Nick Sherman

I run @HEX where I make fonts and websites.

@FontsInUse co-founder and designer.
@Typographics designer and developer.
@coopertype and MassArt graduate.  
Fan of monster movies, pizza, loud music, skateboarding, and my dog, @Minni.

📍 Brooklyn, NYC (previously: Amsterdam, LA, Boston, Cape Cod, Bangkok)

Public Key

npub1xjw6jg8d6nakfrpr78h5kxzh4j2282v2pgx0u2xk4kmmtw5y8k3qcwun5u

NIP-05 Address

nicksherman@typo-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsrf8dfyrkaf7my3s3lrm6trpt6e99r4x9q5r879rt2mda4h2zrmgspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dszgz6wg

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1xjw6jg8d6nakfrpr78h5kxzh4j2282v2pgx0u2xk4kmmtw5y8k3qcwun5u

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Last Notes

2026-06-08 18:27:36 UTC

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@nprofile…edye I have a copy!
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/nicksherman/item/181397823
And also the poster they show at the end there:
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/nicksherman/item/267052819

2026-06-08 01:33:31 UTC

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@nprofile…ale9 I’m not a huge coffee person so take this with a grain of salt, but: when we were living in Europe we found the easiest way to approximate US-style cold brew was with freeze-dried instant coffee mix. I was skeptical when someone else suggested it, and it took a bit to figure out the right water-to-mix ratio, but the results were better than you would probably expect.

2026-06-07 17:46:54 UTC

$100 reward to anyone who can render a $1 bill on a webpage at actual size (as measured on the screen) without knowing the device. Serious.
(This is a revival of an identical challenge I posed back in 2013 that still remains unsolved.)

2026-05-21 20:32:04 UTC

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@nprofile…s3ww ImageOptim is truly amazing, and I use it all the time. It’s exceptionally good at crunching down the size of PNGs that have limited color depth (which is usually the kinds of images I am wanting to compress most). But, yeah, not being able to fiddle with some things like the exact color palette, dithering options, etc, and without any preview, leaves me still wanting something else.
Affinity’s export tool is probably the thing that’s closest to what I want, but that also doesn’t check all the boxes (no animations, no dithering options, the custom color palette option has been broken as long as I’ve known about it).

2026-05-21 20:21:58 UTC

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@nprofile…965h Yes, also ImageMagick has really extensive options for exporting graphics with tons of settings. But without live previews there’s a lot of trial and error involved. I also definitely prefer a GUI over command line tools for stuff like this.

2026-05-21 18:10:45 UTC

Is there a modern image compression tool for macOS that offers anything even close to the control from Photoshop’s “Save for Web (Legacy)”?
Specifically, something with options to:
– Limit the color depth to a specific number of (customizable) colors
– Choose different dithering methods
– Choose different color reduction methods
– Choose different compression methods
– And, perhaps most critically: preview the results visually, with estimated file sizes
I know of tools with visual previews but nothing close to the options. Similarly, there are tools that offer plenty of options (and even better compression), but no preview and/or graphic UI.
Surely I can’t be the only person who wants something like “Save for Web (Legacy)” but with newer formats like APNG or WEBP.

2026-05-05 18:30:18 UTC

@nprofile…5g26 A gem spotted for you at the NY International Antiquarian Book Fair over the weekend.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/523/359/626/222/863/original/a69526ff4d8703c0.jpeg

2026-04-28 15:08:40 UTC

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@nprofile…8kyx @nprofile…gt58 Not bad! I guess it also suffers from some of the terms having implications beyond size alone. I also have to constantly remind myself that many graphic designers have no idea what some terms like “Banner” even refer to. I’ve had multiple people admit to me that they thought a typeface was meant for digital screens because it had “Display” in the name.

