Old School the New School for Design and Typography

Rough sketches … It’s Christmas time .. if you’re vaxed, go hug someone who is unvaxed you’ll be fine and if you’re not vaxed hug someone who is. Learn about them and don’t be uppity and dismissive. Life is precious and ends suddenly .. I lost my brother suddenly this year it’s been hard on us all .. relationships are precious and we must always respect , love one another and stand as one ! Which one should I refine? (any unnecessary spiteful comments will be deleted I’m not interested )

Bringing you part 2 Of the beautiful Birkbeck, designed during week two of our final 2021 OSNS Type and Lettering Design Intensive by our spiffing London designer: …(Gregg Ho**er) Gregg fell in love with the classic proportions of the Roman Caps , and therefore decided to use them as a basis to create his own classically english font named Birkbeck. The very handsome Birkbeck would look at home placed alongside a series of Eric Gill Woodcuts. Here are the applications Where thoughtfully placed Birkbeck ! I love the cold beer signage !

This is the beautiful Birkbeck, designed during week two of our final 2021 OSNS Type and Lettering Design Intensive by our lovely London designer: …(Gregg Ho**er) Gregg fell in love with the classic proportions of the Roman Caps , and therefore decided to use them as a basis to create his own classically english font named Birkbeck. The very handsome Birkbeck would look at home placed alongside a series of Eric Gill Woodcuts , and I look forward to sharing some future posts showcasing the applications Gregg where has thoughtfully placed Birkbeck ! Well done Gregg and Thankyou for being such a thoughtful and passionate student !

Thankyou to all the students who’ve just completed the OSNS Type & Lettering Design Intensive ! Pictured are some of my own diagrams of a few of the Letterform explorations i took students through.It was a pleasure working with you for the last fortnight ! I know I’ve been a bit remiss on all the Instagram stories, but as usual the students were all an absolute pleasure to work with, and it was the privilege of Dan and I to see your learning and typographic aha moments unfold ! Well done and congratulations ! I look forward to sharing specimens next week ! Happy weekend everyone !

For the next two weeks .. this is what the amazing students in the OSNS Type & Lettering Design Intensive will have fun learning to do ! They’ll draw paint and handcraft their way through week one, using the analog techniques from the commercial art studios of the mid century … then they will use this knowledge acquisition to translate their skills into the digital domain .. to create their own font ! Very last call out ! Details via link in bio ! Have a nice weekend my bold and ultra fine (never lightweight) friends ! ❤️ .





















Curves, curves, curves, curves… All sorts of CURVES define all sorts of character to the design of all our preferred typeface options, and lettering designs. With all their subtle nuances, They make the world of difference and can be quite tricky to perfect! 
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The average designer will just look at this picture, and move on to the next post. But thats not you is it? You’re an OSNS disciple of the craft and above average graphic designer who asks good questions, is analytical in nature and needs to understand this! 👉 Why are they so different? 🤷‍♀️ 
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These curves did not come out of thin air. They are not just some random and arbitrary invention that a designer drew just for the heck of it. 
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They are result from a process known as “modulation”. Modulation is the name given to a specific mark made by a particular tool made by a specific human hand .This tool could be a broad edged brush, or a pointed pen or a brush. Different tools, lead to different shape strokes, leading to a myriad of different letterforms. 
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Too many to go into here, which is why OSNS runs a two week type and lettering design intensive. Any type or lettering design course worth its salt will teach you all about these tools, not just in theory, but in practice. We are interested in producing students who really understand what is under the bonnet of any font they design, or choose to use in their latest branding project. 
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Next intensive starts next Monday. There’s a couple of spots left ! For more info jump onto our website and read up. It goes for two weeks, Feel free then to email with further questions. 

Happy Hump Day! 
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Happy Monday to all of those curious about the architecture of letters! here.

I want to talk about the favourite of many communication designers who love using sans serifs (SS)

There is a lot of conjecture about the humble SS, many designers finding it plain and boring as the good old Australian Milk Arrowroot biscuit. (google it) I continually fall in love with flashy display faces, yet just as quickly fall out of love , and so I find myself drawn back to the SS. How about you ? Please tell !

If you are new to learning about lettering and type design, designing a SS is an excellent learning vehicle. Why? Because SS fonts are actually quite tricky to design, because their success relies on successfully incorporating combination many tiny subtleties such as those pictured , to which only the cognoscenti give a second thought !

