Vikfiegerprodukt.

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[vicfieger]

Airstrip Four (2004)

In the novel Nineteen Eightyfour, the island of Great Britain is in the realm of the superstate Oceania and just across the English Channel is the nation's age-old ally (EDIT: enemy) Eurasia. Great Britain is referred to by the name "Airstrip One". It's not hard to imagine that Airstrip Two would then be Ireland, most likely. Would Iceland be Three and Greenland Four?

Airstrip Four was an attempt at a mixed-case font specifically for the purpose of splitting the difference on capitalization etiquette in graphical interfaces. It has been described as "plusgood".

above left: onscreen graphics for Quark Storm game by Julian Imp [link]

above center: logo for xtorm BV

download Airstrip Four free from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Kremlin (2005)

Not sure I understand why, but it seems pastiches of constructivism are the "in" thing nowadays. Everybody and their dog is adopting the bold, blood reds and 90° lettering as visual shorthand for the diametrically-opposed concepts of "propaganda" and "revolution". Maybe this is the result of political ennui that arises from being too familiar with the concept of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss," and knowing that any change in government is just going to end in more swine-at-the-trough disappointment.

Or, maybe everyone just thinks it looks cool. Either/or, neither/nor.

I was ahead of the game on this one. Ten years ago this week, I released a font called Kremlin, and it has become quite popular since. It even appeared on the album cover for Mandatory Fun, "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2014 album, and his first chart-topper at that.

If you'd like to learn more about Russian constructivism, you can probably do that.

top left: front cover of Time Killers by Kazue Kato. Note: This same font was used for both the original Japanese release as well as the English release by VIZ Media, but the VIZ version used a different stroke setting for the outline.

top center: album cover for Mandatory Fun by "Weird Al" Yankovic (RCA, 2014) Note: also used for various promotional materials.

top right: onscreen graphics in DEFCON: Everybody Dies (Introversion Software Limited, first release 2006)

bottom left: album cover for Songs For the End Of The World by Rick Springfield (Frontiers Records, 2012) Note: various covers exist for this album.

bottom center: The Constructivism Book by Diogo Massano (master's degree project, 2011)

bottom right: album cover for First World Manifesto by Screeching Weasel (Fat Wreck Records, 2011)

buy professional version from CheapProFonts

download free version from dafont.com

[apriki]

So people apparently really love font recs? Who knew! Here’s a whole bunch of fonts that are a cut above your usual Arial Black and Tahoma. Have fun!

Linked before:

didot, bodoni, silkroad, tetra, wildride, bebas, bellerose,

dalle, futura, garamond, headline, folks, haymaker,

lavanderia, mensch, ostrich sans, roadway,

single sleeve, sophie, tall dark and handsome

Some more:

justus, edo, ranger, sabrina AT, snickles, touching letters

sahara, infinity, japan, levibrush, geosans light, gantz font

doris day, crackin, channel, clemente, alien league, budmo, dubiel

batman beat the hell out of me, catshop, corabel, frail

And some classics:

nouvelle vague, orator std, birch std, gabriola

[vicfieger]

Thank you.

[vicfieger]

ICBM SS-20 / ICBM SS-25 (2004)

The acronym ICBM stands for "intercontinental ballistic missile." Really, the initials should be IBM but, from what I can gather, that sequence of letters seems to have been reserved beforehand.

The ICBM fonts are a pair of original stencil fonts, one eroded and one not.

above left: DVD packaging for Tenchi Muyo! War On Geminar, (US release by Funimation, 2009) [alteration]

above center: cover of Mega Man issue #18 (Archie Comics)

above right: album cover for Peace At All Costs by Otherwise (Century Media, 2014) [alteration; an unaltered version can be seen on the single sleeve for Darker Side Of The Moon]

download the ICBM fonts free from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Major Snafu (2004)

The word "snafu" originated as the military-jargon acronym for "situation normal — all fouled up", denoting unfortunate circumstances, although the F usually referred to another word. Similarly, soldiers' rations were often called "SOS", for "something on a shingle." The more popular translation again used a less-friendly term, this time in place of the first S.

Major Snafu is a geometrically stable stencil font with square characters and few curves. Love is a battlefield. Stay frosty, privates.

above left: album cover for Palm Trees and Street Lights: The Street Tape by GMOB (Hitmen Records, 2011)

above center: DVD packaging for Black Lagoon: Limited Edition (Geneon)

above right: Oscar Mayer P3 commercial (2014)

buy professional version from CheapProFonts

download free version from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Quick End Jerk (2004)

The Luddite look of using photocopied newspaper and magazine letters became a fixture of flyers and artwork for punk groups after first appearing on releases by the Sex Pistols, the central group of the British punk phenomenon. Jamie Reid, responsible for the group's only studio LP cover, claims it was collage-based in the tradition of underground 20th Century art movements such as Dada and Russian constructivism. Band manager Malcolm McLaren contended that his assistant just couldn't be bothered to go out and buy proper Letraset type.

