Commentary

A New Nameplate Tradition

Typographica on April 19, 2009

One of the Typographica rituals of which we’re most proud is the rotating nameplate. Each design was created and submitted by a reader, reflecting the site’s collaborative nature and keeping things fresh, while offering type and graphic designers the opportunity to show off their latest work. We’ve saved 152 of the 154 nameplates for posterity. The other two? Their fate is known only to Dr. Hermann Pütershein.

Above: A collection of 152 reader-submitted nameplates — all the way back to June, 2002. Push play. If you sit here long enough you can see them all!

Now that we have a new Typographica, it’s time for a new nameplate tradition. This redesign is all about the type, so there’s no better element to crown the page (and drive the main navigation) than a fresh typeface every few weeks.

Anyone is welcome to submit their typeface for consideration as a future Typographica nameplate. There are two requirements:

1. the typeface must fit Typographica’s ethereal and undocumented requirements for design and readability

2. we’ll request a sponsorship fee to keep the site running

The nameplate typeface will be credited in the header of every page on the site and linked permanently below. Please contact the editor if interested.

Nameplate Archive
April 2009 — Dessau, Gábor Kóthay
May 2009 — Stag Stencil, Christian Schwartz
June 2009 — FF Tartine Script, Xavier Dupré
July 2009 — Dez Squeeze, Chris Lozos
August 2009 — Calluna, Jos Buivenga
October 2009 — Bonesana, Matthieu Cortat
January 2010 — FF Yoga Sans, Xavier Dupré
September 2010 — Geotica, Jos Buivenga
December 2010 — Satura, Göran Söderström, Peter Bruhn
January 2010 — Calluna Sans, Jos Buivenga
February 2010 — Swagg, Richard Miller
March 2010 — Sweet Sans, Mark van Bronkhorst
April 2011 — ARS Maquette, Angus R. Shamal
May 2011 — Sweet Square, Mark van Bronkhorst