2026-04-28 06:01:59 UTC

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@nprofile…gt58 I would say your named sizes are confusing, not just because the order isn’t totally obvious, but also because some of them (esp. “Headline”) have implications beyond just size.
If you want to try a relative size-naming system that sorts alphabetically, I’ve been toying with a scheme that goes in reverse order:
Huge
Large
Medium
Small
Tiny
X Tiny
XX Tiny
Naming based on a number might be a more appealing approach if the handling of `opsz` values was more reliably consistent across software, and/or the spec for the `opsz` value was directly tied to actual optical (perceived, angular) size. Unfortunately the current landscape for `opsz` numbering is a rat’s nest.
Related:
https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-css-archive/2020Jun/0055.html

2026-03-20 10:46:36 UTC

@nprofile…zmtw Greetings from Bangkok 🙏
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/261/099/568/752/193/original/b0634f7b4f73cd32.jpeg

2026-03-08 19:36:40 UTC

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@nprofile…wguy … Though, this explanation makes a good case against using “final” as well (at least for the deliverable release):
https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/a/68197
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/195/236/280/204/098/original/8ee3f8360c5cb70c.jpeg

2026-03-08 19:19:24 UTC

@nprofile…wguy
I guess the moral of the story is that using “production” to refer to the final product of making fonts is confusing to a lot of people (especially people who aren’t familiar with the use of “production” in other kinds of software development) and maybe should just be avoided altogether when formally referring to any stage of the process.
I like “development” (to refer to the development stage) and “final” (to refer to the final output), but almost anything seems better than “production” (for either / any / all stages).
Something like “binary” could also work for the final output, but that’s also not the most intuitive for people who aren’t as familiar with software development.

2026-03-04 17:07:40 UTC

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@nprofile…nqgz Not exactly what you want because the locking isn’t biometric, but I’m glad iPhones have the quick and easy functionality to initiate a password-only lockdown:
https://daringfireball.net/2022/06/require_a_passcode_to_unlock_your_iphone

2026-03-02 05:33:50 UTC

❝ … it’s like eating the part of the burrito that is only rice.❞
Once again, @djr does an excellent job writing in plain language about the sometimes complex considerations involved when making and using fonts. And once again he releases a fun new typeface for the Font of the Month Club that is easily worth the cost of admission:
https://djr.com/notes/buckridge-font-of-the-month
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/157/948/253/230/948/original/98ca7581ce2afaae.png

2026-02-21 18:51:49 UTC

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@nprofile…cqgf @nprofile…e9hc @nprofile…g56g For whatever it’s worth, when I got the Adobe request to record my screen (https://typo.social/@nicksherman/110239055746383116), I denied it and it didn’t seem to impact my ability to use the color picker at all.

2026-02-20 23:10:59 UTC

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… Sidenote: Kepler is a great, under-appreciated type family and I wish more people would use it.
https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/4198/kepler
It’s looking nice at https://www.hollywoodreporter.com where the above screen recording was made, even with Safari rounding its glyph positions all over the place.

2026-02-20 22:43:18 UTC

Something that’s bothered me for a long time about Safari is how it can really sabotage the spacing of fonts by rounding their glyph positions. It’s most notable with medium-to-large type, especially when resizing windows, which causes glyphs to jump around in whole-pixel increments.
It seems fonts rendered at 33⅓ pixels and above get switched to whole-pixel glyph positioning. The spacing of many fonts is designed in increments of 1‰ of 1em (often even smaller), so seeing glyphs knocked around as much as 30‰ at a time is quite jarring.
It doesn’t happen in other macOS browsers, or even basic apps like TextEdit, which presumably always use sub-pixel positioning.
Is there a workaround for this? Applying `text-rendering: geometricPrecision` in the CSS doesn’t help.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/105/263/686/150/052/original/c85766394bb90a95.mp4

2026-02-09 10:58:26 UTC

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@nprofile…j8aq This article explains some of the reasons I root against the Patriots despite being raised in New England and having zero interest in any other NFL teams, or US football in general:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/us/super-bowl-seahawks-patriots-fans.html?unlocked_article_code=1.K1A.GMRY.vcmlv93hjqil&smid=nytcore-ios-share

2026-02-03 17:37:02 UTC

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@nprofile…dd9w @nprofile…aane Ok now I definitely need to try this out with the Shop Sans Curve variable font and animate its curvature axis along with the bouncy baseline.
https://www.futurefonts.com/hex/shop-sans

2026-02-02 20:14:09 UTC

MyFonts AI search results for nationalist right-wing fonts (complete with auto-generated sample text). 🫠
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/002/818/172/325/028/original/914484f8f9bb4dde.png

