One menorah that I have long found particularly appealing was named The Tree of Life Menorah, a replica of which I gave as a gift one holiday to a kindly old couple who were neighbors and became friends. It had a simple, organic elegance that I see in the best of Art Nouveau sculpture. To me personally, Judeism is a celebration of life, like the triumph of the flower that blossoms in the crack of the city sidewalk. Just as Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the temple and the miracle of the oil, it celebrates the victorious quest for freedom of the Hebrew people led by Judah Maccabee. Hanukkah represents determination and courage and faith — and it represents the presence of God in the lives of His people. It is interesting to note that the founding of the Albanian nation in the early twentieth century grew out of the resistance of the Albanian people to the imposition of Greek language and culture in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The typeface, HADASSAH, designed by Henri Friedlander (1904-1996), is my favorite Hebrew typeface. Thirty years in the crafting, I believe it is unsurpassed for its shear beauty, combining a subtle modulation of stroke with a simplicity and clarity of form. No doubt, that is why it has become so popular. For me, the Sîyn/Shîyn characters are especially satisfying. For a Hanukkah message in Hebrew, I would choose HADASSAH LIGHT for a headline and print it as large as I could. If, however, you are looking for a friendly, warm face for a seasonal message in a roman-letter based language, may I suggest BETHLEHEM EPHRATH. It will be as comfortable as a bulky, hand-knit sweater on a frosty afternoon and reflects the solid, encompassing, family orientation of this holiday. It was on the way to Ephrath that Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel gave birth to Benjamin and then died from her labor. It was to Ephrath that Naomi and Ruth returned and in Ephrath that we have the wonderful, heart-warming story of the marriage between Ruth and her Redeemer-Kinsman, Boaz. And it was to Ephrath that prophet, Samuel, went to find a new king and there in Ephrath that the prophet annointed a small shepherd boy named David. The Proverbs tell us to seek wisdom. Never underestimate the impact you have on others. Words of kindness can change people’s lives. The Talmud says that the highest form of wisdom is kindness. Be wise this holiday season. The font BETHLEHEM EPHRATH is based on the typeface Accent with the permission of URW++ of Hamburg, Germany. Like most display fonts, it is most effective at 18 points and larger. Like most script fonts, it is most effective when set with both upper and lower case. Although this font is readable in all caps (many scripts are not), that does not make it a good idea. Do so only with caution.

Before Bodoni, there was Didot. With the publication by Francois Ambroise Didot of Paris in 1784 of his prospectus for Tasso’s La Gerusalemme Liberata, the rococo typographical style of Fournier de Jeune was replaced with a spartan, neo-classical style that John Baskerville pioneered. The typeface Didot used for this work was of Didot’s own creation and is considered by both G. Dowding and P. Meggs to be the first modern face. Three years later, Bodoni of Parma is using a very similar face. Just as Bodoni’s typeface evolved over time, so did that of the Didot family. The eldest son of Francois Ambroise Didot, Pierre, ran the printing office; and Firmin ran the typefoundry. Pierre used the flattened, wove paper, again pioneered by Baskerville, to permit a more accurate impression and allow the use of more delicate letterforms. Firmin took full advantage of the improved paper by further refining the typeface introduced by his father. The printing of Racine’s Oeuvres in 1801 (seen in our gallery image #2) shows the symbiotic results of their efforts, especially in the marked increase in the sharpness of the serifs when compared to their owns works of only six years earlier. It has been suggested that one reason Bodoni achieved greater popularity than Didot is the thinner hairlines of Didot were more fragile when cast in metal type and thus more expensive for printers to use than Bodoni. This ceased to be a problem with the advent of phototypesetting, opening the door for a renewed interest in the work of the Didot family and especially that of Firmin Didot. Although further refinements in the Didot typeface were to come (notably the lower case ‘g’ shown in 1819), we have chosen 1801 as the nominal basis for our presentation of HiH Firmin Didot. We like the thick-thin circumflex that replaced the evenly-stroked version of 1795, possible only with the flatter wove paper. We like the unusual coat-hanger cedilla. We like the organic, leaf-like tail of the ‘Q.’ We like the strange, little number ‘2’ and the wonderfully assertive ‘4.’ And we like the distinctive and delightful awkwardness of the double-v (w). Please note that we have provided alternative versions of the upper and lower case w that are slightly more conventional than the original designs. Personally, I find the moderns (often called Didones) hard on the eyes in extended blocks of text. That does not stop me from enjoying their cold, crisp clarity. They represent the Age of Reason and the power of man’s intellect, while reflecting also its limitations. In the title pages set by Bodoni, Bulmer and Didot, I see the spare beauty of a winter landscape. That appeals to a New Englander like myself. Another aspect that appeals to me is setting a page in HiH Firmin Didot and watching people try to figure out what typeface it is. It looks a lot like Bodoni, but it isn't!

