Type comes in endless shapes and styles, this specimen book, Type, holds 25 different typefaces alongside a brief history of each. The article “Selection of the correct letter style” examines the use of environmental typography and it was included as a supporting narrative to run a long side the specimens and theme the entire collection.
To introduce the city theme, each classification is categorized by photography captured around the community of North Park. Every photo creates a vibe for each collection. Sections start with a fold-out page listing the fonts included.
Each photograph was desaturated and manipulated to resemble a similar hue. The color for the text was then eye-dropped to match the three most common and prominent colors in the photos.
Typefaces are displayed in various styles alongside exploded samples of its most unique character in both upper and lower case. Pull quotes from the narrative are also scaled up to further demonstrate the font.
THE APP
Though a book is highly functional, complimenting it with an interactive app creates new opportunities to distribute the content.
The Type app includes not only an interactive specimen collection, but also fun games to help user better distinguish fonts.
In the "Build" game mode, users will literally build a letter within each font family. They first get a chance to take a closer look and zoom in to the details of each letter. If the user gets stuck they can easily scroll over the font name and get a hint. Have fun building!