2026-02-02 03:13:00 UTC

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@nprofile…j074 That’s a great one, but it’s hard to top Mayeur
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksherman/30761287120/

2026-01-12 06:00:39 UTC

If you told me this poster was designed recently I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. But, nope: it was designed by Max Bill (and letterpress-printed) in 1931.
1931!!! Almost 100 years ago!
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/218733
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/880/540/319/984/763/original/017ab99e156ca800.jpg

2026-01-09 17:11:55 UTC

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@nprofile…cm8h I discussed something like this privately with @nprofile…syrg a few months ago and he started work on a table with notes about where the various name fields were relevant in real-world contexts. It’s tricky though because documenting it means you have to actually test all the overlaps of all the different scenarios in all the different apps, which sounds like absolute torture.

2025-12-16 13:39:34 UTC

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@nprofile…jpdm @nprofile…4q39 @nprofile…c2vz @nprofile…mw4f I believe the custom font options are only available in the desktop version of Mona, whereas Ice Cubes has it in both desktop and mobile versions.

2025-12-16 08:46:21 UTC

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@nprofile…4q39 I’ve used and enjoyed Ice Cubes too (I especially like their option to use custom fonts) but at least last time I checked they didn’t have the feature to sync timeline position etc across devices the way Mona does. Maybe they do now though?

2025-12-16 07:25:00 UTC

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@nprofile…24as It’s worked great for me so far, without any issues. It even has a handy option to scroll back to a previous position in case you want to return to where you were before the iCloud position was restored.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/728/049/776/729/180/original/ef425d7fd7dee94e.jpeg

2025-12-16 06:58:21 UTC

Mona is my daily-driver Mastodon app on both desktop and mobile devices, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying using the beta of this new version. Highly recommended.

2025-12-10 21:21:24 UTC

Nazi dipshits in 1941:
“Today the Führer […] decided that roman is from now on to be designated as the standard letter. All printed products will be progressively changed over to this standard letter. The use of Schwabacher-Jewish letters by authorities will in future cease”.
Nazi dipshits in 2025:
“To restore decorum and professionalism […] and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/10/trump-times-new-roman-font-return-state-department
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/697/123/048/375/712/original/0fda05b3795051ba.jpeg

2025-12-01 11:08:46 UTC

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@nprofile…ns49 @nprofile…ylnn @nprofile…ltjz @nprofile…mfqq @nprofile…re6k @nprofile…66gf Calling that auto-traced version “OK-ish” is … generous. Even the options from dafont are more useable. https://www.dafont.com/pinewood.font

2025-12-01 09:16:49 UTC

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@nprofile…4cu7 @nprofile…t9uc @nprofile…ylnn @nprofile…ltjz @nprofile…mfqq @nprofile…re6k @nprofile…66gf One day a true hero will emerge with a proper revival of Rustic No. 2, complete with a full range of size-specific variants.

2025-12-01 07:29:32 UTC

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@nprofile…yy2c Other than the graffiti, that sign seems to be in basically the same condition as when I photographed it in 2018:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksherman/42249952314/
Hard to imagine a vinyl sign holding up as well.

2025-11-30 21:10:54 UTC

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@nprofile…ylnn Late reply here, but: In case you missed it, there are some licensable log fonts in the “Related Typefaces” list on that @nprofile…ltjz page. Unfortunately everything is either 1) based on the same historic design, but not very good quality, or 2) better quality but not a direct revival.
@nprofile…mfqq has drawn some log letters along those lines, but nothing released as far as I know.
I also vaguely recall seeing something from @nprofile…re6k and/or @nprofile…66gf? Very possible I’m misremembering though.

2025-11-13 13:43:58 UTC

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@nprofile…s8f2 Graphic design portfolio of an immortal being

2025-11-08 08:57:36 UTC

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@nprofile…u0v7 … When specifying the short form dates for such items, I will often write something like “c.1924[?]” – with the question mark in brackets but not the date, to indicate the date is present but just not obviously the publication date. (As opposed to something like “[c.1924?]” – with the date and the question mark in brackets, for things where that date doesn’t actually appear anywhere.)
This is my own made-up syntax though. I should probably read more about proper bibliography.

