So recently I have been reading/bookmarking/retweeting a lot of articles recently, but I am sure that these could be curated in a better way. Having followed sites that do something similar I may go down that avenue at some point, but for the time being I’ll post some here.

• Original Gill Sans sketch from the Monotype archives: http://instagr.am/p/J2pwK1mRc1/
• A tumblr blog for type lovers: http://type-lovers.tumblr.com/
• Evolve interactive magazine: http://www.evolvemag.net/ (via @tomwittlin)
• The difference between UX and UI explained with cereal: http://design.org/blog/difference-between-ux-and-ui-subtleties-explained-cereal
• The Memo Book archive, by Field Notes: http://fieldnotesbrand.com/memo-archive/
• A fun video about deadlines and creativity (demonstrated by kids): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgvx9OfZKJw
• Swiss typefaces: http://swisstypefaces.com/
• John Cleese on creativity: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/12/john-cleese-on-creativity-1991/
• Teehan+Lax release their ever-popular PSD of iOS GUI elements, this time for the retina iPad: http://www.teehanlax.com/downloads/ipad-gui-psd-retina-display/
• How to construct the famous Penguin books grid: http://ministryoftype.co.uk/words/article/constructing_the_grid/

Part history book, part modern day news stories, the editing makes the book feel awkward; like a cobbled-together school project made up of historic articles and personal opinions by the Author, Simon Garfield.

It is clear that he has an admiration for type, but having read and watched a fair few pieces on typography, very little of the content felt new. I would find myself remembering stories I had read in Type: The Secret History of Letters, or being reminded word-for-word the interviews with designers for the documentary film Helvetica.

By this book if…

You want a beginner-level book to read about type origins, type history, and some of the modern day stories about type, then this book is for you. But if you want a bit more substance I would recommend Type: The Secret History of Letters. In fact, I think I would suggest reading that book, and watching Helvetica over getting this book any day.

Inspiration

Mercedes Benz Typographic Animation
Flickr Pool of Vintage Type
Use Of Effective Typography In Logo Design
Typography Mania #13 by Abduzeedo
Vibrant Wall Typography/Graffiti from Ripo Visuals
The Best Custom Letters of 2009

Web Typography

Typechart: Preview and compare web typography. Retrieve the CSS
Revised Font Stacks
Fontspring: Hundreds of web-ready fonts at your fingertips

Fonts

Today Sans H EF Extra Light
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Typeface by Michael Bierut
Haäfe & Haph presents a selection of custom ampersands

I am hoping to give Typography Links a dedicated website soon, where you will be able to subscribe via RSS and submit your own links. Details in the coming weeks.

Layout and Composition

30 Websites with Lovely Layouts and Typography
The Typography of Neglect
Typography: Readability and Legibility

Website Design

50 Alluring Typography and Grid-Focused Websites

General Design

Beautiful Typographic Business Cards
Typographic Illustration of Obama
15 Great Examples of Artworks based on Typography

Inspiration

Vintage and Retro Typographic Showcase
Typography Mania #13 by Abduzeedo
70+ Design and Typography Inspirations
21 Fresh Inspiring Typography Designs

Designers

Rob Clarke Typography
The Portfolio of Malou Verlomme

Typography Websites

CMYKern.com
typographykicksass.com

Fonts

20 Fonts Ideal for Big and Powerful Headings
Free Font – Sketchetica

Products

Helvetica Cookie Cutters

To keep on top of the latest typography, fonts and lettering on the web, make sure you

follow @typographylinks

Layout and Composition

Typograph – Scale & Rhythm
On Font Pairing In Logo Design
Rules for Good Typography
On The Track of Good Type

Designs, Wallpapers and Posters

21 Big, Bold Typography Website Design
40+ Awesome Typography Wallpapers
Type and Cities – Designers’ typographic posters of New York
TypographicPosters.com

Inspiration

A Treasury of Wood Type Online
Typography & Lettering Flickr Pool
Typeface: The Film
The Beauty of Ampersands
Incredible Typography by Eika Dopludo
21 Fresh Inspiring Typography Designs

Helvetica

40 Excellent Logos Created With Helvetica
The Simplicity of Helvetica

If you have links you would like to share, please leave a comment.

Type is a guide through the history of our letters and a study of their power. From fashion through propaganda and the development of mass literacy, author Simon Loxley shows how typography has changed our world.

This book tells a great story on the advancements of printing; from the Gutenberg press to digital PostScripting, it’s narrative flows more like a story than a history book. It catalogues the tastes and trends have changed over the years, from ‘Old English’ Blackletter and Fractur styles to sans-serifs like Futura and Helvetica, detailing the social changes that affected them.

It’s not only the faces that changed, but the way the letters were typeset. Due to the physical constraints of the movable type, negative letter-spacing and leading wasn’t possible until the inset of digital technologies, but it soon became a fashionable trend.

There certainly were some interesting characters in the world of type design over the years. From the self-promoting Frederic Goudy to the eccentric Eric Gill, who liked to wear medieval-style smocks and lived a controversial personal life.

The technologies that fell by the wayside are also catalogued; technologies such as Letraset and Photosetting, which are now obsolete thanks to the capabilities of the Personal Computer.

It took me a while to get into the book, mainly as I wasn’t as interested in the very early history of Gutenberg, but the history from the 1900’s onwards really made up for it, and the changes that happened over the last 100 years were fascinating and also insightful.

Buy This Book if…

Want to know a little more about the history of printing and the people behind the letters? Don’t know your Caslon from your Goudy, or your Zapf from your Frutiger? I found it a fascinating read, with some real gems, giving you a real insight into the history of typography.

After becoming increasingly interested in typography, I felt I needed a book that set out the fundamentals. After doing some research, I found Thinking with Type: A critical guide for designers, writers, editors and students.

This book is divided into three main sections, Letter, Text and Grid. Starting off with a little history lesson on letterforms, leading into the anatomy of type with great examples along the way. It then goes into more detail, covering spacing and alignment, followed by layouts and grids.

Each section has real-world examples to draw upon and feels much more than just a theory book; it is more than that! The way the book is written makes you appreciate the effort that goes into great typesetting.

“Design is as much an act of spacing as an act of marking. The typographer’s art concerns not only the positive grain of letterforms, but the negative gaps between and around them.”

If you are a newcomer to typography and want to learn more, I highly recommend this as a great book to get started on. For a more in-depth book on type, many people recommend The Elements of Typographic Style, which is on my bookshelf and awaiting a read. Expect a review shortly!

Buy This Book if…

If you are looking to know your stem from your bowl, or your leading from your kerning this book covers it all, and all in a way that doesn’t feel at all technical. If you work with type, or just want to know more and don’t have a book on it yet—this is the one to get.