Learning to understand these subtleties teaches us so much about how words and letter combinations WORK. 
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I will go on to add, that many of these nuances that you can see in this wonderful chart from Antonio and Ivana Tubaro’s book, called “Lettering”, are a direct translation from the original hand painted signage from which so many of these letters derive! (That’s why we teach you to work with the broad edged brush during day two of the OSNS Type and Lettering Design Intensive). 
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We have two places left in the Type & Lettering Design Intensive, and would be delighted to share such wonderful skills and knowledge with you starting NEXT MONDAY! Please be sure to look at the details on our site, via link in Bio! And feel free to grab your spot in the zoom intensive .. especially if you’re in USA this course presents excellent value ! Swipe to see the book “KXZ of Lettering” by A & I Tubaro ! 
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As always to all you thinkers and doers! Be bold and ultra fine!























Happy Monday to all of those curious about the architecture of letters! VeronicaGrow] here.

I want to talk to you about the universal favourite of most communication designers of the Swiss persuasion, who love using sans serifs (SS)

There is a lot of conjecture about the humble SS, many designers finding it plain and boring as the good old Australian Milk Arrowroot biscuit. (google it) I continually fall in love with flashy display faces, yet just as quickly fall out of love , and so I find myself drawn back to the SS. How about you ? I’m genuinely curious to hear your point of view !

If you are new to learning about lettering and type design, designing a SS is an excellent learning vehicle. Why? Because SS fonts are actually quite tricky to design, because their success relies on successfully incorporating combination many tiny subtleties such as those pictured , to which only the cognoscenti give a second thought !

Learning to understand these subtleties teaches us so much about how words and letter combinations WORK. 
.
I will go on to add, that many of these nuances that you can see in this wonderful chart from Antonio and Ivana Tubaro’s book, called “Lettering”, are a direct translation from the original hand painted signage from which so many of these letters derive! (That’s why we teach you to work with the broad edged brush during day two of the OSNS Type and Lettering Design Intensive). 
.
We have two places left in the Type & Lettering Design Intensive, and would be delighted to share such wonderful skills and knowledge with you starting NEXT MONDAY! Please be sure to look at the details on our site, via link in Bio! And feel free to grab your spot in the zoom intensive .. especially if you’re in USA this course presents excellent value ! 
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As always to all you thinkers and doers! Be bold and ultra fine! VeronicaGrow]























here again friends! 🙋‍♀️ Today, I have a question : True or false ?

All letters within a word or alphabet should be the same width.. What say you!? 🤷‍♀️🤷🏽

When we first start our journey as a lettering artist, signwriter, or type designer, it just seems logical that each letter we draw within a word should be the same width and height, but this is what holds most of us back, when the most common issue that prevents outcomes that pack the panache is unawareness of what is known as “optics”. 
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Sadly, many are left scratching their head, feeling lost and wondering what to do. They think there is some sort of mystical secret to producing solid lettering. Nothing could be further than the truth. 

The study of type design or lettering relies very much on the study of visual trickery, known as “optics”, in which we deploy special sizing adjustments to various letters within our set of letters, to help them all sit within the group in a visually pleasing manner. You might have heard someone describing a font or piece of lettering as beautifully balanced? This just means that the letters have all been optically adjusted! 
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Of course, “optics” is one of the key learning attributes of the OSNS Type & Lettering Design Intensive starting on Nov 22. If you want to step up out of the paddling pool, and learn how to pack panache into your type, sign writing calligraphy and lettering design solutions, now is your chance to be bold ! Nov 22 10am AEST is when the next two week OSNS Type and Lettering Design Intensive commences via zoom. So you can take part from anywhere in the world. If you are keen to spend an amazing two weeks, have a look at course details via link in bio, and email with any questions at all! 
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Much love! Be bold always and ultra fine! Veronica (witty saying of ) ! ❤️😉🍹























here! These hand drawn logos by Doyald Young were a gentle update for the Kanebo Logo. The original is at the top.

They help you understand the value of type design skills which enable you to draw well crafted logo solutions that will stand the test of time. These skills have nothing to do with trends, and everything to do with creating type and lettering that simply WORKS !

Again, spacing is everything, and this is very evident in the adjustments that have been made to the second to last solution, resulting in a final solution that pops thanks to connected letters and tighter spacing !

If you fancy yourself designing custom logos from scratch, without using existing fonts, the OSNS Type and Lettering Design Intensive will fast track your skills and knowledge to help you get there much faster! A wise investment !

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Ability to prototype type design and lettering solutions using calligraphic technique
Hand drawn and digital lettering technique using glyphs software
Old style and modern letter proportion and rhythm
History of type classification systems and how these integrate into contemporary Type and Lettering systems
Type as Modular System
Sign writing brush technique
Deliberate skill building method for continual ongoing development of lettering and calligraphic arts after course completion
Design of a typeface specimen
Spacing, kerning and optical adjustments
Glyphs font design and editing software

Nov 22 9am AEST (from Melbourne) via zoom is starting date! So you can join from the America’s! Feel free to check out the website for more information, and email if you are interested ! Have a nice weekend friends!