Dana Tanamachi {Type Hero}

Morning Type lovers.

Todays Type Hero is one that I only discovered a couple of days ago, and frankly I am a bit upset I was not clued in from the beginning.

Firstly, let me start with a question. You know how when you were a kid, you used to think of all these amazing but (now that the dawn of adulthood has come around), impossible jobs for when you grew up? For example, when I watched the hunchback of Notre Dame for the first time, I honestly wanted to have a career as a gyspy. Assuming that meant I would get to run around in pretty flowing skirts with a goat as a sidekick, befriending hunchbacks in bell towers and such, you know the usual kind of gypsy life.

Needless to say it was a dark day the moment I realised this wasn't a possible career option for me. Disappointment  I would liken to not receiving my letter from Hogwarts when I turned 12. (By the way dear reader, you are only lying to yourself if you say you didn't expect it as well.  F*cking muggle.)

Todays Type Hero, Dana Tanamachi, is one of those people that has a seemingly impossible job occupation. "Professional Chalk Letterer". Yes that is correct,  Brooklyn based Tanamachi has forged a career for herself as professional chalk artist.

Designer portrait. Taken by Spencer Heyfron for Wall Street Journal. Photo courtesy of www.danatanamachi.com

Tanamachi studied Communication Design at the University of North Texas. Finding a love of typography quite early in her studies, she committed herself to arduous classes of lettering and studying font, subsequently laying down the foundations of her practice today. Perhaps it would explain Tanamachi's fluid and natural approach to the the letters she draws, with an innate sense of weight, style and proportion evident in all her work. After graduating, she has worked as a designer for Spotco and  finally ended up at Louise Fili Ltd whilst freelancing her custom chalk lettering skills.

Taking commissions for events, weddings, interiors and print publications, Tanamachi has flourished in a niche craft and made it her completely own. A design practice that balances remarkable originality simultaneously with uncanny nostalgia.

Consider me smitten.

All photos  courtesy of www.danatanamachi.com

Alphabet

Well hey there type swooners.

I am pretty sure I havent really shared this with anyone, but one of my main goals this year is to create an alphabet. I have committed to the idea that 2012 will be the year that I step out into the world and face my type fears. That is, commit to developing one style across the 25 various letters of the alphabet. God knows I can barely hold onto ONE idea or style but my theme for this year is "consistency" and I think an alphabet is an appropriate starting point. And yes, I will whole heartedly confess to placing themes on years. 2010 was "freedom"(graduating university and all) and last year was "the awkward disappointment when you think you will be a full time working designer but instead work retail for half a year"(I feel like that one might speak for itself).

My point is this: lately I have been trawling the interwebz for typographers and designers that have taken the time to really design and develop the characters of not just a simple word or phrase, but the whole spectrum of letters. It shows dedication, an eye for detail, a personal voice and the ability to be consistant (how I envy them so). Below are some of my favourite finds


Sasha Prood

Zombic Sans by Voltio

Jjeong

Alphabetcha by Nathan Walker

Luke Lucas { Type Hero }

I have always been a fan of good alliteration. There is just something about the rolling of repeated sounds and syllables that gets me going, ya know? Saucy silence. Massive mountains. Lady luck. Friggin fantastic. I think its the mix of tacky and the drama that really hooks me in.

When working my token retail-assistant-whilst-a-student job, I felt a brief surge to encourage my colleagues with naming every day in theme and alliteration. Sexy Saturday? Yes please. Salty Sunday? Why not. The week that the last Harry Potter film was in cinemas? Forget about it. We had Muggle Mondays, Weasley Wednesdays and Trelawney Tuesdays. It was kind of out of control.

So when I stumbled across the name of todays Type Hero, Luke Lucas, a little flutter of excitement swept over me. This dude, Luke Lucas (say the name dammit...fantastic isn't it?) was clearly destined for glory. And luckily, I was right.

Luke Lucas is a designer, illustrator, terrific typographer (ba boom tish) and art director currently residing in Melbourne, Australia. I first came across his work through my sister's boyfriends business card. The logo for the company he worked for, Tongue, was unlike anything I had ever seen before. While most companies opt for the simplistic vector based logo, Tongue went for something different all together. Luscious, graphic and literally dripping, it was the first type treatment of its kind that I had seen before.

I never knew the designer behind the logo, but the image definitely stayed in my mind. I later came across his work on the Jacky Winter Group illustration agency website. His style is distinctive, different and instantly recognisable. Lucas breathes life into words by giving them another dimension, an attitude and setting that they have never been seen in before but still relevant. My oh my how my eyes swoon.

He also happens to be the art director for Life Lounge magazine, which you know, explains the awesomeness of each and every cover page of their issues.

If only the alliteration gods had made me so lucky. Perhaps if I had been named something like Irene Izenhausan, I would be off doing great and wonderful things. Like being a type god and art directing a popular street culture/art/design magazine and generally being awesome in the thriving design community that is Melbourne...but I dont want to be too specific.

Enough rambling now. Feast! (Your eyes, that is).

All images courtesy and copyright of Luke Lucas. Taken from his website.

Jessica Hische For Moonrise Kingdom { Type On Screen }

Ahoy there type lovers,

Now I know it has been a while since my last post. Three months approximately. I blame my procrastination and lack of productivity on moving house, my growing kitten, and my predictable pattern of falling into a rut now and then.

But alas! Drawn from Type is back and stronger than ever for 2012.

Todays post, aside from serving as a late greeting for the new years, is also a delayed reaction to massive news in the type world. And because my stalking ways have allowed me to find that my favourite type hero, Miss Jessica Hische, was recently in my beloved home city of Sydney, this does seem like a very fitting (delayed) subject to write about. You know, being that she was here and all.

Cue extremely amazing fantastic news:

The trailer for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom has been released.