Pinto, designed by Vienna based typographer Georg Herold-Wildfellner, lets you transform type into an exciting and beautiful piece of work. The irregular, hand-lettered look adds a real human touch to things and comes along with a lot of loving details. Combine all font-styles the way you want, add some ornamental swashes or banners and even a single word becomes magnificent. · Four subfamilies plus hundreds of ornaments in 1 font combo! Pinto shows a great flexibility and variety. It works similar to a toolbox: four subfamilies including shadow-, outline-, display- and layer-variations. On top of that is NO_05, a set of more than 800 different ornaments to dress up any typographic project. Browse through tons of swashes, flourishes, dividers, corners, ribbons, banners, frames, arrows, hearts and stars. The extensive character set includes uppercase letters in two automatically alternating versions (activate OpenType “Contextual Alternates”). All ornaments are abundant with details and often available in different stroke thicknesses. Scale them up to meet your personal needs! · The Pinto Family at a glance • NO_1: Narrow Sans Serif (additional option: NO_01 Shadow) • NO_2: Slab Serif (plus a playful variant with serifs drawn as outline) • NO_3: Serif (plus 3 versions: Shadow, Engraved & Engraved Display) • NO_4: Western style – this one is for free! (extra: two layer-option) • NO_5: 800+ typographic ornaments in 3 fonts, separated into stylistic sets · The Pinto family in total includes 14 hand-drawn styles and is tailored for food-, magazine-, book- and packaging-design. · Enjoy! Georg Herold-Wildfellner | FaceType · View other fonts from Georg Herold-Wildfellner: Sofa Serif | Sofa Sans | Mila Script Pro | Pinto | Supernett | Mr Moustache | Aeronaut | Ivory | Weingut · Language Report for Pinto / 195 languages supported: Abenaki, Afaan Oromo, Afar, Afrikaans, Albanian, Alsatian, Amis, Anuta, Aragonese, Aranese, Aromanian, Arrernte, Arvanitic, Asturian, Aymara, Bashkir, Basque, Bikol, Bislama, Bosnian, Breton, Cape Verdean, Catalan, Cebuano, Chamorro, Chavacano, Chickasaw, Cimbrian, Cofan, Corsican, Creek, Crimean Tatar, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dawan, Delaware, Dholuo, Drehu, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Fijian, Filipino, Finnish, Folkspraak, French, Frisian, Friulian, Gagauz, Galician, Genoese, German, Gooniyandi, Greenlandic, Guadeloupean, Gwichin, Haitian Creole, Han, Hawaiian, Hiligaynon, Hopi, Hotcak, Hungarian, Icelandic, Ido, Ilocano, Indonesian, Interglossa, Interlingua, Irish, Istroromanian, Italian, Jamaican, Javanese, Jerriais, Kala Lagaw Ya, Kapampangan, Kaqchikel, Karakalpak, Karelian, Kashubian, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, Kiribati, Kirundi, Klingon, Ladin, Latin, Latino Sine, Latvian, Lithuanian, Lojban, Lombard, Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, Makhuwa, Malay, Maltese, Manx, Maori, Marquesan, Meglenoromanian, Meriam Mir, Mohawk, Moldovan, Montagnais, Montenegrin, Murrinhpatha, Nagamese Creole, Ndebele, Neapolitan, Ngiyambaa, Niuean, Noongar, Norwegian, Novial, Occidental, Occitan, Oshiwambo, Ossetian, Palauan, Papiamento, Piedmontese, Polish, Portuguese, Potawatomi, Qeqchi, Quechua, Rarotongan, Romanian, Romansh, Rotokas, Sami Lule, Sami Southern, Samoan, Sango, Saramaccan, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Serbian, Seri, Seychellois, Shawnee, Shona, Sicilian, Silesian, Slovak, Slovenian, Slovio, Somali, Sorbian Lower, Sorbian Upper, Sotho Northern, Sotho Southern, Spanish, Sranan, Sundanese, Swahili, Swazi, Swedish, Tagalog, Tahitian, Tetum, Tok Pisin, Tokelauan, Tongan, Tshiluba, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Turkish, Turkmen, Tuvaluan, Tzotzil, Uzbek, Venetian, Vepsian, Volapuk, Voro, Wallisian, Walloon, Waraywaray, Warlpiri, Wayuu, Welsh, Wikmungkan, Wiradjuri, Xhosa, Yapese, Yindjibarndi, Zapotec, Zulu, Zuni

