Smart Sans is a personal tribute to Leslie (Sam) Smart, the first type director to be hired by a major typesetting house in Canada. Smart was a twentieth century design pioneer who raised the standards of Canadian typography. Together with three of his peers, he established the first Type Directors Club in Toronto. After Smart's death in 1998, type designer Rod McDonald decided that something should be done to commemorate Smart's life and achievements. I had first thought of establishing a scholarship in Sam's name, but a typeface design soon replaced this idea," says McDonald. "Once I decided to design a typeface, however, it became a foregone conclusion that it would be a sans serif - for no other reason than that I loved the name Smart Sans." Two typefaces served as inspiration for McDonald's work. "Like thousands of designers, I'm keen on Matthew Carter's Helvetica Compressed series. And, when I was younger, I also loved Fred Lambert's Compacta," says McDonald. "I thought there might be a place for a small range that could take over from these 'old workhorses' and, in the process, bring a fresher look to the genre." McDonald drew three weights for the Smart Sans family, all ideally suited for setting attention-getting headlines and powerful display copy. The two-storied 'g' contributes to the design's lively personality, and the short 'r' helps maintain tight, even spacing. Smart Sans is the perfect homage to a great typographer, because it raises the bar on what to expect from condensed sans serif typefaces. Sam Smart would be pleased."

Christmas cookies have already slowly crept onto your local supermarket's shelves -- the Linotype Xmas Fonts just can't wait any longer! Ravishingly friendly and universally applicable: Fuenfwerken -- a design studio from Wiesbaden, Germany -- is proud to present its latest Fun Font Family. Bringing variety to the dry Christmas card genre, these fonts can also be used on posters to spread holiday cheer at home. No limits are placed on your creativity here! The family has three different fonts, each with more than 60 symbols inside: Xmas Story includes the whole figure palette necessary for a classical Christmas story. From a cute little Baby Jesus to the Three Wise Men and woolly Aramaic sheep and everything that one needs to add special flair to a letter to grandma, or to set up a Nativity Scene at home for the kids is included. Customers who aren't searching for a biblical font should check out Xmas Essentials. This font contains typical non-denominational end-of-the-year holiday ornaments, such as snowflakes, decorated Christmas trees, nutcrackers, and stars. Last but not least is the Xmas Modern font. Just as global warming poses severe risks to snowmen, this font will make recipients of your holiday and New Year's cards melt. Glyphs such as Santa Claus riding on a Vespa -- complete with iPod -- speed away from normal, stuffy holiday seriousness, and signal that the Fun Generation has arrived! The best choice, of course, is to treat yourself to all three fonts this Christmas. Then you'll be prepared for every situation. Happy Holidays!

A gentle breeze on a warm summer's day. A cozy gathering of friends and family around a crackling fire. The sweet aroma of freshly baked cinnamon bread. A slow walk in the autumn woods, light sparkling down through the multi-colored leaves. Billowing white clouds against a stark azur sky, leisurely floating past the tops of palm trees. What do these idyllic scenes all have in common? A: Most people can never find the time to enjoy any of them. B: These are just some of the things you would never try to describe using a crankish font like Spleeny Decaf GD. Just as ITC Fontoon was designed to be used with the many critters that populate the "Toonie" series of fonts, Spleeny Decaf GD was created by Steve Zafarana for use in the balloned dialogue portions of a new panel cartoon feature currently under development. Spleeny Decaf GD is the first completed font in a family that ranges from the jittery san serif Spleeny Espresso GD to the sedate and serifed Spleeny Asleep GD. Each font in the series appears a little more relaxed and staid than its predecessor. None of them however, will find themselves being used for the text of any legal documents. Spleeny Decaf GD is the perfect font to use when the weight of the message is leaning towards the light and jocular side of things. So remember, if your documents are starting to put you on edge, it may be time to switch to decaf. Spleeny Decaf GD that is.