TDN Update 5.2.2025
New Classes, Weightless, and Radio Du Nord!
Happy Friday everyone!
I have a few things to update you on today! First and foremost, we just posted my summer classes with Type Electives and I am so excited to share them! Here’s a little overview in case you’re not in-the-know!
The Crash Course is a 5-week intro to type design class. We will go through the whole process of designing a typeface — from sketching, to working in glyphs, to making a final specimen! We keep the class fun and approachable while packing it full of as much information as possible!
The Type Design Development Workshop is a 10-week class for intermediate level students! The class is designed specifically for students or type designers who are having a hard time moving forward with type projects. TDDW is broken up by alternating between 2-hour critiques and an office hour on the off-weeks! Most students use the office hour for feedback as well so it can be 10 critiques on your project if you’re ambitious! If you’re curious about the progress you could make in 10 weeks, check out my spring class’ projects here!
Alrighty! You are all going to roll your eyes at me for this one, but I am still working on Weightless!! It’s been going well but I am stuck on one particular thing. Brace yourself for this technical term, I am stuck on the triangles in the lowercase between the stems and the parts branching from them (like in n). See the example below. The original version I made didn’t have these triangles and also had little nubbins that were from the original source. However, I have decided to get rid of said nubbins in favor of a more text-friendly option, which is triangles!
Whenever I design these triangles in a text typeface, I always start too timidly. It’s taken me about 4 versions to get it into a good spot. Up close, the latest version feels a little dramatic but when you look at it in text it feels normal. I am at the point where I feel like I have been looking at this for far too long and part of me worries that I’ve taken it too far! I’ll probably let this simmer for a few days and come back to it with fresh eyes.
Last thing about Weightless — because I changed so much of the regular style, I deleted my light and bold and will have to restart those! It’s easier in a typeface like this to start from scratch than try and remember all the changes I made. It’s also important to note that I am a perfectionist and don’t plan on stopping until I’m 6ft under!!
Okay before we wrap, what would you all say to a sporadic (or maybe weekly??) installation of this email dedicated to just music? In an alternate reality, I am definitely a radio dj or one of the people that picks music for movies/tv and I want to scratch that itch! I will warn you that my music taste is ~eclectic~ and while I don’t typically listen to music that ends up on the Top 40, no genre or time period is off limits! Please vote in the poll below to tell me what you think!
I am not interested in spamming you all with my thoughts but I think it could be fun!! Also I am 90% sure that it can be it’s own section of the newsletter that you can opt out of if you’re not a musichead!
5 Things I’m Into Lately
A former student of mine and now friend, Jason Santa Maria, started writing blog posts again recently and his latest featured my newsletter on type designers’ sketchbooks alongside other things he’s into! He’s seriously too cool and you should check out his blog!
This week, I had some raspberries that were about to go bad so I made a shrub. It’s basically a vinegar+fruit+sugar syrup that you can add to sparkling water and it’s delicious! I threw one part ACV, one part raspberries, and one part sugar in a jar for 3 days (in the fridge) and then I strained it. It’s been a delicious upgrade to boring ol’ Trader Joe’s sparkling water.
I liked the show Silo so much that I’m reading the books now. I am about halfway through Wool by Hugh Howey. It’s the first book and so far I’m loving it!
A couple weeks back, I did a media + entertainment free week and it honestly changed my whole perspective on my relationship to my phone and distractions! I think I have recommended this app before but I’ve been using Opal to block any social media or games on my phone from 7am-5pm and then again from 9pm-12am. It’s been a game changer to only have a short window where I have unlimited access to my phone. Most days, I only scroll for about 30 min and it’s honestly enough! I am still in the loop without harming my mental health. And I am the most productive I have ever been!
I have been loving Amy Poehler’s new podcast, Good Hang! My favorite episode so far has been with Rashida Jones!
TTYL SK8R!
Libbie