This font was created for the purpose of resembling "ransom note" lettering, but with only non-serif capitals aligned at their proper angles. Rather, the letterforms themselves were distressed and eroded.

above left: graphic component from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, June 22, 2006 episode (Comedy Central)

above center: birthday card (DCI Studios)

download Quick End Jerk free from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

CarbonType (2004)

Typewriters were the first devices to use the standard QWERTY keyboard configuration. Using this layout, if one was to type using the keys in the rows above their corresponding letters, the word "typewriter" would yield the number 5603248534.

The letters in CarbonType were taken directly from a typewriter I owned. The silhouettes of those who haunted it can be seen in the negative space of the lowercase H and N. It also had no key for the digit 1, so I had to use lowercase L instead.

download CarbonType free from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Boston Traffic (2004)

Compared to Colorado's cocaine use and Pennsylvania's arson, having bad drivers doesn't seem like much of a load to bear. A map which first appeared in 2011 on PleatedJeans.com showed which negative attribute each U.S. state excels in, labeling Massachusetts "Worst drivers," but curiously Wyoming has "Most fatal car crashes." The criteria used in designating Ohio the "Nerdiest state" was "highest number of library visits per capita." If that's the worst they have on you, you win.

Boston Traffic is a rather basic stencil font, made in 2002 but not released until 2004. Simple but somehow still popular.

above left: cover of Grand Jump magazine (May 2014 issue)

above center: graphics from Mother 3 Handbook (Fangamer)

above right: back cover of It Was Twenty Years Ago Today album by The Chords (Detour Records, 2012)

download Boston Traffic free from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Edo (2006)

Was gassing up my car a few months ago when a vehicle pulled up beside me bearing my handwriting. I hadn't written on this car, but a decal in one window read "EASTERN BOARDER" displayed in the font Edo, my most popular creation. I just see these things without even having to look for them. I'll turn around and there's another one of my fonts, most often Edo, on a poster or a book or a bumper sticker. It's fun. Nobody knows it's me. It's like having a secret identity.

Edo is everywhere now. The first time I visited New York, it was in letters taller than I am on a billboard right by the Triboro Bridge. Discovery Channel used it for the logo of their North America series last year. TMZ uses Edo so often that it only took two minutes for me to locate a screenshot. Millions of people see this font everyday. Sure, there are many fonts much more popular than this one, but none of those ones (not even Comic Sans) are scanned from someone's handwriting. If you discount all the personal scripts known only for their signatures, (world leaders, treasury secretaries, and so on,) then I probably have the most famous handwriting of anybody alive today. I think that's worth a brag once in a while.

top left: logo for The Cleaner TV series (A&E, 2008)

top center: Revolution in Rio DVD cover (Ignatius Press, 2013)

top right: various graphics and promotions in Boston Phoenix magazine [shown: front cover of Feb. 11-17, 2011 issue]

bottom left: front cover of Teru Teru x Shonen by Shigeru Takao (US release by Tokyopop, 2008)

bottom center: book jacket for The F--k It List by Julie Halpern (Feiwel, 2013)

bottom right: onscreen graphics for TMZ TV series [shown: still from May 23, 2014 episode]

buy professional version from CheapProFonts

download free version from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Virgo.01 (2004)

The film Capricorn One portrayed a national morale-boosting fake space mission gone wrong, and had O.J. Simpson playing the part of an astronaut. The film is a favorite of the International Square Earth Society, its members believing that NASA framed O.J. for murder because he knew too much and needed to be discredited.*

Virgo.01 is a thick, sturdy font designed to withstand the rigors of fictional space travel. It was launched ten years ago for its maiden voyage and is currently pretending to be approaching Saturn as we speak.

download Virgo.01 free from dafont.com

*(not really!)

[vicfieger]

Xenophone (2004)

Starting with the band's debut LP in 1979, each UK Subs album title has started with a different letter of the alphabet. In 2013, the twenty-fourth installment in the series (the X album) was released. Its title is XXIV, the Roman numeral for 24. I wish I had thought of that. Your move, Sue Grafton.

