Once again Archivalia points us to an interesting site, this time on Scottish handwriting.

The site is focused on helping researchers read early-modern (1500 – 1750) Scottish handwritten documents. One of the serious limitations of utilizing historical documents is the legibility of that material. Hence, the aim of the Scottish handwriting site to help with that.

But, what does this have to do with book design? Well, as with any form of calligraphy, exposure to the stylistic lettering of 17th century Scottish handwriting can inspire a designer to try variations with typefaces for book covers and parts of the interior layout.

We remember being at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh where Ceci got quite excited about the traditional Scottish lettering that was used on some of the walls of the museum; we have photos around here somewhere. BTW, that’s a fantastic museum if you’re ever in Edinburgh.

The most unexpected advice

“Reading old documents is like playing golf.” Take the 1 hour basic tutorial in Scottish handwriting to learn why.

If you don’t have an hour, then at least take a look at the compendium of letter forms in Scottish documents.

Just north of Bogota is the small town of Zipaquira. It’s known mostly for a cathedral that’s carved deep inside a salt mine. The town also played a small role in the development of literature. Gabriel García Márquez received a scholarship to a school in Zipaquira, where he spent more time in the library reading rather in the classroom.

Wandering through the pleasant colonial town we walked by an open doorway where an elderly woman was printing funeral notices, a common custom in small Colombian towns where the notices are pasted on street corners.

Curious, and slightly enchanted by the old tools of the printer, we asked if we could come inside and take some photos.

In the last posting about Helvetica I mentioned the typeface Meta. Anyone interested in typography should become familiar with Erik Spiekermann, the person who designed Meta.

Spiekermann recently has rebranded his design firm as SpiekermannPartners. Here’s a great statement about their recent work for PC Professionell magazine: “Our task as designers was nevertheless to make the content look good and not show off with all sorts of graphic gadgets.”

Spiekermann’s blog, SpiekerBlog 2.0, is worth following for its nuggets of information such as this posting about the redesign of The Economist.

Another typography site has a brief interview with Spiekermann where he is asked the one thing that every student of typography should know: “That you are designing not the black marks on the page, but the space in between.”

Stop Stealing Sheep

Finally, if you want an introduction to typography then consider reading Spiekermann’s book Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works

Modebuch received an Honorary Appreciation at this year’s Stiftung Buchkunst Best Book Design from All Over the World.

Design by halle34 albert handler / marcus arige oeg.

From the Stiftung Buchkunst award citation:

In its communication of contemporary fashion this book uses a completely new bookbinding concept. The first thing we all do is to look for the join where this seemingly endless leporello is bound together   only to find that there isn’t one. The digital print as an endless form with its characteristic holes and perforations works perfectly and creates the impression of something which has been sewn, something textile. The strict double-page structure is skilfully broken up by interesting text/image combinations or pages with just pictures or text. The overview is maintained, however, thanks to the clear hierarchy conveyed by the chapter beginnings. An English translation is provided on the reverse side.

received a Bronze Medal at this year’s Stiftung Buchkunst Best Book Design from All Over the World.

Design by Irma Boom.

From the Stiftung Buchkunst award citation:

What can be more important to us than our eyes   our ability to see? The exterior of this intensely and excitingly composed book with its red matrix dots together with the Dutch word OOG creates the strong impression of a face. Its interior presents photographs of the building and of the patients documenting everyday life in the clinic. The oldest rendition of an eye, a drawing by Hunayn Ibn Ishag from the year 850, as well as portraits from today   magical pictures   join with the text to leave a convincing and powerful impression from beginning to end. Everything is placed within the format with sensitivity and a good sense of rhythm.