Typography and me

I have a weird relationship with typography. It looks so simple, yet it's probably one of the hardest parts to get right in design!

I personally love sans-serif typefaces the best. They're a good all-rounder, jack-of-all trades font. In particular I love rounded at the ends sans serif types like "Hero" and "Quicksand" as I think they reflect how I would like to appear: friendly and non-threatening. They're easy on the eyes and very readable at small sizes, unlike serif's.

Speaking of serif's. I'm not too keen on them. Not because I don't like how they look, some of them are very sexy! It's because I find them very... smart and high-class. And you know what? I'm not a smart person, therefore I find them hard to get right. I feel that they HAVE to be used in the right situation, otherwise you end up giving the wrong impression.

But I guess that's what typefaces are all about. Finding that ONE type that encompasses the impression you want to give off, your personality, your likes and dis-likes, your target audience etc. I could go on and on! But once you find that magical type, it's one of the best feelings in the world! :D When I'm walking up into town, I've now gotten into the habit of analyzing what typefaces the shops use as their logos. What sort of impression are they giving me? What are they saying about themselves? Do I like it? Would I have used something different?

I've probably rambled on enough. I do like to find great new typefaces though, but since I'm a cheapskate, they have to be free! So here's some great sites I regularly use to get my type-fix! 

http://www.dafont.com/

http://www.fontsquirrel.com/ - Always the first place I visit if I'm looking for something new. There's always great quality stuff on there :)

http://freetypography.com/

http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/

http://jovanny.ru/eng-free-fonts.html

http://fontfabric.com/

http://losttype.com/browse/

The Print Handbook

I brought a wonderful little book the other day (which arrived today) called "The Print Handbook". It's got alot of useful references about how type will look when printed in different colours and sizes, stuff about foil blocking, image resolutions, paper types and all sorts of other things! 

I really recommend it and it'll certainly help me make better decisions about printing! It's only £5 so you really can't go wrong with it :)

http://www.printhandbook.com/