2025-11-08 08:42:55 UTC

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@nprofile…u0v7 It seems reasonable to estimate the publication date to be at least somewhere around the latest date from usage samples in a type specimen book. Real librarians would definitely have better insight than me though. (cc @nprofile…06lh @nprofile…y9zx)
I’ve gradually developed my own weird logic/syntax for documenting those dates in my own collection of type specimens. At the very least I try to add notes about such things, along the lines of “not dated, but …”
https://www.librarything.com/catalog/nicksherman?&deepsearch=%22Not%20dated%20but%22

2025-11-06 10:35:32 UTC

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@nprofile…wgw9 … On a related note: I was talking to Tobias @nprofile…3qsf last night about your article and trying to convince him to implement his own cryptic date-reference code for future type historians to ponder over.

2025-11-06 09:44:46 UTC

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@nprofile…wgw9 Re: Linotype & Machinery …
When cataloging my type specimen collection, I’ve been trying to take note of reference codes when I see them. I’m guessing you have most of these things documented already, but if not here’s my Linotype & Machinery stuff:
https://www.librarything.com/catalog/nicksherman?&deepsearch=Linotype%20Machinery

2025-11-06 09:20:26 UTC

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@nprofile…7420 @nprofile…l45t I’m not sure what’s worse: having those 20+ year old zombie articles shoe-horned into the current horrible MyFonts website, or having the information replaced by complete garbage, as is the case with the Stephenson Blake foundry page …
How it started:
https://web.archive.org/web/20070125014457/http://myfonts.com/foundry/stephensonblake/
How it’s going:
https://www.myfonts.com/collections/stephenson-blake
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/502/011/203/081/451/original/1ecc3e9356adaebb.jpeg
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/502/011/237/971/666/original/d6e0c3eeb437f9a1.jpeg

2025-11-06 08:56:07 UTC

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@nprofile…7420 This is likely zombie text from a VERY old version of MyFonts where foundry pages were far more detailed – more like reference pages. As I understand, much of the info for those pages originated in a type history database Mike Parker started in the early days of Bitstream.
I may be wrong but I think @nprofile…l45t expanded and maintained those articles in the ’00s, before Monotype took over.
It definitely looks weird in the crappy new MyFonts site now, esp after 20+ years without updates.

2025-10-25 16:26:52 UTC

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@nprofile…rum8 While there is often a desire to do clever things with the .notdef glyph, I would generally recommend against it. Showing unfamiliar things in a situation like glyph fallback that is already fairly unclear to most people just compounds the possibility for confusion.
I know it’s not as fun, but I’d recommend just using a more typical .notdef design.

2025-10-25 13:18:45 UTC

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@nprofile…6fq7 @nprofile…qppg Incidentally, our talk about Zapf Dingbats included “❣︎” in its official title, and we started the presentation by explaining how that Unicode character got stripped from the listing on TypeCon’s published schedule.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/435/000/638/025/079/original/12f853d6ce0a36fe.jpeg

2025-10-21 18:47:10 UTC

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@nprofile…skx5 @nprofile…autn While I was waiting for the battery to be replaced in the 13 mini, I fired up my old iPhone SE (1st-generation), and it made me long for having Touch ID on my phone again. I miss not having to allow Face ID to fail multiple times while I’m lying in bed before I can input my passcode.

2025-10-21 17:25:59 UTC

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@nprofile…mr63 @nprofile…t9uc Everyone is different but as a “small fish” I can attest that it’s possible to survive without Instagram. Neither @nprofile…dpf5 as a company nor I personally are active on Instagram but I still manage to survive and pay my bills.
And though I don’t think the correlation is directly related, @nprofile…ltjz has actually done *better* since abandoning Instagram:
https://fontsinuse.com/uses/63903/fonts-in-use-is-not-active-on-instagram
Meta and the like depend on people assuming it’s impossible to survive without them, but it’s hogwash.

2025-10-21 17:01:08 UTC

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@nprofile…autn @nprofile…skx5 Nodding along while typing this on my iPhone 13 mini that similarly just got a new battery the other day.

