Pencilled, Pixelated

Since I started working full-time at Monotype, and especially since I took over as UK Type Director last Spring, work has consumed a larger and larger part of my life. This would be bad if I didn’t love this job more than any other I’ve ever had, and if I didn’t feel like I was contributing to what happens at Monotype. My attempts to keep up with this site, always a tricky endeavor at the best of times, may have fallen slack, but I’ve hardly been slacking off elsewhere.

Monotype. One of a kind. (Photo by http://twitter.com/desypha)

The last two weeks have been the culmination of a frantic couple of months of preparation for a giant exhibition of work from Monotype’s past and its present, and hopefully a look at its future. Pencil to Pixel, masterminded by my extraordinarily talented colleague James Fooks-Bale, designed by SEA, partially curated (and with guided tours) by me, and pulled off thanks to the efforts of many more, was huge success by all measures, and hopefully one of many more endeavors to come.

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A Type Nerd’s Time in India

Last year I submitted an article to a very excellent zine called FAQNP (which stands for, mischievously, “FAQNP‘s a Queer Nerd Publication”) for their “Queer Nerd Travel Guide” issue, since I’m a queer nerd who travels a lot.

FAQNP #3

The gents at FAQNP have kindly agreed to let me reprint my story about how Western brands drop their typographic standards when they trade in India. You should repay that kindness and check out some of their back issues or cool merchandise.

Spread from FAQNP #3

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FAQNP #3: A Queer Nerd Travel Guide

FAQNP #3

I contributed an article to the zine FAQNP for its third issue, “A Queer Nerd Travel Guide”. My photo feature, “A Type Nerd’s Time in India”, is a look at how well (or for the most part, how badly) a variety of western brands like Citibank and McDonald’s carry through their typographic branding when they use the local scripts in different Indian cities.

Spread from FAQNP #3

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Twas My First Photo Credit

I’ve got one more notch in my belt as of this weekend: my first photo credit in the New York Times. Sadly, the photo didn’t show up in the online version of the article, but you can check it out below:

'Twas the Night Before the Twelve Days of a Nutcracker Christmas Carol

The photo is from a batch of promo images I shot for ‘Twas the Night Before the Twelve Days of a Nutcracker Christmas Carol, a sort of Christmas story mash-up, done panto-style, which will be running at P.S. 122 this year.

It’s a shame, though, that most of the magic of that image is lost in a small, black-and-white reproduction. Here’s the actual image, in full, glorious color:

'Twas, in color

HX Site of the Week

Hey, did anyone catch this? The May 27 issue of New York City’s HX magazine featured a write-up about the Poseable Thumbs:

SITE OF THE WEEK

G.I. Joe Type ISO Same
poseablethumbs.com

Handcuffed studs, boot-licking slaves, leather-clad muscle queens — sounds like that notorious party at the old Lure, but this web site is different in one critical respect: The men are all six-inch-tall [actually, they’re all twelve inches] action figures. “I’ve heard from a lot of guys who used to have their own G.I. Joes act out their burgeoning sexual fantasies — and a lot of guys who are surprised to find themselves so turned on by the photos I’ve taken,” says Pete Handler, the site’s New York-based photographer and designer. Indeed, the various clever scenes — of fisting, bondage, gangbangs and more — could easily be mistaken for commercial pornography. All the pictures are for sale, along with a book of them, and you can send in your own suggestions of storylines or poses you’d like Handler to shoot, which fits in perfectly with his master plan. “I’m trying to get people’s circuits to cross,” he says, “almost daring them to see how much about what turns them on is in their imagination.” — Jonah Tully

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