FontBooklets Put the Tactile Joy Back into Typeface Selection

  • Handpicked Typefaces
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Handpicked Typefaces, News
| Stephen Coles | November 12, 2008

FontShop launched its Font­Book­let series this year with the mantra that type was meant to be seen on paper. Like smaller, more focused ver­sions of their mother pub­li­ca­tion, Font­Book, Font­Book­lets are printed spec­i­mens that give ample space and trib­ute to the best fonts for pro­fes­sional typography.

Unlike a typ­i­cal throw-​away cat­a­log, Font­Book­lets are filled with type­faces chosen by myself and designer Conor Mangat purely on their merits, not as part of any mar­ket­ing scheme or in response to the latest trend. The spec­i­men text is not filler copy, but actual, read­able insight into the back­ground and char­ac­ter­is­tics of each design. Our hope is that type users will find these guides worthy of a spot near their desk, and that they will find them to be handy, reli­able tools that put the tac­tile joy back into type selection.


FontBooklet No. 1

FontBooklet No. 1

Font­Book­let No. 1
» Full screen view
» See more photos

Font­Book­let No. 1 was pub­lished this summer and cov­ered some of our favorite sans and serif text faces with a handy per­fo­ra­tion across the middle so you could pair and com­pare typefaces.

Unfor­tu­nately we are out of copies of this edi­tion, but you can view it online and if there is suf­fi­cient demand I’ll bet we can con­vince some­one here at the office to take another trip to the press.

Fea­tured type­faces: Arnhem, FF Clifford, Corpid, FP Dancer, Lisboa Sans, FF Maiola, ITC Mendoza, FF Meta Serif, Pragma, Prox­ima Nova, FF Quadraat, RePub­lic, Whitman

FontBooklet No. 2

fbooklet011

fbooklet009

Font­Book­let No. 2
» Full screen view
» See more photos

Now Font­Book­let No. 2 is hot off the press with a show­case of size-​specific type fam­i­lies. In the era of metal and wood type, fonts were designed for the size at which they were to be used, with subtle vari­a­tions in weight, con­trast, and pro­por­tion to make them as leg­i­ble at 6 pt as they were beau­ti­ful at 72 pt.

With the dawn of scal­able dig­i­tal type, any font could be used at any size, and the time-​honored mas­ter­ing process was aban­doned. As a result, many designs suffer in this new age of con­ve­nience: dis­play fonts are often too ornate or frag­ile at small sizes; text fonts are clunky and dull when set large.

For­tu­nately, recent type design has learned from the past, and we are now seeing a return to the prac­tice of opti­cal size mas­ter­ing. A few type fam­i­lies offer sturdy, read­able cuts for text, and showy titling styles for the big stuff — modern tech­nol­ogy infused with the wisdom of the originals.

Fea­tured type­faces with size-​specific fonts: ITC Bodoni, Borges, Cronos, Eldo­rado, Farn­ham, Freight, Gara­mond Pre­mier, King’s Caslon, Loca­tor, Miller, FF Reminga (new ver­sion soon), Rumba, MVB Sirenne.

How to Order

To get your free copy of Font­Book­let No. 2, log in or create an account at FontShop.com and check your sub­scrip­tion set­tings to make sure the box for “cat­a­logs” is ticked. Please also con­firm that we have your cur­rent address. German res­i­dents, please con­tact FontShop.de for fulfillment.

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22 Comments:

Hello

I look for­ward to see the new Font­Book­let No. 2

Posted by Allan Hansen on Nov. 13, 2008

Yea i’m look­ing for­ward to Font Book­let 2 as well, the orig­i­nal sits proudly on my book­shelf, my Flickr and blog :P - thor­oughly enjoyed it!

Posted by George Wiscombe (Geenius) on Nov. 13, 2008

pos­i­tively green with envy, George.

my book­shelf is bereft sadly

Posted by David Frame on Nov. 13, 2008

Will you also send it to sub­scribers in Spain?

Posted by zahira on Nov. 14, 2008

I’m really look­ing for­ward to get­ting the new Font­Book­let No. 2, allthough I haven’t got the first one, unfor­tu­nately.

Posted by Kristine Blesvik on Nov. 14, 2008

¡Si, Zahira!

Posted by Stephen Coles on Nov. 14, 2008

Do you ship it to Indone­sia?
I’m already sub­scribed but I haven’t received any.
Thanks..

Ah.. I’m sure that I have already ticked, I have checked sev­eral times before, but the tick box is unchecked.. oh no..

Posted by Agus Prayogo on Nov. 15, 2008

Hi Agus. From time to time we reset sub­scrip­tion set­tings and remind people to update their pref­er­ences and con­tact info so that we’re not send­ing stuff to dead addresses. I see that you box is indeed ticked now and we’ll get Font­Book­let out to you.

Posted by Stephen Coles on Nov. 15, 2008

All this time I thought my sub­scrip­tion set­tings where enabled. But now they are, I need this book! :)

Posted by Robert on Nov. 15, 2008

Having had my set­tings to include cat­a­logues, I’m mys­ti­fied why I didn’t get the very first Font­Book­let…

Posted by neil crawford on Nov. 17, 2008

Can u send your book­let to Russia, Saint-​Petersburg?

Posted by Crus on Nov. 17, 2008

Nor did I receive the first one… Every­thing has been ticked, and still is… I look for­ward to find any­thing in my post­box! :) (in Warsaw, Poland)

Posted by Zosia on Nov. 18, 2008

We’re in the midst of pro­cess­ing our big mail­ing so many of you will indeed receive our cat­a­logs within the next 2-3 weeks. Thanks for your patience in the mean­time.

For those who are con­cerned about not receiv­ing Font­Book­let No. 1: Please con­tact us and we will be happy to double check for you.

Posted by Michael Pieracci on Nov. 18, 2008

When might we expect Font­Book­let no. 2 after sign­ing up, and how can we express a desire for the reprint­ing of no. 1?

Posted by nosleepingdog on Nov. 20, 2008

Hi nosleep­ing­dog. We typ­i­cally process mail­ings about once a month, some­times sooner. Please con­tact us directly with your inquiry and we’ll be happy to assist.

Posted by Michael Pieracci on Nov. 20, 2008

Thank you. I just received the Font­Book­let No.2. Besides beau­ti­ful, it’s very useful.
But I’m sad that I lost the Font­Book­let No.1. Please, con­vince some­one at the office to take another trip to the press.

Posted by Marta on Dec. 11, 2008

What a won­der­ful resource to offer…thank you!

Please count me among those who would truly appre­ci­ate a chance to receive a second print­ing copy of book­let one if/when avail­able.

Posted by Matthew Gerber on Dec. 16, 2008

I’ve just received the pack­age) Oh… I’m so happy (i’ve ordered them almost month ago):) Thank you very much, they are as much useful, as they are beau­ti­fully designed and printed).

Posted by Mitya Yarynych on Dec. 22, 2008

I’ve recieved the package(2 Font­Book­lets). It’s very useful for me. Thank you very much.

Posted by Wijit Chalermpiroj on Feb. 20, 2009

I’m look­ing for­ward to receiv­ing Font­Book­let #2, I checked out the online ver­sion of #1, very nice, but lack­ing the ‘Tac­tile Joy’ (hint, hint) ;-)

Posted by Michael Risser on Feb. 24, 2009

In which type­face is writ­ten Size?

Thanks

Posted by Sandro on Apr. 19, 2009
Posted by Yves Peters on Apr. 19, 2009

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