Some of the letters in Xenophone were made to resemble symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet. They were filled in with Sharpie after being sketched out in pencil. American coins were traced in order to supply the roundy parts.

above left: Facepile s/t CD (self-released, sent to me by the artists)

above center: book covers for Saturn Apartments series (English release: Viz Media, 2010)

buy professional version from CheapProFonts

download free version from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Know Your Product (2004)

Find something with a UPC bar code on it. Cover up the last digit so you don't see it. Now, from the remaining digits, add up the first, the third, the fifth, and so on. Multiply the total by three. Now, to that, add the remaining uncovered digits (second, fourth, etc.) Take the final digit from your total, and subtract it from 10. The result will be the last digit (unless it's ten, in which case the last digit will be zero.) The letters in Know Your Product were sketched onto the back of cigarette cartons, then cut out with a box cutter and filled in with a Sharpie. Of course, that's how ALL fonts are made, so I don't know why I even bothered to tell you.

above left: cover of MiG-23 Broke My Heart by AK Dawson (2011)

above center: pieces by DeathRayDevic.es [shown: 3,7-Dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione]

above right: these insulated cups I saw being sold in the lobby of the Doubletree Hotel in Milford. I just happen across these things.

download Know Your Product from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Kremlin (2005)

El Lissitzky was the Russian designer whose multitude of book covers popularized the concept of Soviet typography being presented in grid-based monoline letters with dominant right angles. His best-known piece is The Red Wedge.

The letters in Kremlin were inspired by Lissitzky's works, and generally followed a grid of 4 squares by 5. Two separate versions were produced, the second one being named Kremlin II. Variations of each were then created by CheapProFonts. above left: "Cold War Update" segment on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) above center: logo for Hawken (Adhesive Games, 2012) above right: materials for El Lissitzky exhibition at Spencer Museum of Art (2008)

Kremlin II: buy professional version from CheapProFonts

original: buy professional version from CheapProFonts

original: download free version from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

The Dubmarine handwriting fonts (2005, 2006)

Revived by the all-female group Bananarama in the 1980's, the song "Venus" was originally written and recorded by the band Shocking Blue. In numerology, Venus is linked to the number 6, and represents romance, beauty, and fine arts. The color associated with 6 is "all shades of blue," perhaps even a shocking blue. As for Bananarama, their first single, "Aie A Mwana", was backed with the B-side "Dubwana", a dub version of the A-side. It was their only release on Demon Records. Similarly, the band Yachts released only one single on Demon, also with a B-side that was a dub of the A-side: "Dubmarine".

Here we have a series of six fonts, each created to emulate the handwriting of a different character from Dubmarine, the comic I maintained on my website from 2004 to 2010. Do you like cursive? Of course you do. Everyone does.

download all six from VicFieger.com (.zip file)

download Daisy Script free from 1001 Free Fonts

download Fawn Script free from 1001 Free Fonts

download Gisele Script free from 1001 Free Fonts

download Maxine Script free from 1001 Free Fonts

download Ruth Script free from 1001 Free Fonts

download Terry Script free from 1001 Free Fonts

[vicfieger]

Single Sleeve (2010)

With the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and their self-titled "white album", the Beatles had established the LP as the new dominant medium in pop and rock music. Seven-inch singles were slowly becoming passe in the 1970's, but that changed with the sudden late-Seventies explosion of punk rock and independent labels, particularly in Britain. Amateur bands couldn't afford to spend studio time making entire albums, and focused on singles instead. Likewise, custom 'picture sleeves' for singles became very popular.

Single Sleeve is one of my more recent fonts. It doesn't carry a particular theme or mission the way most of my others have, and is pretty multi-purpose as a result. Some say versatile, some say vanilla. Vanilla goes with everything, though...

download Single Sleeve free from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Armalite Rifle (2006)

In the 1970's, the Armalite AR-18 assault rifle became a symbol of the Irish Republican Army and their goal of creating an Irish Socialist republic. A 1998 ceasefire essentially ended the conflict, and in 2005 the IRA announced it had decommissioned the last of its weapons.

The original letterforms were not the famous military stencil, but were hand-drawn then altered using a series of Photoshop brushes.

above left: logo for Pandemic flash game (Dark Realm Studios, 2007) [alteration]

above center: logo for "Cracked.com Exclusive" videos (Cracked.com)

I know for a fact this one appears in the film Tropic Thunder (2008), at the tail end during the awards ceremony scene. I don't have an image for that, though.

buy professional version from CheapProFonts

download free version from dafont.com

[vicfieger]

Nuku Nuku (2005)

The trigger fish is a state symbol of Hawaii. Its name in Hawaiian is humuhumunukunukuapua'a. The English name is much less of a mouthful, it would seem, but the opposite is true for the anime series Bannou Bunka Nekomusume, which in English was elongated to All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku.

This font was meant to be half-Asian, half-Pacific, with a blocky kind of Pac-man quality to it. You're digging it round and it ought to be square.

above left: graphics in Mahjongg Wii game (JustWoody, 2008)

above center: props and materials for Survivor: Philippines (2012) [alteration]

above right: front cover of Manga: An Anthology Of Global And Cultural Perspectives by Toni Johnson-Woods (Bloomsbury Academic)

download Nuku Nuku free from dafont.com