 - 8/9 @ REVOLUTION HALL

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Aug 1

One more bit of Bruce trivia:

The first US design patent ever filed was for a group of typefaces by George Bruce in 1842. typographica.org/on-typograph...

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Aug 1

But the foundry (fontsinuse.com/foundry/1364...) folded shortly after this catalog went to press, as it was swallowed up by ATF (fontsinuse.com/foundry/657/... ) who began in 1892 a massive consolidation of the U.S. type market.

Bruce

New York, 1813–1901. A.k.a. George Bruce’s Son & Co. / Bruce’s New-York Type-Foundry after George Bruce’s death in 1866, and Bruce Type Foundry in 1901, when it was acquired by ATF. [MacMillan]

fontsinuse.com

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Aug 1

A decade after this printing, Bruce’s HQ had to make way for the Manhattan Municipal Building. Built to accommodate space demands after the 1898 consolidation of the city's five boroughs, it’s one of the largest governmental buildings in the world. [ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhatt... ]

Manhattan Municipal Building - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Aug 1

This [1901] Bruce catalog has a rather odd title page layout, but we love two things:

1. A fairly early halftone photograph of the New York building.
2. “BRUCE QUALITY BEST QUALITY”

#TypeFoundries #BruceTypeFoundry #TypeHistory #Typography #TypeSpecimens

Photo of a book spread. On the left page is a photo of a building with this text: “ESTABLISHED IN 1813 / LOCATED IN THIS BUILDING FOR THE PAST EIGHTY-SIX YEARS”.

On the right side is a title, “BRUCE TYPE FOUNDRY” across two columns. The left column has a seal with an eagle, a pattern of fleuron ornaments, and a box with the text, “BRUCE QUALITY / BEST QUALITY”. The second column has this text:

OUR HANDY BOOK OF TYPES, BORDERS BRASS RULE AND CUTS PRINTING MACHINERY & GENERAL SUPPLIES
BRUCE TYPE
FOUNDRY
13 CHAMBERS STREET
NEW YORK, U.S.A.

Zoomed detail of “BRUCE QUALITY BEST QUALITY”

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Letterform Archive @letterformarchive.org · Jul 31

Join us for an online collections tour with Tanya George and Sidharth Jaishankar. “A for Akshar: India through its Letterforms” celebrates the linguistic diversity of India through its rich typographic heritage.

Aug 7, 2025
8:30am–10:00am ET
6:00pm–7:30pm IST

letterformarchive.org/shop/collect...

Collections Tour: A for Akshar. India through its Letterforms!

Explore a facet of Letterform Archive’s vast collection with this online, docent-led tour.

letterformarchive.org

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