Typographic inspiration

The Internet is full of passionate people — covering almost any subject you can think of. I think that’s one of the best things about it. I’m generally obsessed with my interests so it’s nice to find people to share the obsession with. For the past six years or so I’ve been pretty obsessed with typography, among other things. However it has proved more difficult to get involved in compared to other interests. I’m assuming the fact that it’s quite specific (not a popular hobby) and generally requires a lot of training/equipment is what makes it that way. The subject has existed for centuries so there are a number of good books. As always the Internet is also a great resource for inspiration and connecting like-minded people. Here is a list of my current favourite sources for all things typography related.

I Love Typography
I became particularly interested in John’s blog in 1997 because I identified with being a ‘western-born’ designer living in Japan. I began reading it not long after I left the country. He is passionate about typography and the blog has been regularly updated with great posts for the past 3 years. He also set up We Love Typography — a collection of type images posted by various people. And Marginal Notes — a collection of type related images, videos, and other media in an RSS feed.

The Elements of Typographic Style applied to the web
This site is based on my favourite book, The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst, but applies the books typographic advice, guidelines and rules specifically to web type.

The Font Feed
A blog from FontShop, one of the first digital foundries set up by two great typographic designers Erik Spiekermann and Neville Brody in 1989. It’s full of lots of inspirational posts and fonts.

The Grid System
A collection of posts, links and tools related to creating typographic grids for websites. Nice and clean-like.

Typographica
Typographic articles and posts plus one of my main sources for reviews on type books and fonts.

A List Apart
One of the first sites I used to learn CSS about 8 or so years ago. It still serves as a great tutorial-based site for learning how to implement grids and type for the web — plus practical advice on choosing type and layouts. They run a workshop based conference now too, An Event Apart.

Typophile
I lived on these forums during the last year of my Masters when I was writing final papers on typography related subjects. It’s still got a strong, passionate community and a great place to search for answers. They also run competitions within the forums.

Lettercut
This site creates a niche in the typographic blog world by specialising in showcasing customs letter work. It also runs a number of competitions that generate reader created content.

Veer
Veer is a commercial site that provides typefaces, photography and illustration — plus some lovely free desktop wallpaper. They have been posting a blog since 2002 with lots of inspirational typographic work.

Ministry of Type
A relatively new discovery, this is a personal blog by English designer Aegir Hallmundur. It’s got some lovely images of inspiring typography scattered through interesting posts.

Swiss Legacy
Another more recent discovery that has impressed me, this blog features lots of great posts on all things focused on typography and graphic design.

Brooklyn Bookbinder
A great source of traditional inspiration, one that I’ve used to inspire me to pursue personal printed design projects. This site is full of images of hand bound books featuring lovely craftwork and letterpress printing.

Type Chart
An online tool for browsing and comparing web typography, it will also generate the CSS for you.