i have a small fascination w/ fonts, letters and words. actually it's sort of huge. so i was really excited when i saw on lena corwin's (who has an amazing blog, that i love.) flickr page a photo of this book, handjob a cataolg of type by michael perry. it consists of handlettered fonts by fifty different artists, illustrators and typographers. including kate o'connor who i blogged about a few weeks ago. i haven't actually seen the book yet, but i've seen some of the pages on michael's website...and it's truly inspiring, i can't wait to get my hands on it (i swear that was not an intended pun). it's going on my list for xmas most definitely.
i'm not only excited to have found this book, but to have also found michael's website. it is full of wonderful photo's of work he has done. i love the new york times fashion story where his hand lettered fonts spell out some of the best fashion houses around. they are so playful and whimsical. i wish i could go back in time and take a look at michael's notebooks from his high school days, i bet they would tell a whole story about his own fascination w/ hand lettering. he's done a ton of work and it's great to be privy to it. often we are surrounded by great illustration everywhere; advertisements, catalogs, flyers, sale signs, books and magazines. illustration and hand lettering is abundant w/ in our culture of consumerism (we don't need urban outfitter's to let us know it's popular.). but so little is known about who creates these illustrations because of the media that they are used in. their handiwork is actually a means to an end and not the actual product. so it's really refreshing to hear about this book and get to take a peak into michael's artwork on his website.
all images used w/ permission from michael perry.
* handjobs for the holidays is an amazing song by broken social scene.
