iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 18h

6 weights from Regular to Black, 4 optical sizes from Text to Poster, and an additional "director's cut" of the italic. Read more about the family and its origins here: commercialtype.com/news/spectator commercialtype.com/about/collec...

031

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 18h

NEW RELEASE! Spectator by Paul Barnes, a restoration and reimagination of Alexander Wilson’s legendary but elusive English No. 1. commercialtype.com/catalog/spec...

1113

Reposted by Commercial Type

LettError Type @letterror.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Go on, make a sign. Tell them where you're at. Don’t use the bollocks system fonts from the machine that is spying on you. Your words are none of their business. As real as it gets, this Kosmik. letterror.com/kosmik/

171

Reposted by Commercial Type

boogypaper.bsky.social @boogypaper.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Place’s place Full gallery on commercialtype.com/news Photography by Marjorie Ray @commercialtype.bsky.social

044

Reposted by Commercial Type

LettError Type @letterror.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Look here: new, actual shapes drawn for actual stones, placed in front of a real building that you can visit in person. The work was achieved without any help of word-guessers! Some things sketched by hand! Non-vibe code for actual trigonometry and so on. #lettering letterror.com/articles/klo...

letterror.com

Lettering for the Kloosterkerk at LettError.com

Typography for the pavement.

192

Reposted by Commercial Type

LettError Type @letterror.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

An optical size for big? Pixels without hinting? Ligatures that are not really ligatures? Nothing is ever what it seems in type (but everything does its job and you didn’t even notice!) Action Grotesque: platform independent, private equity free. At Commercial Type commercialtype.com/catalog/acti...

This shows the optical size variants for the Action Grotesque typeface. Particularly the registered symbol (®). In the default it is proportioned to work at 8 pt. But that makes it a bit chonky if you use the typeface at bigger sizes. So these variants are a bit smaller.

This shows Action Grotesque in different rasterisations. Not all these screens use Truetype hinting. The only way to get consistent results everywhere is to adapt the geometry of the typeface design itself. And that is what Action Grotesque has. Readable on every surface.

Rather than include dozens of ligatures, Action Grotesque has alternates for the lowercase f and t. These connect in some contexts, reducing the visual complexity a bit. The connectors are still separate characters so they respect tracking.

1134

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

We love this use of @letterror.bsky.social's Action Grotesque, on the updated website for the TypeMedia program at the KABK in the Hague: typemedia.org It's particularly great for dense, complicated pages like this: typemedia.org/noordzij/bib...

062

Reposted by Commercial Type

LettError Type @letterror.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Leave graphic design to the designers, I know, so this is as far as I will go. Complex typography in small and big, Action Grotesque is readable at ever size.

001

Reposted by Commercial Type

LettError Type @letterror.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Action Grotesque is a variable-first, reading-first sans serif that continues Erik van Blokland’s exploration of type created in and for the environments where it is most likely to find itself today: screens. Read more: commercialtype.com/catalog/acti...

072

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

More info in today's newsletter: commercialtype.com/newsletters/... and go deep into the design process on Erik's brand new site: letterror.com/actiongrotes... letterror.com/actiongrotes...

011

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

NEW RELEASE! Action Grotesque, designed by from Erik van Blokland @letterror.bsky.social is a variable-first, reading-first sans serif designed first and foremost for use on screen. commercialtype.com/catalog/acti...

1155

Reposted by Commercial Type

Eye, the international review of graphic design @eyemagazine.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

#Eye110 – sneak peek … from the gutter.

031

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Staff designer Thomas Bouillet spoke at the most recent BITS conference in Bangkok about his upcoming typeface Implicit, and the interplay between materiality and optical size. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSBj...

youtube.com

An Implicit Typeface | BITS11

YouTube video by Cadson Demak

052

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

That link went up prematurely. Thanks for spotting that.

120

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Thanks to Caren @lither.land as always for her hard work on our newsletters!

030

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

New newsletter out today, wrapping up the year that was: commercialtype.com/newsletters/...

153

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Nice use of Darby Serif and Darby Sans!

061

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Read more about Delusse in the newsletter by @lither.land, with showings designed by Vance Wellenstein: commercialtype.com/newsletters/... Or have a look at the detailed PDF specimen: commercialtype.com/uploads/1025... Or download free trial fonts: commercialtype.com/catalog/delu...

The complete Delusse family, with the name of each style set in its respective typeface.

041

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

New release by Sandrine Nugue: Delusse, a spiky-soft response to Vendôme, one of the most iconic French typefaces of the twentieth century. commercialtype.com/catalog/delu...