Fashion style meets typography in 9 styles The Ysans designed by Jean François Porchez is a sanserif influenced by Cassandre lettering pieces and the geometric sanserif style from the inter-war period. Since Chanel logo, the geometric sanserif style is the favorite typographic thing in fashion. Ysans asserts this reference. Not only Haute-Couture houses use these categories of typefaces for their visual identity, but fashion magazines usually strength their layout with these geometric sanserif when a Didot isn’t used. Details of Ysans drawings Nevertheless, Ysans takes its sources in certain details imagined by the graphic designer Adolphe Mouron Cassandre for the monogram then logotype Yves Saint Laurent (1961 …). One thing keeps coming in again and again in Cassandre’s post-war graphic work: the pointed finish and endings, the references to the Roman capitals engraved and unique features such as the open R or other details influenced by Antiqua and calligraphic forms or ductus (you should have in mind that an earlier typeface by Cassandre is the Peignot, a modern uncial based on researches of the palaeographer Jean Mallon.) Certain letters from the Ysans are directly an homage to the Yves Saint Laurent logo, the R, the narrow U, the apex of the N, and all the details of such pointed endings on the f and t lowercases. The Ysans, a typeface between diversity and synthesis There are several ways to approach the design of a new geometric sanserif. The first approach is to follow the Bauhaus philosophy by designing in the most rational way, typographic forms based on simple geometric elements: square, round, triangle. Another approach is to start a revival based on an historical geometric typeface and optimize the original ideas, in order to adapt certain details to the contemporary needs. For Ysans, the approach is somewhat different because this project started in 2011 at ZeCraft as a typeface designed specifically for Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, still in use by the brand under its original name Singulier. The Singulier-Ysans has been conceptualized by ZeCraft, both drawing its sources from Cassandre and various historical geometric typefaces. Some will spot specific traits as in Futura, others in Metro or Kabel. By closely observing the Ysans, the result can also recall the way Eric Gill draw the curves and endings of his typefaces, of which Jean François Porchez is a fervent admirer. In the end, Ysans is like fashion as envisioned by Yves Saint Laurent who constantly revealed multiple references in his new collections, without being recognisable any other than with his unique style. “Fashions pass, style is eternal. Fashion is futile, not style.” Cherry on the cake: Ysans Mondrian Ysans Mondrian, named in reference to the Mondrian dress created by Yves Saint Laurent, is the multi-layer version of the family. Ysans, fashion style meets typography Club des directeurs artistiques, 49e palmarès