About

Assigning names to typefaces … is a rather new occurrence in … type. In the beginning … typefaces didn’t even have specific names. Then the industrial revolution happened and … people saw the need to give the novel things names to communicate about them.⁽⁰¹⁾

One of the hardest things about a typeface is finding a name for it.⁽⁰²⁾ Tobias Frere-Jones claims to find naming typefaces the most difficult part of the design process.⁽⁰³⁾ The name is the user’s first point of contact with a typeface.⁽⁰⁴⁾ At its best, a typeface’s name is a one-word sales pitch.⁽⁰⁵⁾ A well-chosen typeface name not only helps emphasize the design concept but also contributes to its successful promotion.⁽⁰⁶⁾

Typenames is a spare blog documenting an overlooked topic in the field of typography—the largely untold stories behind typeface names, as shared by the type designers who named them. Browse complete archive, read random entry, subscribe to newsletter, or contact to feature your typeface’s backstory. Also, please do not hesitate to suggest edits and corrections.

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⁽⁰¹⁾ 🌐 http://kupferschrift.de/cms/2012/03/on-classifications

⁽⁰²⁾ 🌐 https://imdb.com/title/tt10990038

⁽⁰³⁾ 🌐 https://typotheque.com/articles/thirty-six-point-gorilla

⁽⁰⁴⁾ 🌐 https://nymag.com/news/features/jonathan-hoefler-tobias-frere-jones-2014-6

⁽⁰⁵⁾ 🌐 https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/10/tobias-frere-jones-on-how-font-naming-conventions-have-changed-with-the-times.html

⁽⁰⁶⁾ 🌐 https://typetype.org/blog/how-to-name-a-font-learning-from-real-examples