Finding the right type and new releases

It has never been easier to search for and find a wide selection of good typefaces. Like a painter choosing from a full color palette, you want to choose typefaces for your project just as carefully. Where and how do we find the typefaces that will make our projects look unique and power up our content? Your first stop might be myfonts.com. The largest aggregator of type and type foundries. Myfonts.com has tens of thousands of fonts from over 1200 sources, including very large type foundries like Adobe, as well as from the studios of individual type designers. myfonts.com is very searchable and friendly. It allows searches for common characteristics using basic words such as handwriting, or cartoon, or elegant. There are also other important type sources like Hoefler & Co at typography.com. Which has many wonderful fonts, including some of my personal favorites. I've included a number of great type resources in the exercise files for this course. Here is a quick look at the top type foundries that I check regularly. I hope you will check them out too. I've also included a list of newsletters that you can sign up for, which feature recent font releases. I recommend you subscribe to help you stay plugged in to the latest developments and news in the world of typography. One thing I love about signing up for free font news letters is that you get to hear about flash font sales. It's a big new trend. So, you can score some great fonts at a fraction of the regular price for a limited time. Who doesn't love a sale. Type has never been more affordable. I love browsing for new typefaces on line, and I confess that I have downloaded some great fonts at 4 am using my iPhone, and without leaving the comfort of my bed. Maybe that's T.M.I. but I wanted to share. Losttype is a co-op who allows you to pay what you wish for their fonts. There are some really excellent choices at Losttype. There are also a number of free font sites, and if you have a good eye, you can find some surprisingly good fonts at those sites. It's so easy to discover and download fonts with a few clicks. Be adventurous. One important point I'd like to make right here and now. Don't rely on the limited selection of typefaces that you have available on your computer. You don't wear the same outfit every day, or eat the same food every day. Why use the same typefaces in project after project, when there's a great world of type at your fingertips? Finally, I've included a quick creative challenge so you can practice the principles in this course. I hope you'll try it. So, let's get started with Foundations of Typography, Choosing and Combining Type.