A block of text in Delusse Regular and Regular Italic

"Prêt-à-Porter" in Delusse Regular Italic

032

Reposted by Commercial Type

Irina Koryagina @irinak.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Spines for No Guts, No Glory: Celebrating Five Years of The David Prize, 2024 📚 Thank you to The David Prize, Erika Augustine, and Gina Fuchs 💛💛 Fonts by @commercialtype.bsky.social, printed and bound by Allied Printing

Image of a scan of 3 books, with 2 yellow spines and 1 fore-edge visible

A tall cropped stack of books with yellow spines and red and blue cover wrap visible on the fore-edges

061

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Happy 10th anniversary to @letterformarchive.org! Julien @boogypaper.bsky.social and I are proud to have contributed to this along with many colleagues and friends.

030

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

James Mosely's series of lectures on the history of letterforms were delivered every year to students in the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. These were recorded in 2020-21, and are now available for everyone to watch: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

youtube.com

James Mosley's History of Letterforms - YouTube

James Mosley’s lectures on the history of letterforms were delivered in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication over many years. They represent ...

0238

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

New work: a fresh new nameplate for @torontolifemag.bsky.social, drawn by Julien Priez @boogypaper.bsky.social for design director Colleen Nicholson. commercialtype.com/custom/toron...

Toronto Life cover from August 2025. REVENGE OF THE COTTAGERS is the main headline.

Toronto Life cover from June 2025. Best New Restaurants 2025 is the main headline.

020

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

I am so sorry you never received your copy. Shipping this book has been a nightmare. At least 25% of the books we've sent out have disappeared. We'll ship a new copy out to you right away.

200

Reposted by Commercial Type

Andy Pressman @andypressman.itch.io · 22/08/2025

I'm laying out Gun Magic Techno Pop in Focal and it's such a blast to work with. I wish phototypesetting had still been in use when I began my career, I would have eaten that shit up. Focal designed by @greggazdowicz.bsky.social, available from @commercialtype.bsky.social

The inside cover and front page of Gun Magic Techno Pop. The inside cover reads "It's 1999 and time is speeding up," with the 'p' in arc being looped endlessly, getting skinnier and skinnier, as if the word were being squeezed into a high-pitch electronic note. The other page is a lengthy book introduction.

A later spread from Gun Magic Techno Pop. On the left-hand page is an overview of how characters work in the game, with a diagram of the character sheet itself. On the right-hand page is a character sheet for the Mundane Mage. The character description reads "Make the trains run on time."

1184

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

This was a fun project to help out on. Miguel Reyes redrew the logotype, and Control is used throughout the identity, including an early version of Control Compressed.

031

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Jim Parkinson was a kind and gentle soul, in addition to being unbelievably talented. He will be missed.

071

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Please take this survey and help the Fontstand Cooperative figure out how font licensing needs have evolved.

022

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

See Royal Gothic here: commercialtype.com/catalog/roya... Read Paul Barnes's essay on the family here: commercialtype.com/about/collec...

Royal Gothic in Steven Shanks & Co Type Foundry specimen from the 1870s

060

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

NEW RELEASE! Royal Gothic by @paul-barnes.bsky.social, with help from Luke Charsley and Tim Ripper, comes out of the Vault with a full range of seven weights. Starting from a single bold weight, and folding in influences from the US and Germany, it preserves the quirks of early squarish sans serifs.

Full range of 14 styles in Royal Gothic family, in order of weight.

Interior spread from "Happy Gas", a monograph on artist Sarah Lucas, designed by Fraser Muggeridge.

061

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Anna will give a talk about the project at ATypI in Copenhagen on Saturday, definitely worth seeing if you're there! atypi.org/presentation...

020

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

New work: Greg Gazdowicz and Christian Schwartz drew a new nameplate for Swedish news outlet Aftonbladet, directed by Anna Thurfjell. Read our case study here: commercialtype.com/custom/namep... More about the thinking here: annathurfjell.com/work/brand-r...

AFTONBLADET nameplate in yellow with a black shadow on a red background

Two variations on the SPORTBLADET logotype in yellow with a black shadow on a pink background

280

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

This was the reference. The R is really something.

170

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

New work for New York Magazine's annual Yesteryear issue. commercialtype.com/news/ny_mag_... We recreated the lettering on the 1975 poster for A Chorus Line for design director Tom Alberty and his team.

1100

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

We have some case studies from the Commercial Type Design Studio here, with more to come: commercialtype.com/design

commercialtype.com

061

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Though Commercial Studio didn't survive 2020, we regrouped and have rebuilt our corporate identity studio within Commercial Type, under the direction of Dino Sanchez. This has quietly been going on alongside our other work for the past couple of years, and now we're taking a moment to talk about it.

0131

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

New in our news section, Caren @lither.land interviewed Shiva Nallaperumal about Delegate, how he came to type design, and the studio November that he runs jointly with Juhi Vishani: commercialtype.com/news/shiva_n...

