Categories: General updates, Inspiration, Rants
Poring over some photo-lettering specimens—one of my preferred pastimes—I stumbled upon an advertising postcard that had been mailed to the original owner of my Lettering Inc. book back in November of 1960. The postcard was exciting enough to me on its own; I presume very few examples of this kind of ephemera have survived, and […]
Categories: Inspiration
Just had a chance to watch the beautiful 3 Union Shop, a short documentary about the Colby Poster Printing Company, written and co-directed by C. R. Stecyk III of Dogtown fame: I’ve been collecting Colby posters for a few years (they even had a role in inspiring some of my wedding collateral), and I had the […]
Categories: Case studies, General updates, Inspiration
Voilà, a couple of new limited-edition letterpress prints, hot off of the Heidelberg Windmill! Both were typeset by hand and printed with antique wood and metal type, and both are for sale in my Etsy shop. You can get 15% off your order by using coupon code STEPAHEAD when you check out. (more…)
Categories: Case studies
Our friends Jasmine & Yale are getting married soon, and Alyssa and I decided to go all-out with our letterpress habit to create their invitations. The design process started on the computer, but the goal from the start was to create something really special, where the computer would only play one part of the tune. […]
Categories: General updates
Alyssa just made a masterpiece of a t-shirt based on the cover of a 1951 book called The Linotype Handbook for Teletypesetter Operation. Just in time for the screening of Doug Wilson‘s Linotype: The Film this Saturday, March 17, at the International Printing Museum. The t-shirt was stenciled and then hand painted to bring out […]
Categories: General updates
Upcoming all-metal Karnak type specimen giveaway for The Ludlow Project. Stay tuned…
Categories: General updates, Inspiration
The Duro Decals brand, which still exists today, has been knocking out good, wholesome, sturdy display type and lettering (in decal, sign, and stencil form) since 1938. The Chicago-based company begat “Duro Dan,” their quirky advertising mascot, a sort of elvish, mustachioed gnome-like character that touted Duro’s wares during the middle of the 20th century. […]
Categories: General updates
On Saturday, November 12, I gave a brief presentation at the International Printing Museum about a selection of typefaces that were designed by Robert Hunter Middleton for the Ludlow Typograph, a letterpress linecasting machine (for which we just so happen to be doing a Kickstarter Campaign). Focusing on the idea of “typographic influence,” I have […]
Categories: Case studies
Every design project is a collaboration. Successful projects take two to tango; the best results happen when client and designer each bring something unique and important to the table. Working with Eli Holtman of the CPM Group (Conscientious Property Management) in Narberth, Pennsylvaia is about as collaborative as it can get. Eli contacted me back […]
Categories: Inspiration
This is a very proud acquisition for me: it’s the original, hand-constructed artwork that was used to create a mid-century modern Austrian poster, advertising the Wiener Städtische Versicherung (Vienna Insurance Group). I’ve done a little searching, but I haven’t found any of the actual posters; it’s possible that this was never produced, or it might […]
Josh Korwin has been running Three Steps Ahead, a creative design studio, since the late 1990s. He has been a typography nerd for as long as he can remember, and rabidly collects (and sometimes sells) just about everything with neat type or lettering on it. While graphic design and web design fill most of his days, he dabbles in photography and letterpress printing.
