Alf Becker graced the pages of "Signs of the Times" magazine month after month for decades, presenting attractive and unusual hand lettered alphabets as inspiration for other sign painters and show card writers. From straightforward text faces to novelty ideas, Becker's talent as a master sign crafter was constant in his work. Show Card Casual JNL is one example of what is referred to as a "one stroke" alphabet (utilizing a single brush stroke in each direction to form the letter or number). Its casual look and playful charm allow for a message to be presented in an informal format that is pleasing to the eye. The type design is available in both regular and oblique versions. Special thanks to Tod Swormstedt of ST Publications for providing the reference material.

When I started working on this font, I had the radio on. Ed Sheeran was singing his song ‘Castle On The Hill’ and when I looked at this new font of mine, I couldn’t help but notice it had a bit of a medieval look. So I named it Castle On The Hill. COTH is a very lively, messy handpainted serif. It was made with a Japanese brush pen. I actually had a different look in mind, but this is what came out of the pen and I quite liked its looks. It is especially useful for children’s book covers, apps and posters, but be my guest and use it as you like. All it needs is a designers’ touch, a nice tune and a sunset.

A vintage hand lettered sign for a carnival game was the basis for Sign Display Casual JNL, a classic example of the "one stroke" casual text lettering that sets sign painters apart from sign manufacturers.

Samuel Welo’s “Studio Handbook for Artists and Advertisers” (published in both 1927 and 1960) showcased this talented man’s hand-lettered alphabets; used as inspiration for the sign trade and for graphic designers. A particularly interesting slab serif from the 1960 edition has many unusual character shapes, and served as the model for Casual Slab Serif JNL – available in both regular and oblique versions.

Now is a great time to dust off your old motor scooter and take a ride along the Italian Riviera. Let’s head to the flower city of San Remo, Italy - the namesake for this versatile, 1950s style script. Try San Remo on your next brochure or flyer project. You may want to consider using it to create a special logo or icon for your personal stationery. It’s perfect for any job that requires linked or connected letters. And for your convenience, this dashing design sports a variety of alternate characters plus lining and old style figures. San Remo Casual is also available as an OpenType font. It contains lining and oldstyle figures, prebuilt fractions, stylistic alternates, and a wide assortment of f-ligatures, plus more. These advanced features currently work in Adobe Creative Suite InDesign and Illustrator. Check for OpenType advanced feature support in other applications as it gradually becomes available with upgrades. Ciao!

An interesting, unusual and righteously funky variation on the classic “Barnum” style of lettering, this typeface was originally named "Dado". As any woodworker knows, dado is also the name of a slot ploughed, chiseled or cut in wood: in other words, a groove thang. Both versions of the font include 1252 Latin and 1250 CE (with localization for Romanian and Moldovan) character sets.

Western Sky is a revival of a late 1800s Italian font known as Italian Slab Fancy or Dodge City. New to this font is the rope swash version.