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Did you know Copyright law does not protect names, titles, or short phrases or expressions?
Circular 34 from the U.S. Copyright Office explains, "Even if a name, title, or short phrase is novel or distinctive or lends itself to a play on words, it cannot be protected by copyright. The Copyright Office cannot register claims to exclusive rights in brief combinations of words such as:
> Names of products or services
> Names of businesses, organizations, or groups (including the names of
performing groups)
> Pseudonyms of individuals (including pen or stage names)
> Titles of works
> Catchwords, catchphrases, mottoes, slogans, or short advertising expressions
> Listings of ingredients, as in recipes, labels, or formulas. When a recipe or
formula is accompanied by an explanation or directions, the text directions
may be copyrightable, but the recipe or formula itself remains uncopyrightable."
The same publication discusses how some names and phrases may be protected.
Be well,
Chuck
The ultimate typographic inspiration: The American Type Founders Company 1923 Specimen Book and Catalogue
I have a copy of this book and have always thought I'd get around to scanning it and putting it online. Thank goodness David Armstrong at Sevanti Letterpress beat me to it.
Here, in all its glory, is what some consider the "culmination of specimen printing,"-1148 pages of typefaces, typeface accessories, printing equipment, and insights into the era.
Sixty thousand copies were produced at a cost of three hundred thousand dollars and they said, "The opinion is ventured that in no other work of such magnitude can there be found as high a degree of good craftsmanship-an incentive to all who study it.
The 1923 American Type Founders Company Specimen Book and Catalogue...
About digitizing it...
A Wikipedia article about American Type Founders...
Others have digitized earlier and later versions (via Wikipedia): The 1896 ATF Specimen Book...
1897 ATF Specimen Book...
1900 ATF Specimen Book...
1912 ATF Specimen Book...
1917 ATF Specimen Book...
1934 ATF Specimen Book...
Have you seen my InDesign Ideabook?
315 template files in 19 different categories -- Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...
For Adobe InDesign
Up Periscope
Twitter launched its recently acquired "Periscope" APP today. It allows you to create or watch broadcasts by other Twitter users from around the world in real time.
The audience sees and hears what the broadcaster is shooting and they can make comments and ask questions via a built in text message feature.
Theoretically, you alert your Twitter followers (and anyone else who wanted to join in) that you were going live and then begin the broadcast.
I think it has the potential to be a serious tool--a form of live social networking. Yes, initially there will be lots of people showing us what they're eating and showing us their apartments, but there's also real potential for on-the-scene news coverage, real-time teaching, other interactions were live input from watchers helps direct the content and flow.
A competitor, Meerkat created lots of buzz at the recent SXSW conference, but it looks like Twitter, with the introduction of Periscope, will end its short reign.
Thanks to Jeff Green for pointing us to it.
A demo of Periscope on TechCrunch...
The Periscope APP in the APP Store..
The announcement from the Periscope team...
Coverage from Wired...
Meet illustrator Linzie Hunter
Linzie Hunter specializes in hand lettering and illustration. But I want to point you to her lettering. It's outlandish!
Example 1...
Example 2...
Example 3...
Her lettering portfolio...
Here, from Print is A Way With Words: Linzie Hunter's Illustrated Resolutions by Scott Kirkwood...
Hunter's Flickr account...
Want to learn the tools of the design trade?
Take a free test drive of Lynda.com here...
If you appreciate the design and illustration of movie posters
Hindi Film cinema, often referred to as "Bollywood" (some consider the term demeaning) has, like the U.S. film industry, created movie posters since the early 1900s. I'm fascinated not only by the subjects, but by the diversity of designs and illustration techniques.
I have no clue what the films from these examples are about, I just love the artwork. Perhaps some of my Indian friends will share their thoughts on how this type of work figures into India today.
Interested? Below are some examples and few links to whet your appetite.
Example 1...
Example 2...
Example 3...
Here's a large collection on Pinterest...
From the New York Times: Hindi Cinema, in Poster Form, at a Mumbai Shop...
Indian Hippy is a collective of old-school movie poster artists and billboard painters in India who, among other things, will create a poster on a subject of your choosing...
Very smart: A drone that can safely fly indoors
...and in complex environments, is easy to fly, and can be operated close to humans.
Life before halftones
Photographic halftones were not in mainstream use in newspapers, magazines, and books until the late 1800s. Before that, if you wanted to illustrate an idea or a product, it was produced by hand, in most cases using copper or wood engraving.
I was at Whiting's Old Paper (a shop that specializes in ephemera) a couple of weeks ago and was browsing through some magazines from the late 1800s and all I could think was how many gifted illustrators there were back then. The images they scraped into the surface of copper and wood are mind boggling in their detail and realism.
If you're unfamiliar with the process, following are some links that explain the process and show examples.
Here's an issue of Scientific American from 1873. Note, not only the detail and realism, but the sheer number of illustrations in just on magazine...
Martin2001 Antique Prints has a comprehensive terminology page...
Steve Bartrick Antique Prints & Maps offers a good overview of line engraving...
The store I mentioned, Whiting's Old Paper, is a local collector and reseller of ephemera. It's a good bet that you have a similar resource on you part of the planet...
Candide vs clip art: Tracking down the origins of a logo
I happened on an image recently, labeled "haunted house" on a clip art website, that looked an awful lot like the Random House logo. So, out of curiosity, I tracked down its origins. What I found offers a little insight into the complexity of intellectual property AND turns out to be a pretty interesting story.
(Name drop alert: My first book, The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book was published by Random House [Bantam] so I'd seen the logo fairly often.) Yup, it's still for sale here. I happened on an image that looked an awful lot like the Random House logo...
About Random House...
On Voltaire and "Candide" (and the derivation of the Random House logo)-A discussion with Dr. Paul LeClerc...
About the 2013 merger of Random House with the Penguin Group and how they are handling the branding...
The logos behind the Penguin Random House logo...
Need fonts? A little tip: Look closely at the listings on MyFonts.com, some include one or two weights or widths you can add to your cart for free...
Vince Vaughn and co-stars pose for stock photos...
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