Yes, the internet exploded. Yes, it looks ridiculously amazing. Yes, the nostalgic awkward and vintage brilliance of all Wes Anderson films is still alive and kicking.

And Jessica Hische has provided custom lettering for all the titles and credits of the film.

Boom.

Oh my goodness type lovers, I have never been so smitten by mustard lettering. The impeccable flourishing of the letters, the clean simplicity of each character, and the uncanny homage to old school cinema is delightful. Magnifique, if I may be so bold. (heh..see what did there?)

Jokes aside readers: watch the trailer,  pull your sh*t together and marvel at probably the most amazing on screen type marriage of 2012.

Images courtesy of Neorelic

Erin Smith {A Type of Awe}

I am not going to lie type lovers, I trawl the internet a lot. And I dont mean a lot, as in "I dabble in my lunch break, check my Facebook here or there" type of interwebz trawling. I mean that I check my top 5 blog/design websites every morning, afternoon and night- plus all the mindless (yet definitely fruitful) detours that are involved with that.

 So amongst these hours of scrawling through the design world (and the occasional Olsen picture here of there), I very rarely find myself doing double takes over peoples work. Dont get me wrong, I am all about love at first sight, but it is quite rare to come across a work that literally makes you stop and kind of make your mind explode. Just quietly.

Erin Smith is one of those designers. Today, whilst on one of my regular inspections of Australian INfront, I came across a beautiful illustration of triplet skulls. 

A sucker for anything skeletal and skull-related (I believe they mean good luck), I instantly pined over the image. Lovely....and now move along. But then my eyes skimmed over the caption "Intricate type-based illustration work by Brisbane based artist Erin Smith".

Type-Based?

Yes. All of Erin Smith's work, beautiful, detailed and somewhat morbid- is intricately made up of letters. As if replacing the presence of shading all together with a scattered alphabet, Smith's work captivates viewers on a completely new level. Although unsure whether Smith is providing an intellectual social commentary of the presence of communication within a visual image, to be honest, I don't really care. Her work is beautiful and arresting. The kind of work that makes you really wonder how they did it, how the hell they pulled it off and how long it took to draw those teeny tiny letters. 

Mind blowing? Most definitely. 

All images courtesy of erinsmith.com.au, all rights reserved to the artist. 

Lettering by Boris Pelcer {Type Heroes}

Todays Type Hero was found whilst endlessly procrastinating through the maze that is The Behance Network. If you havent yet had the chance to take a look at this amazing community, by all means, stop what you are doing this very instant and jet on over there.

(Please note, I do not actually expect you to tear your eyes from this ridiculously captivating blog in order to take a peak at The Behance Network. In your own time fair reader, in your own time.)

But alas, Boris Pelcer. Even his name has a vague hint of importance to it, and rightly so. This man is very important. A skilled and talented graphic designer, illustrator and hand-letterer, Pelcer does it all. Boasting a rich and colourful portfolio, Pelcer shows an uncanny skill for mastering composition, line and colour. I often find that a lot of designers (myself included) find their niche and stick to it quite stubbornly.  Not Pelcer, no no. His work spans from clean minimalistic  lettering to detailed galactic illustrations- each piece as good and mesmerising as the next.

What I particularly love about Pelcer's potfolio is his evident command of lines. Perhaps this is what drew me to typography in the first place; a line with purpose, whether curved roundly or pointed sharply, is enough to make get all giddy inside. I am actually not kidding. So, with that in mind, try to  imagine my internal monologue when my eyes gazed over Pelcers work. Yep.

There is something about the way that Pelcer is able to bring nostalgia through a simple title, or evoke specific moods through the mere act of looking at his work. One of my favourite pieces, La Dolce Vita (second image from the top), instantly transports me to hot summer days playing hopscotch in downtown Brooklyn. 

Now dear reader, you may not know me and I may not know you. But let's get one thing straight. 

I have never lived in/been to Brooklyn. 

I have never played hopscotch.

Case and point? Pelcer's typography is actually able to bring forth nostalgic first-hand hallucinations.

Fantastic.

But in all seriousness dear reader, What I am actually trying to express through extended hyperbole is tthis: Boris Pelcer is magical.  If I had all the money in the world and didn't have to support my growing kitten, I would spend thousands on Boris Pelcer prints to line my non-existant hallway with. They would also be framed in rich mahogany.

So do yourself and your eyes a favour and check out his work.

What's that? You're welcome.

All images taken from Boris Pelcer website and are copyrighted to the artist. 

Fontroduction- A tool for designers {Type Tools}

Drawn From Type was originally started with the mindset to bring to light the beauty of the illustrated word. Whilst I am a lover of all things typographic, I must confess- I am a slight if not complete amateur. I am not a trained graphic designer, I studied one class in typography in University and (god help me) I hated it. I don't really know the technical terms used for the 'bodies' of letters and I really would not have a clue about classifying a font. I use Arial a lot in my day job.

But that being said, I do not believe that you have to have this backing of knowledge in order to truly appreciate the beauty of type. Just as you dont have to be a prima ballerina to love watching the ballet. I cant sing to save my life but pen me down for a glee marathon any day. Yes, I am revealing somewhat embarrassing facets of my taste and personality but hopefully you get the point.

The point is this: you dont have to know everything to know you like something. But it sure helps. And Fontroduction is a new tool designed by Ian Obermuller to give type lovers a quick run down with the added bonus of shnazzy design. The website is easy to navigate through and possesses a clean and minimal layout. With fun (yes readers, fun!) details like rolling your mouse over letters to reveal their terminology (stems, counters, bowls oh my), Fontroduction is cool little website that I would definitely reccomend stopping by. There is even a conclusion portion of the site that comes complete with a list of recommended type links to visit and continue your type loving. Don't mind if I do.