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Scanning Around With Gene: Ye Olde Country Corn
Written by Gene Gable on July 3, 2009
The line between country charm and country corn is difficult to define. But Gene Gable knows it when he sees it, and it usually involves gingham. And boy, does crossing that line make him ornery!
TypeTalk: Creative Indents
Written by Ilene Strizver on July 2, 2009
Some layouts call for traditional ways to separate paragraphs. Other times, you can add a little visual interest with something more unusual. Here's how.
Scanning Around With Gene: Magazine Covers that Broke the Rules
Written by Gene Gable on June 26, 2009
Magazine covers speak to us on many levels. Some of my favorites speak directly to us as magazine buyers.
TypeTalk: Collect OpenType Fonts in Smart Sets
Written by Ilene Strizver on June 25, 2009
Font managers' Smart Sets make it easy for you to find and activate only OpenType fonts. Smart Sets also let you search for many other attributes to organize your fonts, such as family, foundry, library, and keywords.
Scanning Around With Gene: Adequate Males Watching Blue Movies Together
Written by Gene Gable on June 19, 2009
Before pornographic movies were on multiple cable channels, they were reserved for special occasions like bachelor parties, and they came in the form of "stag" films.
TypeTalk: Change Word's Default Font
Written by Ilene Strizver on June 17, 2009
It's not hard to change Microsoft Word's default font when you know where to look.
Scanning Around With Gene: When Food Comes to Life
Written by Gene Gable on June 12, 2009
The organic movement has brought us closer to our food. Now what if it could talk to us and look us in the eye?
TypeTalk: Top Ten Type Resources Online
Written by Ilene Strizver on June 10, 2009
We type lovers are voracious readers about our favorite subject. Check out this list to see if your preferred online resource is represented, and to possibly find a new favorite.
Scanning Around with Gene: If Only You Weren't So Offensive
Written by Gene Gable on June 5, 2009
Even friends might not want to say you have bad breath or body odor. But vintage advertising had no trouble delivering the bad news!
TypeTalk: The Importance of Style (Sheets)
Written by Ilene Strizver on June 3, 2009
There's no better way to maintain consistency and make fast changes to text formatting than to use style sheets.
Scanning Around with Gene: Add Inches to Your Manhood!
Written by Gene Gable on May 29, 2009
No, it's not what you think. Rather, this installment looks at ads for elevator shoes from the 1940s and '50s.
TypeTalk: Are Free Fonts Worth the Price?
Written by Ilene Strizver on May 27, 2009
Some free typefaces are pirated from legitimate fonts. Others are not stolen but are poorly designed. Here's how to find the ones that both look good and are legit.
Scanning Around with Gene: Holy Word Balloons, Batman!
Written by Gene Gable on May 22, 2009
At one time, word balloons depicting conversations were a common element in print advertisements. You may be surprised to hear that word balloons were, er, popping up as early as the thirteenth century, though I doubt there were many ads in illuminated manuscripts.
TypeTalk: Letterspacing
Written by Ilene Strizver on May 20, 2009
Is it a type crime to add lots of space between characters? Or is letterspacing OK?
Scanning Around With Gene: Keep on Truckin’
Written by Gene Gable on May 15, 2009
For one of the best views of American industrial design, look no further than the trucking industry, where manufacturers of yore often mixed equal parts of practicality, romance, and style.
TypeTalk: To Everything, Kern, Kern Kern...
Written by Ilene Strizver on May 13, 2009
Over the centuries, the word "kern" has evolved from a noun to a verb. See photos of metal type and get info on kerning in today's digital landscape.
Scanning Around With Gene: Clicking at the Green Duck
Written by Gene Gable on May 8, 2009
The Green Duck Metal Stamping Company of Chicago may not be a household name, but before fading into history the company produced millions of iconic buttons, played an important role in D-Day, and helped train dolphins at Sea World.
TypeTalk: Ambigrams
Written by Ilene Strizver on May 6, 2009
Backwards, forwards, sideways, and every which way, ambigrams are intriguing typographic art forms.
Scanning Around With Gene: Monkeys and Skunks in Your Mailbox
Written by Gene Gable on May 1, 2009
Not too long ago, exotic pets showed up in mailboxes across America. Those days are past, thankfully, but Sea Monkeys are still available!
TypeTalk: Get Typographically Correct Text from Word
Written by Ilene Strizver on April 30, 2009
Banish dumb quotes, double spaces, and double hyphens from Microsoft Word files.