SpiekerBlog (en)tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//52008-04-25T20:20:59ZTypomania is incurable but not lethalMovable Type Publishing Platform 4.01San Francisco walks, 7.tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3792008-04-25T20:10:14Z2008-04-25T20:20:59ZOnline food and drinkehttp://www.spiekermann.com]]>
San Francisco walks, 6.tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3762008-04-25T02:12:05Z2008-04-25T17:08:07ZNew saint found in San Franciscoehttp://www.spiekermann.com]]>
San Francisco walks, 5.tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3742008-04-25T01:43:03Z2008-04-25T02:04:20ZSan Francisco can be a pink town.ehttp://www.spiekermann.com
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San Francisco walks, 4.tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3722008-04-24T22:45:11Z2008-04-25T02:08:56ZClassic gas-guzzlersehttp://www.spiekermann.com
One thing that never fails to amaze me on the streets in California are the classic European cars that are around – not in showrooms, but driving around or parked on the streets. Like this ca. 1969 Mercedes 280SE with a 4.5 l engine. Those cars were hardly ever sold in Europe, because we have always paid more for petrol than here in the US. You can buy one of these classic cars for less than $5000 here, because with gas at $4 in San Francisco, some of the original owners are beginning to feel the disadvantage of these fantastic, powerful, indestructible, thirsty engines.
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San Francisco walks, 3.tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3702008-04-22T20:29:08Z2008-04-22T20:50:28ZIce cream and proper apostrophesehttp://www.spiekermann.com
Amongst the things threatened with extinction for a long time has been the apostrophe. Not a big loss for mankind probably, but too bad for the typographically educated amongst us. The apostrophe is neither a foot mark nor a sharp (as in acute) accent. It is shaped like a comma, but raised to the top of the cap height. Very simple.
I’m happy to report that my favourite ice cream shop in San Francisco also has good typographic taste. The fact that the apostrophe in Swensen’s is not only typographically correct and good-looking is, unfortunately, due to the fact that it was put up there by a signwriter a long time ago, when craftsmen still had to learn a trade in order to practise it.]]>
Gutenberg, the movietag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3692008-04-19T23:43:32Z2008-04-19T23:45:47ZGutenberg movie onlineehttp://www.spiekermann.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91smRXrEPRs]]>
San Francisco walks, 2.tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3672008-04-19T21:40:46Z2008-04-22T20:52:27ZPoodles in Russian Hillehttp://www.spiekermann.com
I always carry a camera, but the extremely sunny weather (and the sun is brighter here than anywhere in Northern Europe) makes it difficult to get some motives. It is, for example, almost impossible to photograph shop windows because there is so much reflection in the glass.
I was initially only interested in the typography in this window. It may be a little over-designed in its nostalgic style, but it is a 100% fit for the subject matter and the clientele in this neighbourhood. That also clearly shown by the type of dog displayed in the window next to it, which I had not seen at first. Poodles are almost cartoons of dogs in the first place, but three of them in lightblue, pink and white certainly make a statement.]]>
San Francisco walks, 1.tag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3642008-04-19T00:57:34Z2008-04-19T01:34:40ZBus stops in San Francisco are a well-kept secretehttp://www.spiekermann.com
I do, however, see people – usually older women with shopping bags – hanging around near street corners a lot. While enjoying my Swensen’s ice cream the other day, I saw them again: more and more women gathered by a shop on a corner. Then, suddenly, they were gone.
I waited a few more minutes, eating my ice cream, and more people appeared. Then I saw what brought them to that corner: it was actually a bus stop. As I walked over, I noticed that there was a yellow band painted onto a lamp post. It actually had two numbers stencilled onto it, obviously the numbers of the busses that stop there.
With this attitude towards passenger information I am not surprised that people in the US stick to their cars as much as they do.
The stop on the other side of the street at least had the words BUS STOP painted on the lamp post, but nothing else. No timetables, destinations, routes, fares. A closely guarded secret for the natives. Nobody seems to want more passengers.]]>
34th Williams A. Dwiggins Lecturetag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3632008-04-17T01:25:59Z2008-04-18T19:17:00ZA firealarm interrupted the start of my lecture in Bostonehttp://www.spiekermann.com
Boston Public Library. It was the 34th. William A. Dwiggins Lecture. As lectures go, it wasn’t all that special (apart from it being a great honour to be asked to speak in front of all those dignified printers and historians), but it was the first time that I had a lecture interrupted by a fire alarm. I just had the first slide up (see small picture) when the alarm went off.
