We are sad to report the passing of James Mosley, writer, teacher and former librarian of St Bride Printing Library. Without James it is hard to imagine that Commercial Classics, or Commercial Type, would exist in the form they do without his influence. For those not familiar with his life and work read Paul’s short piece in Eye Magazine /feature/article/james-mosley-a-life-in-objects He will be greatly missed.
Down at our friends @thecounterpress we have just received some newly cut Five Line Original Sans by @typehighdesign First shown in 1828 by Vincent Figgins its the first typeface to be called ‘Sans-Serif’ We can’t wait to get printing with this beauty.
New Release: Caslon Ionic Rounded
Designer Greg Gazdowicz has remixed Caslon Ionic by softening its serifs, corners, and terminals to create Caslon Ionic Rounded. This charming and inviting typeface drew inspiration from the lettering found on London’s historic public houses, a longtime favourite of Commercial Type partner Paul Barnes and on the original Atlas, released by Caslon in the 1880s.
With six weights and accompanying italics, Caslon Ionic Rounded is a warm and versatile alternative to its predecessor, excelling in both headlines and text.
Now available in The Vault at Commercial Type.
Paul will be speaking at the National Library of Ireland on Friday 15 November 2024, about Commercial Type and its continuing dialogue with history in making contemporary typefaces.
Starting at 4pm Emma Conway, the library’s in-house Graphic Designer, and Laura Ryan, Assistant Keeper of Visual Collections will be giving tours of behind-the-scenes showing items from the library’s rich collections of prints and drawings. Paul will be on stage from 5pm in the Joly Lecture Theatre.
Tickets are free and more details here.
https://www.nli.ie/exhibitions-events/then-and-now-letters-library
This event is part of Irish Design Week and organised by the National Library of Ireland and Typography Ireland.
NEW RELEASE: Designed by Paul Barnes and Greg Gazdowicz, Ionic Modern is a variable font that strives to capture the spirit of the two sources it taps: the sturdy Ionic pioneered by Caslon and the elegant, extra-high-contrast Modern style of the second half of the nineteenth century. The overarching goal with Ionic Modern was to design a typeface that preserved the spirit of the willowy late Moderns of the Victorian era. Ionic Modern’s serifs are bracketed and elongated; contrast is pronounced; balls are crisply defined; and the rounds move toward a diamond shape. The counters are narrow, but the letters are wide, with a tall x-height. This form, which continues to evoke high fashion and luxury today, is close to the archetype most designers think of as a “Modern,” particularly Modern No. 20, beloved by designers on both sides of the Atlantic including Herb Lubalin and Massimo Vignelli. Ionic Modern has Poster, Deck and Text sizes, along with a variable version that also incorporates Caslon Ionic.
See more, license the fonts, or download a trial version at commercialtype.com
NEW RELEASE: Ionic Modern
Ionic Modern was designed to bridge the gap between the robust Ionic and the elegant highly contrasted moderns, with a text size, that retains the sparkle of larger sizes, but maintains its thins to make a delightful face for reading. It comes in six weights from a delicate thin to the emphatic Extrabold. It comes with an extended character set in both roman and italic for complicated typographic designs.
Available now at Commercial Type.
NEW RELEASE: Ionic Modern
Ionic Modern comes as a variable face, or in four different optical sizes families
The Poster Italic demonstrates the drama of the mid century style, with its dramatic angularity and sharp contrast in weight with tight spacing. Its character contrasts with the more polite and genteel Brunel.
Available now at Commercial Type.
NEW RELEASE: Ionic Modern
Ionic Modern comes as a variable face, or in different optical sizes.
The Poster variant recalls highly contrasted display face that began to appear in the middle of the nineteenth century. They are sharp in detail and beautiful to behold. Available in six weights from Thin to Extrabold
Available now at Commercial Type.
NEW RELEASE: Ionic Modern
Ionic Modern is a new headline and text family by Paul Barnes and Greg Gazdowicz. Merging the delicacy of a high contrast elegant late 19th century Modern and the robustness of an Ionic creates a family that is perfect for any size of type, from micro to text through to large headlines.
Created as a Variable font it gives users the ability to fine tune the typeface to their exact needs. Ionic Modern comes in a wide weight range from Thin to Extrabold in roman and italic with an extended character set in both.
Available now at Commercial Type.
New in the Vault: six new weights of Royal Gothic, expanding it from a quirky bold headline face to a warm and squarish utilitarian sans.
vault.commercialtype.com
