Type - Notes

Century Gothic, Rockwell, Lubalin Graph & Avant Garde Gothic -

I used Rockwell and Century Gothic a lot during the last year at uni. Even you Derrick have your skin made of these typefaces. I have noticed though that it is everywhere a lot more now. I'm not sure if this is simply because I'm noticing it more because it is being used more or just because I am familiar with it and didn't notice it previously.

Around the same time I noticed Lubalin Graph because of its similarity to Rockwell (a good signifier to watch for is the capital 'A': Rockwell has a slab serif that extends out both sides at the top whilst Lubalin Graph only has a stem reaching out to the left) and put it into a few designs without it actually making that much difference. In the past couple of months (primarily a lot of flyers seem to like it such as festival flyers and a few I saw whilst in middlesbrough for art shows) however I've seen Avant Garde take a stronghold which is also similar.

Tracing the history (a quick look through on wiki) you can see that slab serifs (as a whole) are similar to 'Realist' typefaces i.e. Akzidenz Grotesk or Franklin Gothic. Getting more familiar with the names of my favourites that keep popping up yet Derrick? Also as a nice little end quote on the Rockwell wiki page "ITC Lubalin Graph, designed by Herb Lubalin, is a slab-serif version of ITC Avant Garde that resembles Rockwell."

SO, we have Rockwell which then (maybe?) influenced Herb Lubalin to design Lubalin Graph and it's san-serif counterpart Avant Garde. Got it. I remember seeing trimillion books on Mr. Lubalin in the AIB paper safehouse (library) so I shall have to venture and get some of those bad boys out with my FIL (Face In Laminate - Library Card).

I'm beginning to recognise a lot more typefaces from memory which is actually really really fun (and pathetic that it is fun?). Almost like (I'm sure I've said this before) my previous starvation from things such as 'Premier League Stickers' due distaste for practically anything sport is now resurging into collectomania for knowledge on typefaces. Like a trainspotter if you will but for type, yet with equal credibility in social environment i.e. none.

It'll be interesting to see if I can research a bit (i.e. if I knew about the Lubalin history I could have forseen Avant Garde resurgence maybe?) about current type trends and review fashions for type. Imagine that. Type and fashion. Never thought those two would go together in a credible consumable form.