Primitive tools…

Over at DesignObserver.com Steven Heller has a great article up about the use of Letraset press-type. 

 

Somehow, over the years I’ve stumbled upon sheet after sheet of this abandoned typographic technology. And when I would use these sheets in various design projects around people who were forced to actually rely on them back in the days before computers, I would get rolled-eyes and long sighs of remembered frustration. But for me, they are so much more interesting and expressive due to the tedious nature and inherent flaws. Not to mention the fact that many of my press-type sheets are SO old and crusty, that even when applied with the greatest of care, the letters crack and move and land on the page looking like they’ve been run over with a steamroller. Perfect!

Each time I use these letters, they go away forever. More or less. And so sometimes I have to really weigh out whether or not I feel like a particular project is *worth* using these letters on. Because before we know it, these little gems will be pretty hard to come by. So I’m going to hang onto mine and maybe scan them in at some point. Who knows. And who knows in 10 or 20 years if we’ll look back and laugh at ourselves for wading through endless fonts, and actually typing with our fingers rather than just designing with our minds or something.

 

Some examples…

  

  

detail ^

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