Blackboard

Eine Hommage an das ehemalige Blackboard-Blog der Hochschule für Bildende Künste–⁠Städelschule, betreut von Michael Seh (Gaststudium an der Städelschule 2022–⁠2023). Diese Seite wird nicht von der Städelschule betrieben.
A tribute to the former Blackboard blog of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste–⁠Städelschule, maintained by Michael Seh, former guest student at the Städelschule (2022–⁠2023). This site is not operated by the Städelschule.

Fun Fact

Grand Theft Auto V in-game message from user DrunkSonic over water, the username in a condensed sans and a silhouette avatar beside it. Message: “Fun fact: condensed font didn’t exist in the game in 2013!”

GTA VI is finally coming November 19. We actually made it. Good excuse to look back at the GTA V fonts pulled straight out of the game files by a font enthusiast. Los Santos is basically LA anyway.

Their username up there is in that condensed font.

Edward.

Cartoon of a bald older man in a gray jacket and bow tie who has painted “Edward.” in neat serif letters on an alley wall, next to a young tagger in an LA cap holding a spray can beside a RAMO tag. Caption: ‘Yes well, legibility and correct punctuation might not be “street”... but that’s how I roll, motherfucker.’

Another reshare. Everyone needs an Edward in their life to set them straight, someone who does things properly by his own standards and isn’t afraid to say so, even on the street. He might be a little too particular, but there’s something to learn from him.

Porto’s

The Porto’s chef hat logo, a P and an L drawn as a chef’s hat: a dithered scan of the paper bag, a pen tracing its outline as Bézier points and handles appear, then the logo filled in solid black

My dad blessed us with some potato balls and bread from Porto’s. I saved the bag the food came in and traced the chef hat by hand with the pen tool. Big love to a family business that has fed so many people in LA. Shout out to my childhood homie Brandon (who smokes a crazy good brisket on the side) and his soon-to-be wife Naila, plus Antonio and Betty, for all the hard work. Real ones.

Banquet Hall

The words Banquet Hall in black blackletter-style lettering, the camera slowly panning left to right across them

Had a great Indian meal, and on the way out saw these words on the awning. Somehow they made it even better. Drew my own version at home, loose and a little awkward on purpose. Blame the spicy food. My favorite part is how much space the B takes up.

Pro T-Shirt Outlet

Pro T-Shirt Outlet storefront in Rialto. The sign is large black dimensional letters, faded by the sun, on stucco.

Looks like Cooper Black, but the letters don’t quite line up. The P in PRO sits too high. I like it anyway. Strip mall lettering hits different in the summer. So do pylon signs (not pictured), the tall ones out by the street listing every store in the lot. I only just learned that term from my mom, who would know.

34.107225, -117.380696

Photo: Ryu Ji-hyun

Select All on Primary Foundry

Select All on Primary Foundry

Select All is now on Primary Foundry’s library. You can download it there alongside fonts from other foundries and designers.

Primary Foundry is run by Jonathan Maghen out of Los Angeles. The library is a curated collection of open-source typefaces available under the Open Font License.

Font engineering is difficult

IKEA instruction manual meme about font engineering

A font isn’t just letters someone drew. It’s a file with dozens of hidden parts that all have to work together or your text won’t show right. The left shows the parts list. The middle is you trying to put it all together. The right is you reading the spec. Every font engineer has been all three of these people. I still get confused on what all the parts do. Learning as I go.