2025-10-16 22:44:53 UTC

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@nprofile…ukmn @nprofile…vk0r @nprofile…m8r8 Interesting! Do you think it was a good decision to drop the Code even though ATypI never really became that kind of standards organization in the end anyway?

2025-10-16 21:53:06 UTC

Some interesting backstory on @nprofile…vk0r’s “Moral Code”, part of @nprofile…m8r8’s ongoing ATypI research:
https://johndberry.com/atypi-history/le-code-moral/
It isn’t mentioned there but the Moral Code was how Bitstream justified their practice in the 1980s of making digital copies of other companies’ typefaces. At the time, the Code basically said you must apply for a license to adapt a typeface from another company, but if you are denied it’s moral to do it anyway when the typeface is 15 years old.
Those were different times.

2025-10-11 16:19:31 UTC

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@nprofile…8d9y This probably isn’t particularly helpful, but the Font Production class @nprofile…4u37 has been teaching for @nprofile…ahnd is the best option I can think of for learning this kind of stuff in a cohesive format:
https://coopertype.org/events/font-production
A lot can be learned online but unfortunately it usually requires reading a combination of tutorials, discussions, specifications, bug reports, etc from all different times and places. 🫤

2025-10-07 15:39:08 UTC

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@nprofile…wdfz Is this using your fonts? I’ll try to make it over there in the next few days.

2025-10-06 16:48:59 UTC

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@nprofile…musy Love this. Were the seasonally-themed fleurons part of the font?

2025-10-05 05:26:22 UTC

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@nprofile…l5kr In case the toot-length summaries and screenshots you may have found still leave you confused:
https://typo.social/@nicksherman/115319880650799298

2025-10-04 23:11:07 UTC

The current drama going on over at Bluesky – where the CEO’s reaction to complaints about transphobes on the platform is to troll users with some stupid shit about waffles – makes me so happy I’ve invested my energy in a properly decentralized platform like Mastodon, and not Bluesky.
I’m stunned when people fleeing the shitbaggery of one corporate platform just herd themselves into another one without any fire exits to use if/when the new corporate leadership also turns to shitbaggery.

2025-08-24 05:36:20 UTC

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@nprofile…knrx I was also at that game and I think at the end it was the emptiest/quietest I’ve ever seen Citi Field during a regular game, which was kinda fun in its own surrealist way.
During the rain delay I walked full laps of every level of the stadium, which introduced me to corners of the park I never knew existed.
So yeah, horrible game but still fun to be there. Happy birthday and congrats on the ball!
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/082/117/967/634/072/original/6a13ec0bc3c22786.jpeg
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/082/118/892/566/715/original/196959e78619400f.jpeg

2025-08-21 16:45:44 UTC

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@nprofile…9ync @nprofile…hjan @nprofile…p5ag A couple other examples of fonts for prototyping include @nprofile…qx50’s The Written Word (https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/29476/ltr-the-written-word) and The Printed Word (https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/29471/ltr-the-printed-word).

2025-08-21 15:03:22 UTC

This is impressive: a fully responsive website template system based on Star Trek’s LCARS operating system, built with only HTML & CSS – no images. Made by Jim Robertus, based on the original designs by Michael Okuda.
https://www.thelcars.com
(Sound on for full experience.)
via @nprofile…df09 who used it to make a new RSS reader theme for @nprofile…0jed 🤯
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/067/306/834/647/642/original/7a202b7f20bbddf3.png

2025-08-20 15:31:11 UTC

When I walk into the book fair
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/061/717/377/474/666/original/94242278c1e0f1ff.mp4

2025-08-19 13:22:08 UTC

Welp, that didn’t last long :\
https://typo.social/@nicksherman/111144889400847176
(This year’s call for proposals now says: “Speakers are responsible for their own conference registration”.)

2025-08-15 23:15:57 UTC

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@nprofile…w044 One of the many reasons I like @nprofile…tw9k is because of their stance on generative AI:
https://buttondown.com/blog/generative-ai

2025-08-15 23:14:47 UTC

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@nprofile…w044 One of the many reasons I like @nprofile…tw9k is because of their stance on using generative AI:
https://buttondown.com/blog/generative-ai

2025-08-07 17:39:52 UTC

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@nprofile…qx50 @nprofile…pqf8 @nprofile…gwee @nprofile…nack @nprofile…svt6 I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of shadows the letters cast whenever there might be direct sunlight in Amsterdam.

