Tyler Sticka

cufón vs sIFR (A Visual Comparison)

Type design for the web is a subject usually discussed amidst snickers and groans and only occasionally peppered with epiphanies not dissimilar to “why didn’t I think of that?” While only a speed bump along a path of monolithic obstacles we face as we forge the Next Big Thing, web type has become a symbol of every designer’s frustrations with this fantastic (and finicky) medium.

For eleven weeks early Winter months of 2008, I taught eighteen design students at the Art Institute of Portland how to stop worrying and learn to love web type. I covered the basic rules of readability, hierarchy and emotional impact. I evangelized the importance accessibility and web standards, how they allow us to design for different mediums as well as those with sensory impairments. I honestly and pragmatically demonstrated the technical limitations of HTML and CSS.

And then I showed how to get around them.

A favorite technique for myself and my students was the use of sIFR, though its quirky setup and reliance on Flash eventually made me re-evaluate its necessity. I returned to embracing native web fonts like Verdana and Georgia (thank goodness for Matthew Carter) with a smattering of @font-face here and there. Not until last week (while working with Elizabeth Miller at Studio D) did I encounter a need to try the latest JavaScript-powered web type solution, cufón.

There’s a lot to like about cufón. Its use of the canvas tag in most browsers and VML in Internet Explorer eliminates the need for any proprietary plugins. Setup is surprisingly swift; generate the JavaScript with the handy online form, call the Cufon.replace method and off you go!

But there was something else, too. I swore cufón looked better.

Only one way to find out! See the comparison and observations

Hip Slop featured in Digital Arts magazine

I’m honored to report that Hip Slop, my Portland-inspired graffiti typeface, has been featured in the August issue of Digital Arts.

Digital Arts provides “Inspiration for Digital Creatives” to its many UK subscribers. They weighed in on Hip Slop on page 8:

Block rockin’ FACE

An authentic-looking graffiti font is a rare thing and one that’s usable too is doubly so. Hip Slop by Tyler Sticka combines the fast jagged lines of real street art with creative flexibility and legibility. The font costs $9.95 (£6.10).

Hip Slop is the first offering from my expressive type foundry Ampercamp, and is available to purchase from MyFonts.com.

Ampercamp’s second typeface will likely debut in 2010.

Icons and Comics on Strange Love Live

If you missed viewing my Strange Love Live appearance when it was actually live, you can now view it on Blip.TV, in iTunes, or right here:

I had a blast being on the show! Thanks again to Cami Kaos and Dr. Normal for being such gracious hosts. I’ll be sure to post my comics essay (as promised) in the coming weeks.

Icon designers I should have mentioned (but didn’t for some reason) include Susan Kare, the Iconfactory, John Hicks and Adam Betts.

Some of the comics I talked about (not all of which are safe for youngsters) were Amulet, Sonic the Hedgehog, Bone, Groo, Usagi Yojimbo, Cerebus, Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns. For a larger list of keen comics to check out, see my WebVisions follow-up.

If you’re hungry for more comic book, indie rock and tech geekery and don’t mind the occasional expletive, older audiences can check out the less structured Afterhours episode (with appearances by Peter Wooley).

Introducing Ampercamp and the Hip Slop font!

I’m proud to announce the debut of the Hip Slop font and with it the Ampercamp type foundry.

Hip Slop has long had a presence in my portfolio, but a recent surge of inquiries finally pushed me to complete it and offer it for sale through MyFonts.com at a very affordable price. It was inspired by and based upon photographic research of common market graffiti in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon, carrying with it the same vandal spirit and serendipitous style.

My sketchbooks and hard drives hold the beginnings of other thematic, expressive type waiting to be unleashed in similar fashion. Ampercamp will be the banner under which these upcoming typefaces are presented.

For news and updates regarding Hip Slop, Ampercamp and other font offerings, follow @ampercamp on Twitter or subscribe to the Ampercamp-centric feed.