Computer Arts issue 167

Recovering font addict Jason Arber says in his regular opinion column this month: “Font fanatics are a separate sub-culture of über-nerds, who get giddy with excitement when House Industries releases something new, or argue the respective merits of different cuts of Garamond on typography forums.” Does that sound like you? Maybe a little bit?

Working in the creative industry, I think we all get a little bit obsessive about type. After all, it’s one of those things that is incredibly difficult to master – both designing typefaces and using them. That’s why this month we’ve spoken to over 30 leading type practitioners to glean their favourite pieces of advice. There are 114 tips in total – I hope it will prove invaluable reference for all your projects.

Continuing the type theme, we also bring you a free font on this issue’s disc – Felbridge Standard from Monotype Imaging. It’s currently sold for £36 on Fonts.com. Let me know what you think of it, and thanks to Monotype for giving it away. On page 56 we bring you some invaluable offerings on how to launch – or indeed further – your design career, including a list of industry events that you need to be at to get your name out there; maybe I’ll see you at some of them? Also, don’t forget to send your portfolio in for Jo and Luke to look at – it could lead to you being featured in the mag. Plus we’re gearing up for our 2010 calendar already! Look out for that in a couple of issue’s time.

Cheers!
Rob Carney Editor

IN THE MAG

Output

Lo-fiallstars
The creatives stripping it right back

Hannah Cho
Our One to Watch on mixing her media

Studio of the Month
Inside creative ad agency Brunner

In Depth

Erik Spiekermann interviewed
The font master reveals the true face of the type trade

114 pro tips for type
The last word in working creatively and effectively with type design

Coöp in profile
The Aussie design agency riding the recession wave

Launch your design career
Leading creatives recall how they mounted the ladder

Technique

B-movie style in Photoshop
Give your work a retro touch

Logo essentials
The five steps to perfect logo design in Illustrator

3D art via webcams
How Flash can transform your webcam images

Inspiration Workshop
Danilo Rodrigues’s freestyle approach

Repeat patterns
Jeffrey Bowman has your vector designs stitched up

Finishing touches
Distinguish your work with a range of special finishes

Brief Encounter
The story of Amelia’s Magazine

The big freeze
Achieve frozen liquid effects in Photoshop

InDesign type tips
Jo Gulliver’s advice on type best practice

Need to Know

Inside shots
The kit you need to bring photography in-house

Xara Xtreme Pro 5
Should Adobe be scared?

HTML 5
How the digital landscape is due to be transformed

Freelancer tips
10 ways to stay productive