Type Specimen Challenge!

[budafist]

Pick a font and design a speciman sheet for it showing off the unique points/letters of that font.

If you don't know what a specimen (http://www.andreubalius.com/andreubalius/imatges/type/superveloz/superveloz_sample.jpg) is, here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Caslon-schriftmusterblatt.jpeg) are some examples (http://www.marksimonson.com/images/sample-thumb.gif).

Of course you can break free of these grids and go as crazy as you need to.

The aim of the game is to show of the font as best you can.

Post a jpg of your work and if someone wants to print it for a poster perhaps they can contact the designer direct for a pdf file. I'm sure text only pdfs will be tiny!

OK, I'd love some Type Specimen posters and in the difficulty finding beautiful ones worthy of my wallspace I've decided that there is a market for such a thing. View this as spec work if you must, but I'm going to do at least one myself. No one is making $$ out of this so is it still spec work? I consider it designing beautiful things to share.

[urstwile]

I think this might be more in the realm of Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/), Buda, particularly since you're up front about the possibilities.

[hewligan]

I know I've already linked to it somewhere around here today, but check out Misprinted Type for some font specimens (http://www.misprintedtype.com/v3/fonts.php) that are a bit different.

[Red Kittie Kat]

You sure have a lot of time on your hands buda :D

I have a lot going on right now .. so I'm not sure when I can get to this one.

[budafist]

I probably wont get to this challenge today, I'm just on here inbetween bits of work.

I want to sit down and do this challenge thing properly!

[EC]

I have a poster from House Industries that I keep in my office, love it (huge fan of house). Maybe you could order their catalog, get on their mailing list? They might send you something cool. :) I actually wound up with two posters (not sure why, ordered something or other and it came with) and mailed one to a friend. Veer sends out cool promotional stuff too.

https://www.houseind.com/index.php?page=catalog

[budafist]

Thanks for that EC. I will check that out :)

[hewligan]

Alright, am I the only one who's gone through their font collection and can't choose one? This is nearly as bad as that thread asking for our favourite fonts...

[budafist]

I picked one already. Just close your eyes and do one Hewligan. Who cares if it's not your favouritest font?

You'll probably learn a whole lot more using a font you don't normally use.

Which is not what I'm doing :D

I've picked one out of the Rotis family.

[scratchmarc]

I'm up for the challenge... not sure how soon I'll be able to cobble it together, though.

:) ~Marc

[budafist]

Take your sweet time my minions :)

[hewligan]

Since I have an awful, awful cold, I thought I might try a typography sample based on the very thing that is currently most on my mind...

[budafist]

Haha! Nice one Hewl.

Hope you get better!

What font is that btw?

[hewligan]

It's Nasalization by Ray Larabie. He's one of my favourite type designers. It's one of the many really good free fonts he produced.

His free fonts website is at: http://www.larabiefonts.com/ (though these days all of the downloads are through http://www.myfonts.com/ - but since they're all available there, and easier to download, I'd probably grab them from dafont.com)

His for-money fonts are at: http://www.typodermic.com/

[scratchmarc]

Hewligan's entry inspired me to look for interesting sounding font names... hope this does the trick:

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1864/fontsamplevd6.jpg

~marc

[hewligan]

Wow, that's awesome.

[angerisagift]

that is sweeeet.

[capezio]

I really like that it's super

[budafist]

That's stunning! Man, I really got to get my A into G. I was so enthusiastic about this challenge too...

[urstwile]

Great job. I'd actually forgotten about the challenge, thanks for bumping it as well. :)

[budafist]

Wooly Bully!

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1923/woolybullyrt2.jpg

[hewligan]

Haha, that's great. Where does the quote come from?

[budafist]

It's a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson a writer who's quote came up in google. Nothing that has a deep meaning to me. Nice quote anyway :)

[budafist]

I can't help but use fonts that are nouns.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5576/eagleor8.jpg

[urstwile]

Buda, that's AWESOME!

[hewligan]

Wow. If we had a prize, I think Buda might just have won it.

