so, i have a fascination with handwriting. i always have. well, not always. since about third grade, i would say. one of my third grade teachers had handwriting that was fascinating to me. she crossed her T's in a very unique way (for the life of me i don't remember if they slanted up or down, but it made an impression regardless). to some degree, it's become a slight fascination with typography, but i'm definitely not a high-caliber font nerd (though i wish i was). (architecture school didn't really allow much time for study of great fonds, sadly enough, though it probably has a lot to do with why my handwriting looks as it does).
anyway. most of the time, and i'm not embarrassed to just straight out admit this of myself, i have really interesting, characteristic handwriting. i almost always wish my handwriting was a font. i use my handwriting a lot for documents for my business. it's very girlscantell-y. if you've ever seen my work (or even my business card) you've probably seen it.
so when i saw this blog post from maxistentialism, i wanted in. so, i'll reblog it. because that's what he's telling us to do.
Have you ever considered how strange it is that handwriting fonts
have come to convey a kind of folksy authenticity in the design lexicon
of our age? It’s disingenuous. Handwriting fonts - especially the ones
you see everywhere (Comic Sans, Papyrus, Lucida Handwriting) - are mechanically reproduced and manipulated into a kind of cloying, fake, plastic perfection.
Penmanship is mostly a lost art - it is (rightfully) taught less and
less in school, and the opportunities for people to see your
handwriting are few and far between. As a result, modern handwriting
looks really cool. What’s authentic and charming and inviting about
real handwriting are the little imperfections that prove it came from a
real person.
SO - I have decided to become a collector of handwriting.
Here’s how it works:
- You reblog this or email/Facebook me
- I’ll arrange for you to pick up a template
- You’ll fill it out
- I will create a TrueType font from your handwriting and send it to you
As I collect handwriting, I will periodically post things rendered
in the handwriting of the donor - things they have taught me, important
aspects of our relationship, jokes they have told me… we’ll see.
let's see how this pans out, shall we?