2025-08-07 13:16:31 UTC

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@nprofile…00xu This isn’t too far off from how @nprofile…fed7’s Font of the Month Club works.
https://djr.com/font-of-the-month-club

2025-08-06 19:05:53 UTC

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@nprofile…09m3
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/983/354/760/962/193/original/4de1b93c3fd7df09.mp4

2025-07-27 22:21:58 UTC

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@nprofile…zm9c Also paging @nprofile…gl4a

2025-07-26 22:31:58 UTC

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One of my favorite parts of making the mega @nprofile…2qv9 post about Black Sabbath was scouring Discogs for all these different colorways that have been used for the Master of Reality album cover.
Someone please get me a copy of that alternating rainbow variant.
https://fontsinuse.com/uses/35835/the-arcane-alphabets-of-black-sabbath
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/921/871/888/386/561/original/66112afd92180b2d.jpeg

2025-07-26 22:19:42 UTC

I think this article about Black Sabbath’s obscure early typefaces is the longest thing I’ve ever written for @nprofile…2qv9 (2,500+ words).
https://typo.social/@FontsInUse/114921745310777808
Huge thanks to @nprofile…pqxh for helping with images and putting together the supporting entries. And of course everyone else who contributes, edits, comments, or otherwise supports the site. A lot of this info is built up over literal years from many people in bits and pieces, so every little bit is appreciated.
Anyway, happy Saturday.

2025-07-26 17:39:02 UTC

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@nprofile…vzd2 https://fosstodon.org/@arosien/114917752906736961

2025-07-25 02:29:03 UTC

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@nprofile…ay9w
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/911/513/363/836/913/original/66a2e970e5aa20a8.jpeg

2025-07-24 09:07:41 UTC

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@nprofile…y3n4 I’m probably jaded after so many years of seeing various type/typography standardization efforts fizzle out, but things like that seem to struggle to get past the #ExistentialTypeQuestions phase without support from a corporation and/or standards organization. And when smaller, independent or community-led standardization efforts do manage to make it off the ground, they often languish or fizzle out anyway due to lack of adoption or support (e.g. PANOSE, or @nprofile…75cl’s Type.World project).

2025-07-23 08:32:10 UTC

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@nprofile…dkj2 @nprofile…gsl0 Reminds me of this photo of Ozzy I’ve kept in my swipe file since 2007.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/901/610/982/304/908/original/0c09de73ea419521.jpg

2025-07-23 04:17:08 UTC

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@nprofile…h92u @nprofile…svt6 @nprofile…06lu @nprofile…u9u3 Though it’s not exactly like you described, there’s a setup wizard thing kinda like that on the @nprofile…4t09 website:
https://fedidb.com/welcome
There’s also a list of the various Fediverse alternatives to popular corporate platforms here:
https://jointhefediverse.net/join

2025-07-23 00:00:44 UTC

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… As far as Ozzy/typography crossovers, it’s hard to top Erik Marinovich’s Ozik font family, inspired by the cover design for Black Sabbath’s ‘Vol. 4’ album.
I always loved the review of ‘Vol. 4’ Erik included on the promo page for the fonts.
https://nuformtype.com/ozik
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/899/522/925/999/164/original/7a9ed5370e8f8f16.png
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/899/527/165/681/629/original/16648bc183d9f49e.png
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/899/548/277/110/203/original/dd348b3b41144a2d.png

2025-07-22 23:26:21 UTC

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Ozzy on pizza:
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/899/462/502/335/656/original/fe2ce729f5fd5606.png

2025-07-22 21:49:27 UTC

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@nprofile…rxkp Amazing.