[urstwile]

I concur, Hewligan. I'm blown away Buda.

[balou]

That's great Buda! If hewligan had a prize and gave it to Buda, I'd give the same prize to Buda too because she deserves two.

[budafist]

Wow, glad you guys liked it. It's school holidays here in NZ and school holidays mean that business is REAL slow. Therefore I can sit at work and do stuff like this :)

I will accept edible prizes.

[balou]

2 hard boiled eggs it is then! ;) (not eagle eggs)

[frankster]

The Eagle one is absolutely lovely!

[budafist]

2 hard boiled eggs it is then! ;) (not eagle eggs)

I love egg! (http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/eggsong.php)

[morea]

gorgeous!

[scratchmarc]

absolutely fabulous!

[matthewb1985]

well here is mine

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/matthewb1985/New-york-poster.jpg

[morea]

these are really great, guys... I'm hoping to get one together soon.

[mac.FINN]

buda, that eagle is stinking fantastic.

[DesignerScott]

Here's my quick job, Not a lot of fonts to choose from at work, and I also held myself to using every letter only once. Enjoy.

[Mynock]

Last time I was asked to produce a specimen was . . . well never mind. Nice work everyone.

[hewligan]

Last time I was asked to produce a specimen was . . . well never mind. Nice work everyone.

You can keep that sorta specimen, thanks.

[budafist]

You can keep that sorta specimen, thanks.

I concur!

[DesignerScott]

Here's another sper - I mean specimen for ya'all.
No repeating letters, or skewing except for the passage and the title.

[budafist]

The texture gives that piece an extra something special Scott. Nice work. Lovely font too. The capital Q is to die for.

[fredrich]

http://fredrich.monror.com/design/type_spec_01.gif

[budafist]

Very clever Fredrich. 3x5 grid letters...nice.

[Red Kittie Kat]

You guys are coming up with some very kewl peices :)

[DesignerScott]

Ah! I'm a little slow today, I get it now! 3 by 5. AHA!
Slaps head hard!

[Samakimoto Graphics]

Very cool challenge thread...

Nice work everyone.

[hewligan]

Well, it took a while to get started, but there's some really awesome work being posted here.

[budafist]

Sure is :)

[carter the artist]

now that I found this thread, I know what I'll be doing tomorrow at work. :)

[urstwile]

We need to remember to bump it on occasion, I'd completely forgotten about it (been busy lately).

[carter the artist]

wow, that was fun. I think I'll try to do some more.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v458/carterartist/piratespeciman.jpg

[carter the artist]

Just to let you know, the words are Blackbeard the book via gutenberg.org, it's even in the background just lighter.

[morea]

neat!

[Tea]

I loved this project so much, that I ran with this idea for my students to do as a last minute project. Some are quite nice, but this is the only one I have available today. For a 9th grader, I thought it was pretty good.

[carter the artist]

another one:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v458/carterartist/carbon-.jpg

[budafist]

Cool Tea! It actually is quite a good school project. I wish I got to do stuff like this in school!

Cool concept for Carbon Type too Carter :)

[hewligan]

Arr! We be needin' more piratically themed type specimens, me buckos!

[budafist]

Go on then! (http://mickeyavenue.com/fonts/pirates/)

[carter the artist]

If it be more Pyratical specimens, I am you're mate.

[tZ]

This is a specimen sheet created for lettereforms that are designed based upon the phonetic pronunciation of each letter of the alphabet.

[budafist]

I can't say I understand how those characters work tZ, but they look cool.

[derfs]

Cool stuffs in here!

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/fsparks2002/Agency2.jpg

[fredrich]

http://fredrich.monror.com/design/typografi_05.jpg

[budafist]

Berliner is very elegant. Nice work.

[fredrich]

http://fredrich.monror.com/design/typografi_06.gif

[Virgo Nightingale]

Funny, I have that font too, but it's called Interstate.

[fredrich]

Bumping the thread with a new specimen.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll307/flippart/GDF/typografi_10.jpg

[Red Kittie Kat]

nice!! :D