February 2, 2011

Matthew Carter’s Carter Sans



MacArthur Fellowship recipient Matthew Carter’s new sans serif:

When designing, Carter views capitals as initials for lower case letters, routinely spending most of his time focused on the lower-case character sets. But for this new type he became “hooked on capitals” and “very attentive to how they looked together.” There is an elegant, chiseled, inscriptional quality to the caps that at once suggests the past but telegraphs the present. This was demonstrated at the 2010 Art Directors Club Hall of Fame ceremony, at which Carter was an inductee. Michael Bierut and Joe Marianek of Pentagram New York designed the gala’s graphic identity, which included a series of postcards with clever quotations from design legends like Seymour Chwast (shown here), using Carter Sans all caps in a kind of sneak preview. The type was so stunningly set that designers wondered whether there was a lower case. (Designers worth their salt become uncontrollably ecstatic when they see stunning type.)

(via design observer)

posted by in design, typography | * | 15 comments 

comments

  1. walt on February 2nd, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    I like it muchly.

    First word that comes to mind is “clean.”

  2. Luke Neff on February 2nd, 2011 at 8:15 pm

    The kerning on that period. Those commas and apostrophes, so sharp.

  3. Rick Neece on February 2nd, 2011 at 9:05 pm

    One more comment before I’m off to bed. This reminds me of this.

  4. Rick Neece on February 5th, 2011 at 4:14 pm

    I just happen to be watching the documentary Helvetica. Now I know who Mathew Carter is.

  5. Rick Neece on February 5th, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    And I added a little more to what little I knew about typography. It is thrilling to watch folks get excited about their passion.

  6. Sheila Ryan on February 5th, 2011 at 4:31 pm

    Speaking of typography, the “Old West” face used for the Randy’s Pawn & Gun sign makes me smile.

  7. Renee on February 5th, 2011 at 4:46 pm

    I adore Helvetica. Why Arial is more readily available than Helvetica I’ll never understand.

  8. Deron Bauman on February 5th, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    It’s good, isn’t it Rick. Both the movie and watching people excel at what they love.

    Renee, Arial was acquired by Microsoft, hence its ubiquity.

  9. Rick Neece on February 5th, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    Me too, Sheila. I saw someone’s tweet of a Swearengen quote, that I’ll now misquote. Would look good in that font I think:

    “Making plans is an invitation to hear God laugh.”

    I tried to find it on Twitter. That’s not quite it.

  10. Sheila Ryan on February 5th, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    I can imagine it, Rick. You bet.

    It’s a face I forever associate with the word WANTED.

    With all that implies.

  11. Rick Neece on February 5th, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    Deron, you bet. Now I also see the difference between “tombstone” typography (no kerning) (reference my link above) and this post of Carter’s work.

  12. Luke on February 5th, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    Swearengen in Western on Phil’s Chevrolet At Randy’s Pawn & Gun.. Excuse the terrible photoshopping. I was in a hurry.

  13. Sheila Ryan on February 5th, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    Luke, I just spewed. I don’t know what it was I spewed. Some suspicious-looking liquid. But I spewed, all right.

  14. Sheila Ryan on February 5th, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    Also, I am finally training myself not to announce my plans.

  15. Rick Neece on February 5th, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    Thank you, Luke!

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