2025-07-22 21:01:58 UTC

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… For years (circa 2010–2015) this photo of me in an Ozzy shirt was what I would send whenever I had to provide a headshot for conferences, author bios, etc. Sometimes the organizers would crop off the Ozzy logo.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/898/837/581/375/468/original/1482c802e9f1a0d8.jpg

2025-07-22 20:34:45 UTC

Ozzy was a true original. It’s safe to say he altered the path of music/culture.
I got my first Black Sabbath record (Paranoid) from the $1 bin at the thrift store when I was 10 years old, probably after seeing the Iron Man video on Beavis & Butthead. The record was completely scratched but I played it over and over and it totally changed my understanding of music.
In college I painted a 9-foot Ozzy portrait that hung in my hallway for years. I still have it – shown here with @nprofile…kqtx for scale.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/898/763/264/099/926/original/48fe280ff5adce67.jpeg

2025-07-22 18:55:14 UTC

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@nprofile…q8fn Love these! Do you have links to the sources? Would love more context (especially for that first image).

2025-07-22 18:01:52 UTC

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@nprofile…svt6 @nprofile…h92u @nprofile…06lu For what it’s worth, there are some type people on Pixelfed, mostly on the big pixelfed.social server:
https://typo.social/@nicksherman/113906696801669208

2025-07-22 17:58:46 UTC

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@nprofile…svt6 The idea has been discussed a few times but so far nothing exists I know of.
(CCing @nprofile…h92u and @nprofile…06lu who I vaguely remember discussing this at some point.)

2025-07-21 22:46:52 UTC

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@nprofile…7fpj Abandon ship!

2025-07-21 19:35:09 UTC

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@nprofile…qx50 These days, however, I think the large majority of designers who have heard the term “ink trap” understand it as referring to the solution and not the problem, for better or worse.

2025-07-21 19:19:07 UTC

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@nprofile…qx50 Linotype and others definitely used “ink trap” to refer to the problem long before it was used for the solution.
The later flip in meaning may have come from the separate idea of trapping in print production, where modifications (“chokes” and “spreads”) are used to compensate for inking and registration issues.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap_(printing)
U&lc defined it as the solution in 1980 but that didn’t reflect a universal consensus. Walter Tracy used it for the problem at least as late as 1986.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/892/703/271/310/301/original/aebffb95144eb370.jpg
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/892/705/168/686/565/original/54e1db97a828f95d.jpg

2025-07-21 17:43:13 UTC

Ken & Lynn Barber’s newsletter series exists largely to promote the Type & Lettering workshops and books (which are indeed worth knowing about), but it also features nice little bite-sized nuggets about historical designers, lettering, terminology, typefaces, and more.
https://typeandlettering.substack.com/archive?sort=new
You can also subscribe via RSS:
https://typeandlettering.substack.com/feed
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/892/410/129/582/676/original/5d06a9e75f1e0256.webp
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/892/410/632/529/560/original/e3543d05a89bf66f.webp
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/892/411/633/940/040/original/8175c1bc8464b917.webp
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/892/411/253/787/496/original/5b507a1ffe50dbf2.webp

2025-07-21 03:43:33 UTC

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@nprofile…p3s2 Yep!

2025-07-19 19:43:14 UTC

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@nprofile…0ffe @nprofile…unvw @nprofile…pqf8 @nprofile…g7fa @nprofile…y3n4 ❝The Encyclopedia Of Typefaces shows specimens of type but it’s not a type specimen❞ matches with my original point.
But because that book is mostly type specimens, I don’t think it’s wrong to call it a “type specimen book” or “type specimen compendium”.
Conversely, if a book was made as a singular example I *would* probably consider it a “type specimen” – even less traditional ones, like @nprofile…wnvm’s ’Book of war, mortification, and love’.

2025-07-19 19:07:16 UTC

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@nprofile…7u30 When I started making the @nprofile…lmuj website I ran into many #ExistentialTypeQuestions about how to handle the <figure> element, which I essentially use to wrap specimens. But I also have nested specimens (e.g. separate examples of the same typeface but with different formatting), so I have it coded as nested <figure> elements.

2025-07-19 19:02:00 UTC

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@nprofile…pqf8 When there is a compilation of multiple separate type specimens, I usually try to make the distinction by just adding a qualifier term. For example: “type specimen book” or “type specimen poster series”. That also helps to disambiguate even when the example is a singular stand-alone specimen, so it never hurts to add for context.

2025-07-19 18:51:36 UTC

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@nprofile…pqf8 @nprofile…g7fa @nprofile…unvw @nprofile…y3n4 I would disagree with this distinction. To me any singular sample (whether it’s a one-line sample, a full page layout, a poster, or even a full singularly-focused book) is a “specimen”, regardless of if it’s commercial or not.
Other fields (geology, postage stamps, entomology) use “specimen” in the same way, without any relation to commerce.