Pullquote from an interview with Shiva Nallaperumal: "I've always oscillated between type and graphic design. I love the rigor and craft of the former and the conceptual side of the latter."
Typeset in Delegate Bold

0141

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

New in the Vault: Caslon Ionic Rounded, adapted from Caslon Ionic by @greggazdowicz.bsky.social vault.commercialtype.com

There are certain visual motifs we keep coming back to. Stencils are great. We never get tired of swashes. And we love soft letterforms. (Caslon Ionic Rounded Light)

Softness adds warmth and charm. (Caslon Ionic Rounded Extrabold)

Greg Gazdowicz has spent
the last few years exploring various aspects of softness in type: in contrast with sharpness, in Terza; as an artefact of production processes, in Focal; and now the transformative properties of softness when applied to a historical genre — the Ionic — known for its solidity. (Caslon Ionic Rounded Medium Italic)

0202

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

New in the Vault: Jargon, a condensed headline typeface with a giant x-height by Thomas Bouillet. vault.commercialtype.com

Jargon is a gently flared headline typeface by Thomas Bouillet, with newsy proportions and an elegant finish.
in Jargon Thin

The uprights have some Dutch influence—not surprising, since Jargon started as a small part of Thomas’s degree project at the Type]Media program in the Hague—while the italics reference Roger Excoffon & François Ganeau’s stylish sloped romans for Vendôme.
in Jargon Bold and Bold Italic

Its extreme x-height is well-suited to Posters and Book Covers.
in Jargon Ultra

191

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Type Today also recently published an excellent interview with @letterror.bsky.social by Ilya Ruderman: type.today/en/journal/e...

type.today

Erik van Blokland: “Drawing is thinking”

060

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Great interview with @boogypaper.bsky.social by Adelina Shaidullina for Type Today: type.today/en/journal/j...

type.today

Julien Priez: “Legibility is a spectrum”

030

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Congratulations to Lisa Huang and the whole team behind @wordsoftype.com on today's beta launch! This is already a great resource and is going to keep getting better. wiki.wordsoftype.com/

0145

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Double Acts in Pop is now shipping! Its Nice That has a writeup today: www.itsnicethat.com/articles/com... commercialtype.com/goods/double...

042

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Take a closer look at Place by @boogypaper.bsky.social in the PDF specimen: commercialtype.com/uploads/1224...

080

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Place is a beautiful typeface. That is its main function. Its beauty is supported by the rigorous craft and thinking that went into its creation. We can't wait to see what people do with it.

16 styles of Place, showing the standard and Extra styles side by side.

040

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Julien found much of his inspiration in the written forms of the 15th–17th centuries. Intepreted though his own hand, the forms feel unexpected and bracingly new. Read about his process here: commercialtype.com/about/collec...

Practise sheet written by Julien Priez early in the process of designing Place upright.

Practise sheet written by Julien Priez showing the development of Place Italic

Practise sheet written by Julien Priez exploring blackletter capital forms, and how they would interact with the lower case

Practise sheet written by Julien Priez exploring potential forms for the blackletter italic ampersand

150

Commercial Type @commercialtype.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

The stroke contrast is relatively low, allowing Place equally to be the main focus or a suppoorting player. Its four weights enable complex typography, allowing things like headers, footers, page furniture, and other utilitarian navigational elements to be functional and poetic at the same time.

Sonnet 36,127,693,221,580 by Raymond Queneau (1903–1976), lines 1-7

C’était à cinq o’clock qu’il sortait la marquise
pour la mettre à sécher aux cornes des taureaux
une toge il portait qui n’était pas de mise
elle soufflait bien fort par dessus les côteaux
Le cheval Parthénon frissonnait sous la bise
d’où Galilée jadis jeta ses petits pots
le gourmet en salade avale la cytise

At five o’clock he rests in his marquise
and sleeves are wrapped round horns of buffalo
he wore his toga like an old chemise
across the hillocks comes a steady blow
The Parthenon horse is shivering in the biz
where Galileo once took pots to throw
mixing broom with chives shows expertise

Sonnet 36,127,693,221,580 by Raymond Queneau (1903–1976), lines 8-14

la mite a grignoté tissus os et rideaux
Le généalogiste observe leur bouillotte
le touriste à Florence ignoble charibotte
lorsqu’on revient au port en essuyant un grain
Sa sculpture est illustre et dans le fond des coques
frère je t’absoudrai si tu m’emberlucoques
toute chose pourtant doit avoir une fin

with moth and rust we settle all we owe
The genealogist finds every blot
in Florence tourists see a deal of grot
while coming home we find the wind turned mean
Its famous sculptures founder on a rock
I quite forgive you when you run amok
clear from the start the ending is foreseen

120