Category: Typography

  • Ishidan Marathon T-shirt

    My buddy Gavin shared the photo you see pictured here, for a marathon he entered in Japan, and I absolutely love the design.

  • Mojihunt

    “Mojihunt” is a project by Fabian Reus in which he shares close-ups of Japanese characters that he spots out and about. Follow the project on Instagram. Found via Canvas.

  • Fire & Ice

    Fire & Ice is a beautiful zine produced by Noah Nguyen, focusing on type and lettering, all shot during a trip by Nguyen to Niigata. I’m not seeing anywhere to purchase it, so it may be a one-off. Found via Canvas.

  • Nicely Responsive

    It’s been a running joke for a decade that websites in Japan are, well, shit. It’s pretty great to see that things are improving, taking this site for example, which showcases a beautiful use of typography in a smartly responsive package. Found via this tweet.

  • Idea 375

    Idea is a fantastic magazine about typography and graphic design, and it’s one of the rare Japanese publications that is entirely bilingual (English/Japanese). The latest issue covers the work of graphic designer Koichi Sato. Lucky for you, my buddy Ian‘s Wordshape webstore sells copies. It may sound pricey ($50, including shipping), but each issue of…

  • Mashikaku

    Mashikaku is a beautiful typography project that is composed of over 9000 characters, all done in a super angular structure that is inspired by an old form of typeset used in advertising during the Edo era. Read more about it in this Spoon & Tamago post. I quite like the items you can get printed by them,…

  • A Primer on Japanese Typography

    AQ‘s Eiko Nagase has written a fantastic article on using Japanese typography, that you should read now. It’s also going to lead to an upcoming book on the topic, A Primer on Japanese Typography, that you can pre-order here.

  • In the Glitter

    In the Glitter is a fun 6-minute short to watch, made up of Tokyo’s neon signs. Becomes mesmerizing to watch. It was made by Stephen Smith 5 years ago, and so quite a few of these no longer exist. Found via Canvas.

  • That’s Entertainment!

    Ian Lynam is a Tokyo-based dude I love so much, and embarrassingly it’s just now that I’m catching up on the fantastic essay/exhibition he produced earlier this year called “That’s Entertainment!” Get some background through this TypeThursday interview, and then get online and read through the project’s main essay — and that’s also where you can download plenty…

  • Street Typography

    Lately I’ve been really enjoying the “nodoca” and “typosanpo” accounts on Twitter, that share photos of signs — and their typographic messages — in Japan. I’ve also come across this page by Tokyo-based designer Dan Vaughan, where he’s doing the same thing. The photo in this post is from this tweet.