The Acme Novelty Warehouse.

The Acme Novelty Warehouse is a comprehensive Chris Ware site. If you don’t know who he is, visit a good comix shop first and buy his Jimmy Corrigan volume for starters, or any of the material he’s published on Fantagraphics.

If that’s not enough you can of course visit another well documented website devoted to Chris Ware, called Acme Novelty Archive.

The Acme Novelty Warehouse.

The Acme Novelty Warehouse is a comprehensive Chris Ware site. If you don’t know who he is, visit a good comix shop first and buy his Jimmy Corrigan volume for starters, or any of the material he’s published on Fantagraphics.

If that’s not enough you can of course visit another well documented website devoted to Chris Ware, called Acme Novelty Archive.

UT: UsableType

UsableType: Typography for the world wide web is a fine resource for anything related to typographic details for www publishing. I’ve bumped into this site thanks to a link in Typographi.ca, which is, by the way, another interesting visit: diary (or almost) type-related commentary and linkology.

UT: UsableType

UsableType: Typography for the world wide web is a fine resource for anything related to typographic details for www publishing. I’ve bumped into this site thanks to a link in Typographi.ca, which is, by the way, another interesting visit: diary (or almost) type-related commentary and linkology.

SaneDraw: visual arts, illustration and more

SaneDraw: visual arts, illustration and more: “… presenting picture books, illustrations, cartoons, drawings, digital computer graphics, and plain old visual arts.”

SaneDraw: visual arts, illustration and more

SaneDraw: visual arts, illustration and more: “… presenting picture books, illustrations, cartoons, drawings, digital computer graphics, and plain old visual arts.”

The Cartoonbank

The Cartoonbank, from New Yorker Magazine is an incredible source of inspiration and a good way to spend some time online with the best illustrators of the century. Try searching some names such as Saul Steinberg, Ronald Searle... Very enjoyable indeed.

The Cartoonbank

The Cartoonbank, from New Yorker Magazine is an incredible source of inspiration and a good way to spend some time online with the best illustrators of the century. Try searching some names such as Saul Steinberg, Ronald Searle... Very enjoyable indeed.

Ephemeral landscapes

Ephemeral landscapes is an online essay on the language of comics, graphic storytelling, sequential graphics narrative or whatever you want to call it. The pictures could be larger to study the often interesting details, but it’s a good resource anyway.

Ephemeral landscapes

Ephemeral landscapes is an online essay on the language of comics, graphic storytelling, sequential graphics narrative or whatever you want to call it. The pictures could be larger to study the often interesting details, but it’s a good resource anyway.

Inkscape: draw freely!

Inkscape is a vectorial drawing program, similar to Illustrator or Freehand, but open source and freeware (like Sodipodi, a similar project.) It’s available for several operating systems. After a development phase, it seems a very powerful program with excellent creative tools: you can judge by yourself with their screenshots.

I’ve tested it and I think Sodipodi is really a very good program.

Inkscape works just nice under Windows, various Linux flavours and Mac OSX (fink.)

You can export to the standard vector formats (adobe illustrator, eps, svg —which happens to be its native format—, postscript…) and import from any conceivable format as well. Inkscape does all you expect a good drawing program to do and something more. You can place bitmap images and autotrace them, create tiles the way you can with the Illustrator plugins Symmetryworks or Tessella, apply sophisticated transparencies, expand strokes, attach text to paths, and of course do all the usual path operations.

I strongly recommend this application!

Inkscape: draw freely!

Inkscape is a vectorial drawing program, similar to Illustrator or Freehand, but open source and freeware (like Sodipodi, a similar project.) It’s available for several operating systems. After a development phase, it seems a very powerful program with excellent creative tools: you can judge by yourself with their screenshots.

I’ve tested it and I think Sodipodi is really a very good program.

Inkscape works just nice under Windows, various Linux flavours and Mac OSX (fink.)

You can export to the standard vector formats (adobe illustrator, eps, svg —which happens to be its native format—, postscript…) and import from any conceivable format as well. Inkscape does all you expect a good drawing program to do and something more. You can place bitmap images and autotrace them, create tiles the way you can with the Illustrator plugins Symmetryworks or Tessella, apply sophisticated transparencies, expand strokes, attach text to paths, and of course do all the usual path operations.

I strongly recommend this application!

DincType!

DincType, Diane DiPiazza’s site has been a favorite of mine for quite a long time. A generous offer of freeware fonts, most of them in a retro-sixties style, plus clipart in the same vein, and much more. The site gets constant redesigns and there is always something to surprise and amuse you. Definitely worth a visit.



The main inspiration of Dinc! seems to be rock music and that’s another reason why I must love it. Quotes and references —some obvious, other more obscure— from many bands and artists, are spread around the site. Go and take a look!

DincType!

DincType, Diane DiPiazza’s site has been a favorite of mine for quite a long time. A generous offer of freeware fonts, most of them in a retro-sixties style, plus clipart in the same vein, and much more. The site gets constant redesigns and there is always something to surprise and amuse you. Definitely worth a visit.



The main inspiration of Dinc! seems to be rock music and that’s another reason why I must love it. Quotes and references —some obvious, other more obscure— from many bands and artists, are spread around the site. Go and take a look!

About The Observatory

The postings in this blog will add interesting visits and insights to the visitors of Typephases design. For starters, a recomendation to any computer user that values good, freeware software. The Pricelessware website compiles each year a comprehensive listing of excellent programs in different categories (graphics, web design, text, security, etc.)

About The Observatory

The postings in this blog will add interesting visits and insights to the visitors of Typephases design. For starters, a recomendation to any computer user that values good, freeware software. The Pricelessware website compiles each year a comprehensive listing of excellent programs in different categories (graphics, web design, text, security, etc.)

Typebox / Thinkbox

Typebox / Thinkbox is a digital type foundry (commercial) that besides its fine fonts, hosts a number of articles on design and typography, in its “Thinkbox” section (yes: every corner of Typebox is some kind of “box” —that’s their metaphor throughout.)

Typebox / Thinkbox

Typebox / Thinkbox is a digital type foundry (commercial) that besides its fine fonts, hosts a number of articles on design and typography, in its “Thinkbox” section (yes: every corner of Typebox is some kind of “box” —that’s their metaphor throughout.)

ShinnType’s articles on typography

ShinnType, the website of designer Nick Shinn, offers a wealth of typographical knowledge, downloadable in PDF format. I just stumbled upon this fine website when I searched some information about typographic details; I found the very recommendable essay “Diggin’ it —the buried treasures of typography”.

ShinnType’s articles on typography

ShinnType, the website of designer Nick Shinn, offers a wealth of typographical knowledge, downloadable in PDF format. I just stumbled upon this fine website when I searched some information about typographic details; I found the very recommendable essay “Diggin’ it —the buried treasures of typography”.