We actually all had to move out into the street. There was the usual display of emergency hardware (I always find that on those occasions in the US they really like to show everything they have) – big trucks with and without ladders, ambulances, patrol cars, dozens of firemen (who like to be called Firefighters these days) with helmets and axes – until it transpired that it had only been a malfunctioning microwave somewhere that caused all this fuss!
Nick Sherman had the presence of mind to film the moment when the alarm went off. He also took the little picture here that I just downloaded from his flickr site. I designed a poster and an invitation for the evening. The card is shown below.
I’ve also added a download for the pdf that was sent to the printers: dwiggins_sheet.pdf.
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San Franciscotag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3612008-04-16T23:23:28Z2008-04-16T23:26:45ZSan Francisco has more than one landmark.ehttp://www.spiekermann.com]]>
Less is moretag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3582008-04-16T02:40:15Z2008-04-16T03:20:49ZiPhone and MacBookAir is all you need for bloggingehttp://www.spiekermann.com
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Red is the Helvetica of colourstag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3562008-04-15T15:32:49Z2008-04-15T15:37:22ZRed is an overrated colourehttp://www.spiekermann.com
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Rub downstag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3552008-04-14T18:51:29Z2008-04-14T19:02:44ZTransfer type featuring LoType.ehttp://www.spiekermann.com]]>
Friekermanntag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3532008-04-14T18:13:09Z2008-04-14T18:37:35ZA new spelling of my nameehttp://www.spiekermann.com]]>
Helvetica can be nicetag:www.spiekermann.com,2008:/mten//5.3512008-04-14T01:37:37Z2008-04-14T18:36:35ZHelvetica can looks good if used appropriatelyehttp://www.spiekermann.com]]>
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One thing that never fails to amaze me on the streets in California are the classic European cars that are around – not in showrooms, but driving around or parked on the streets. Like this ca. 1969 Mercedes 280SE with a 4.5 l engine. Those cars were hardly ever sold in Europe, because we have always paid more for petrol than here in the US. You can buy one of these classic cars for less than $5000 here, because with gas at $4 in San Francisco, some of the original owners are beginning to feel the disadvantage of these fantastic, powerful, indestructible, thirsty engines.
]]>
Amongst the things threatened with extinction for a long time has been the apostrophe. Not a big loss for mankind probably, but too bad for the typographically educated amongst us. The apostrophe is neither a foot mark nor a sharp (as in acute) accent. It is shaped like a comma, but raised to the top of the cap height. Very simple.
I’m happy to report that my favourite ice cream shop in San Francisco also has good typographic taste. The fact that the apostrophe in Swensen’s is not only typographically correct and good-looking is, unfortunately, due to the fact that it was put up there by a signwriter a long time ago, when craftsmen still had to learn a trade in order to practise it.]]>
I always carry a camera, but the extremely sunny weather (and the sun is brighter here than anywhere in Northern Europe) makes it difficult to get some motives. It is, for example, almost impossible to photograph shop windows because there is so much reflection in the glass.
I was initially only interested in the typography in this window. It may be a little over-designed in its nostalgic style, but it is a 100% fit for the subject matter and the clientele in this neighbourhood. That also clearly shown by the type of dog displayed in the window next to it, which I had not seen at first. Poodles are almost cartoons of dogs in the first place, but three of them in lightblue, pink and white certainly make a statement.]]>
I do, however, see people – usually older women with shopping bags – hanging around near street corners a lot. While enjoying my Swensen’s ice cream the other day, I saw them again: more and more women gathered by a shop on a corner. Then, suddenly, they were gone.
I waited a few more minutes, eating my ice cream, and more people appeared. Then I saw what brought them to that corner: it was actually a bus stop. As I walked over, I noticed that there was a yellow band painted onto a lamp post. It actually had two numbers stencilled onto it, obviously the numbers of the busses that stop there. 
With this attitude towards passenger information I am not surprised that people in the US stick to their cars as much as they do.
The stop on the other side of the street at least had the words BUS STOP painted on the lamp post, but nothing else. No timetables, destinations, routes, fares. A closely guarded secret for the natives. Nobody seems to want more passengers.]]>
We actually all had to move out into the street. There was the usual display of emergency hardware (I always find that on those occasions in the US they really like to show everything they have) – big trucks with and without ladders, ambulances, patrol cars, dozens of firemen (who like to be called Firefighters these days) with helmets and axes – until it transpired that it had only been a malfunctioning microwave somewhere that caused all this fuss!
Nick Sherman had the presence of mind to film the moment when the alarm went off. He also took the little picture here that I just downloaded from his flickr site. I designed a poster and an invitation for the evening. The card is shown below.
I’ve also added a download for the pdf that was sent to the printers: dwiggins_sheet.pdf.
]]>
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