18th Century Type Study
The Gentleman's Magazine
Garamond & Blackletter Textura
Sometimes the best way to understand something is to copy it, and that couldn't be more true than in these historical type studies.
Using type history resources I created for my students, and sites such as Adobe Fonts and Identifont, I replicated the typefaces used in an 18th century newspaper. I did research to only use fonts produced in these eras, but had to make do with some substitutions due to resource restrictions (aka not being able to afford the licensing!).
Digital textures and effects were added to create a distressed, printed look. This could be enhanced further by using speciality paper and traditional printing methods for use as a prop for film/TV.
Original document for reproduction. Have decided to change to a Ladies' magazine to set my work apart from the original.
Garamond (16th c.) and Carol Gothic (Blackletter Textura style) laid out in Photoshop. Typed by hand - no spell check! Glyphs and special characters added for accuracy. Leading, tracking and kerning adjusted to match original formatting.
Textures and FX added in Photoshop to create a distressed printed effect. Original illustration traced in Illustrator to create an SVG for use on large documents.
19th Century Type Study
Astley's Circus Posters
Egyptian, Slab Serif, Fat Face Didone, Old Style
Work in Progress. Victorian circus posters are a real insight into early promotional design. They break the rules of contemporary type, using 5+ typefaces on a single design. More is more!
It has been a challenge to find open license fonts to use that match the poster exactly, so I've had to skew, stretch, and adjust fonts from Adobe & Google to replicate the woodcut fonts of the Victorian era.