2025-07-19 15:34:01 UTC

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Pedantic Service Announcement (time edition):
When specifying time in the USA, “EST” stands for “Eastern Standard Time”, which is only really relevant for less than half of the year. During daylight saving time it’s “EDT” for “Eastern Daylight Time”.
When you’re not sure if the time you’re specifying is EST or EDT, just say “ET” or “Eastern Time”, which is a generic way to refer to the time zone, regardless of daylight saving status.
Same goes for Pacific / PST / PDT / PT etc.

2025-07-19 14:22:51 UTC

Another Pedantic Service Announcement (typography edition):
A “specimen” is an individual example of something (whether it’s type, a rock, an insect, a postage stamp, or something else). A type specimen book usually contains multiple type specimens. Referring to an entire type specimen book as a “type specimen” really only makes sense if the entire book is a singular example – it’s like calling a poetry book a “poem”.

2025-07-19 13:37:40 UTC

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@nprofile…q3cn I was gonna add that but ran out of characters :)

2025-07-19 13:35:21 UTC

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@nprofile…l33k @nprofile…vh5w I can’t help but hear “eg-zample” in my head.😅

2025-07-19 13:14:11 UTC

Pedantic Service Announcements:
“circa” means “approximately”. Don’t use it when giving exact dates.
Before a date, “c.” usually means “circa”, “(c)” means “copyright”, and “ca.” means “circa”.
“i.e.” means “that is” (i.e. “in other words”).
“e.g.” means “for the sake of an example” (i.e. “for example”).
“&” originated as a ligature of “et” which means “and”.
“&c.” and “etc.” are short for “et cetera” which means “and the rest”. “And etc.” is redundant.
“O.G.” means “original gangster”.

2025-07-18 20:40:20 UTC

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@nprofile…7nxw I’m not sure if this was the case with you, but I often have to correct people about what they imagine it was like to grow up in a Cape Cod house from the 1780s. Sounds romantic and cozy on paper until you factor in things like woefully weak insulation, absurdly warped flooring, and never-ending issues to upgrade ancient plumbing / electrical / roofing / etc.

2025-07-18 20:19:35 UTC

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@nprofile…7nxw I had to do a double-take on that top photo because it looks incredibly similar to the house where I grew up on Cape Cod, built in 1786. The barn out back was used as my dad’s workshop for building/repairing wooden boats.

2025-07-14 23:52:38 UTC

I’d love to see Flickr, the company, become as active on Mastodon as @nprofile…q8fn is. Or really even just present on the Fediverse in any official capacity at all.
Relatedly, it’d be a dream if Flickr, the website/service, started integrating support for the ActivityPub protocol, like @nprofile…n2eq once mentioned as a possibility.
#Flickr

2025-07-14 14:06:50 UTC

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@nprofile…qx50 @nprofile…pqf8 This reminds me of @nprofile…nwnx’s DIY Lego contraption for Typositor film fonts.
https://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/lego-the-type-designers-friend/

2025-07-14 12:13:33 UTC

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@nprofile…qx50
@nprofile…pqf8 Is that just standard 35 mm film stock?

2025-07-10 19:12:08 UTC

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@nprofile…c0h4 🥁

2025-07-10 18:05:16 UTC

Today I learned there is a pair of font-themed high-rise apartment buildings in Queens, named The Bold (https://boldanditalic.com/bold/) and The Italic (https://boldanditalic.com/italic/).
Of course they are marketed with pun-filled copywriting, like “your type of place”, “where luxury and style are written boldly”, and “amenities that put an exclamation point on ease”.

2025-07-08 21:49:39 UTC

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@nprofile…unvw @nprofile…a5lr As I understand it, @nprofile…k2ma did a lot of heavy lifting to finish the new Amplitude fonts for this re-release.
Now I’m waiting for an excuse to use Amplitude again.

2025-07-07 13:06:37 UTC

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/arts/design/jim-parkinson-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Uk8.xzqe.cWWK7ZIIqKi2&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare