Specimen of the typeface Heckle

Specimen of the typeface Heckle

Specimen of the typeface Heckle

Specimen of the typeface Heckle

New! Heckle is a brush script typeface for display use. It started as a tiny sketch for a t-shirt design in 2005, based on my memories of script lettering from the ’40s and ’50s.

More info here: www.marksimonson.com/notebook/vie...

And here: www.marksimonson.com/fonts/view/h...

Yes, John was its last editor. I've gotten to know him since then, at conferences. And I ran into him completely by chance when I was in Seattle once.

U&lc knocked me over when I first saw it. Someone had pulled it apart, so there were spreads scattered around the room I found it in, which I reassembled. A few months later, I subscribed to it, which I did until they pulled the plug on it in the late nineties.

Fifty years ago this month is when my interest in type design began... www.marksimonson.com/notebook/vie...

My Bookmania (Light Italic) and Etna (Bold Italic and Condensed) showed up for a couple of seconds in tonight's episode of #Pluribus ... (I hope this isn't a spoiler...)

I know, right? Thanks!

Hardcover is an elegant new serif typeface for display use. It's one of my earliest typeface ideas, dating back to a sketch in 1978, inspired by the lettering I’d seen on mass-market book covers. More info here: www.marksimonson.com/notebook/vie... And here: www.marksimonson.com/fonts/view/h...

A great talk packed with type nerdery and ending on a heartwarming note. Skin & Bones was fairly successful for VGC fontsinuse.com/typefaces/31..., but earned Douglas F. Jones only $240 over a decade. Mark’s 2024 restoration will bring Jones double that amount within its first two years.

Find @marksimonson.bsky.social, Hamilton Wood Type, American Type Founders, Red Rooster Collection, Typetanic Fonts, and many more on Typographer.

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The Story of Skin & Bones YouTube video by Mark Simonson

A few weeks ago, I did a talk for the Type Tuesday group in Minneapolis about the backstory behind Douglas F. Jones' Skin & Bones typeface and my revival of it. If you'd like to see it, I put it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDAG...

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We’re celebrating 10 years of Letterform Archive with #100Tens. This segment features contributions from:⁠
⁠
Thomas Ingmire⁠
Michael Schwab⁠
Sean Adams⁠
Mark SImonson @marksimonson.bsky.social
Alejandro Chavetta
Clement Mok
Marian Bantjes

alongside items from the Archive’s collection by:⁠

Mark Simonson Studio at 25: It didn't start out as a digital type foundry... www.marksimonson.com/notebook/vie...

I found out last night at the after party that there is one (obvious) person tied with me: JP Porter! She started doing the AV for TypeCon the first time it was in Minneapolis in 2003.

The growth & popularity of Proxima Nova in the last 20 years is beyond my wildest dreams when I released it in 2005. I feel incredibly lucky & grateful to all who has helped along the way, especially to the designers who decided it was the best font for the job. www.marksimonson.com/notebook/vie...

I'm happy to see that WB Animation is still using the lettering I did for them in 2008 (the part below the WB shield). Seen on the trailer for their latest feature, "The Day the Earth Blew Up," which I hear is good.

Minnesota Senate Building in May 2016, showing buillding sign letters in Proxima Nova Semibold font.

Minnesota Senate Building in May 2025, showing building sign letters in the Proxima Nova Extrabold font.

ALERT:

The font on the Minnesota Senate Building has changed from Proxima Nova SEMIBOLD to Proxima Nova EXTRABOLD.

END ALERT.

The story of my latest typeface, Synergy, goes back to a couple of sketches in 1981. Read more here: www.marksimonson.com/notebook/vie...

I've been rewatching season 1 of Severance and spotted my Acme Gothic on a band poster. It's only there for a split second, but it caught my eye, of course. The name is obscured, but thanks to a little research, I discovered that it's "ABRUMPO" (latin for "separated") fronting for "Fissureman."

I've never liked or understood the "Th" ligature. If it's a good idea, why not a "TH" ligature?

(Re)introducing Douglas F. Jones' Skin & Bones: www.marksimonson.com/notebook/vie...