#ABZ

[fhtagn-and-tentacles]

XENOMORPH

by Abigail J Harding

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

KAREL TEIGE

Presented here are the typographic photomontage designs by Czech avant-garde artist, writer, and designer Karel Teige (1900-1951) for the 24-poem sequence Abeceda (Prague, 1926) by his friend Vítězslav Nezval (1900-1958), featuring dancer Milča Mayerová (1901-1977). All were members of the Czech avant-garde group Devětsil (1926-1930). These images are reproduced in ABZ, edited by Julian Rothenstein and Mel Gooding, and published in San Francisco by Chronicle Books in 2003 (an earlier edition was published by Shambhala in 1993 as Alphabets & Other Signs).

Teige's designs are a demonstration of his Constructivist aim to create a new "optical language, a system of signs capable of embodying words in graphic figures." They are a manifestation of what László Moholy-Nagy had called for in his influential 1925 Bauhaus book Painting, Photography, Film -- the dynamic combination of photographic image and lettering he termed "typofoto."

View our other Typography Tuesday posts.

[catharsiscatalyst]

Played psycholonials. 10/10

[archivist-dragonfly]

Book 334

ABZ: More Alphabets and Other Signs

Julian Rothenstein and Mel Gooding

Chronicle Books 2003

Though issued by different publishers, this book feels very much like a sequel to Alphabets & Other Signs. Though perhaps more focused on 20th-century modernist design, this book has the same kind of random presentation. It, too, is completely unpredictable from page-to-page and makes for a completely idiosyncratic experience. With hundreds of alphabets, applied typographical sources, and emblems and logos, this is a beautiful and incredibly valuable resource.

[thewindowofthesummerhouse]

Abz J Harding

[weiwx]

una amiga me dijo che qué te parece si dibujamos a tus personajes favoritos grave error ya le mandé 28 millones de mensajes

[slippy-socks]

her!

[hopeworth]

if i was in charge i would make it illegal to draw dante devil may cry with a six pack

[fhtagn-and-tentacles]

DON'T BE AFRAID

by Abigail J Harding

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

Eye charts using letters of the alphabet, designed to test visual acuity and the efficacy of corrective lenses, were introduced in the 1830s. To increase optical distance in the testing room, some charts were designed with reverse letters and viewed through a facing mirror. In the 1860s the Utrecht optometrist Herman Snellen designed the first scientifically reliable charts for testing vision distance using carefully size-adjusted letters based on the typeface Egyptian Paragon. Sans-serif letters, having less visual distraction, were introduced later (Gill Sans Bold has been especially popular with British opticians). In the 1870s Snellen introduced charts with calibrated lines and abstract figures for young or illiterate patients. Eye chart designs all over the world are still based on Snellen's pioneering "optotypes." The economy and clarity demanded by its function gave the eye test charts a typographic formal and modernist elegance. View the captions for descriptions of each chart.

These images are reproduced in ABZ, edited by Julian Rothenstein and Mel Gooding, and published in San Francisco by Chronicle Books in 2003 (an earlier edition was published by Shambhala in 1993 as Alphabets & Other Signs).

View another post from ABZ.

View our other Typography Tuesday posts.

[hot-boyband-tourney]

PROPAGANDA

Jon Knight (New Kids on the Block)

He's an absolute beauty, he's all slender, he's got a great nose and a fantastic facial bone structure!

[thewindowofthesummerhouse]

Abz J Harding

[tkfluff-fanatic]

AWFULEST lee mood in a while

[smashpages]

‘Parliament of Rooks’ takes flight from Comixology next week

‘Ask for Mercy’ artist Abigail Jill Harding writes and draws the five-issue gothic love story.

[fhtagn-and-tentacles]

GLOWS LIKE MOONLIGHT

by Abigail J Harding

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

A little Cyrillic, anyone? Today we present some Cyrillic alphabets, along with a couple of graphic usages, reproduced in ABZ, edited by Julian Rothenstein and Mel Gooding, and published in San Francisco by Chronicle Books in 2003 (an earlier edition was published by Shambhala in 1993 as Alphabets & Other Signs). Click or tap on the captions for descriptions.

View other posts from ABZ.

View our other Typography Tuesday posts.