Cover for the 1991 Accolade, Inc. computer game software catalog, featuring a mix of seemingly incompatible fonts, which was a popular post-modern trend in the late 1980s and early 1990s. From Wikipedia:

Accolade, Inc. (later Infogrames North America, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher based in San Jose, California. The company was founded as Accolade in 1984 by Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead, who had previously co-founded Activisionin 1979. The company became known for numerous sports game series, including HardBall!, Jack Nicklaus and Test Drive.

Other type treatments found in the catalog’s interior pages can be seen at the Internet Archive.

Example of the Interior pages of the catalog. The justified, multi-colored text on the left page is Neue Helvetica 55 Roman. On the right page, “Golf” is ITC American Typewriter Medium Condensed, “NEW” is Compacta Light, the body and caption text is a mix between Neue Helvetica 57 Condensed and 77 Condensed Bold. (The text of the game – over the image of Jack Nicklaus – is Cheltenham Condensed, in caps with small caps.)

1972 printing

When Alianza Editorial brought out a paperback edition with a Spanish translation of Die Verwandlung (English: The Metamorphosis), cover designer Daniel Gil came up with an ingenious idea: why not translate the novel’s theme to a purely typographic solution? Instead of depicting salesman Gregor Samsa transforming into a monstrous insect, the title gradually morphs from News Gothic Condensed into Franklin Gothic Extra Condensed.

For later printings, this design was altered repeatedly. Poppl-Exquisit, used in 1972 for the publisher’s name, was replaced by News Gothic, and the title’s color changed from white to two shades of grey. Later on, someone from marketing might have raised a flag about the colors being too dull and the author’s name not popping out enough. In any case, in 1985, “Franz Kafka” was printed in red, and the parts in Franklin in brown. For my part, these changes didn’t make Gil’s design any better, but luckily, they didn’t ruin it either. I think it’s funny that they added a second level of metamorphosis to the cover and its publication history!

1974 printing

1985 printing

1995 printing

The majority of the insert (excluding one side of the track list).

The title is set in the heavy version of ITC Serif Gothic with its alternate circular capital E on full display. Secondary typefaces include the light version of Futura Condensed (used for the last names of the original artists, “53 Min”, and “79 804”), Twentieth Century Ultrabold (used for “Classics”), Helvetica Condensed (used for “Stereo”) and Helvetica (for the remainder of the text). The LaserLight logo at the bottom is based on ITC Avant Garde Gothic Condensed.

[More info on Discogs]

The other side of the track list.

Poppl-Exquisit for a bilingual door hanger used by the Royal Windsor in Brussels, Belgium. From Edoardo Flores’ collection of “Do not disturb” signs from all over the world.

“The easy guide to DIY fashion” is in Rockwell, “Kleding Maken” is embroidered and shaded

Charade. The logo of broadcaster/publisher Teleac is set in Gill Sans Bold.

The designer of this 1970s course book is uncredited, but it’s probably not a Massimo Vignelli adept. Why use fifteen different typefaces (plus some condensed and bold weights) in what could have been a straightforward course book? Did the designer finally get access to that fancy Mecanorma font catalog? Was this a first book, and was he or she eager to show off and play as much as possible? Whatever the reasons, this book was made with pleasure, and the hobbyist typographic tools (transfer lettering and IBM typewriter) echo the DIY nature of the content.

Kleding Maken – De makkelijke handleiding voor Zelfmaakmode (Making clothing – The easy guide to DIY fashion) is the name of a sewing course, broadcasted by Teleac on Dutch television in the late 1970s. The TV show came with this accompanying book and sewing patterns. It was written by Henriëtte Beukers, with photographs by her husband Henk Beukers and illustrated with flair by fashion illustrator Gerda van Gijzel (at that time known as Gerda van Tol).

Edit: Zelf Kleding Maken is a true DIY project. It was conceived, written, directed, designed photographed and layed out by Henriëtte Beukers and her husband Henk Beukers, who met at art school, and worked together ever since. In order to be able to produce this book themselves, the family bought an IBM Selectric Composer (at the cost of half a house), and with the help of their son and design student Haico and a few others, this book was produced in a few months time.

“Wat hebben we nodig?” (What do we need?) is in a filled-in version of Paperclip. The body text for the book was set with the IBM Selectric Composer, with these pages in IBM’s Century.

“Kussensloop / Een goede oefening” (pillow case / a good exercise) set in Expressa, with an ‘oo’ ligature. Captions set with the IBM Selectric version of Univers.

“Stoffen stoffen” (fabrics fabrics) set in Clarendon with effects.

“Smokken / Stofversieren” (Shirring / Decorating textiles) set in Aki Lines, an ITC original that was also available from Mecanorma.

“van knippatroon tot rok” (from pattern to skirt) set in Mecanorma’s futuristic monoline Film.

“Handige Hints” (helpful hints) is a recurring section throughout the course book. Headers and numbers set in Embrionic Triline with swashes. Body text in Univers.

“Uit de kast gehaald” (out of the closet) is another recurring section, discussing ways to reuse well-worn clothes or textile leftovers. The title is a combination of Expressa and Via Face Don. The body text is set in Theme, a typeface designed specifically for the IBM Selectric Composer.

“Doorlopende figuurnaad” (continuous tuck) is not set in Octopuss Shaded but in its near-identical and ready-filled sibling Madeleine Shaded.

“Kijken naar kleding van vroeger” (looking at clothing from bygone days). Heading in Poppl-Exquisit. For the righthand page, effort was made to make it look like a page form the past: A narrower typeface, old style fractions, and a outdated choice of words and grammar.

“Register” (Index) set in caps from Avant Garde Gothic, entries in Univers Condensed.

Party flyer for Palabras – The Phrase Stage, performances & open-mic for poets, (l)yricists & wordsmiths, Friday, 31 January 1997 at Paradiso, Amsterdam

It's the beer garden season again and I'm lucky to be in the right place for that. This is from my favourite brewery. This is one of their 10 beers, a light, blonde lager. Ideal for a hot summers day.

Whatever Wagner brew you try, dark or pale, you recognise their signature immediately, the flavours just tickle the taste buds in a unique way. I wonder how they do it.