Notes from Cascadia

Harried Type: first year check-in

6/14/2017

This May my type foundry and web store, Harried Type, rounded the one year mark. All my fonts are available for purchase, sales are growing, and downloads have never been higher.

Great news, now let's tackle year two. Starting today, there's a new home for Harried Type. With most traffic and queries coming to this site first, it makes little sense to maintain a separate domain and site architecture for the web store. To save everyone a step, I've integrated the store into this domain. This makes it simple and easy to find a font for personal or commercial use and try it out right away.

And I can't forget the fonts themselves. In addition to the three fonts I've published this year (Ventures, Edit Mark, and Aroundabout), there are still more on the way. Stay tuned!

Fresh paint

6/3/2017

It's been awhile, but I have a new painting to post! Like many of my paintings, this 70th piece is untitled and belongs to no series. On this site it will have a permanent home with all the other stand alone works. Hope you like it.

And because I haven't given them a shout out in quite some time, don't forget my past series Portland, Less, Couple, Summer, Light, and Bob Ross.

Introducing Aroundabout

6/1/2017

I’m very pleased to release Aroundabout, my latest font. Aroundabout is a pure concept, designed in the same spirit as Moonblock. Like that earlier work, Aroundabout is meant to be more of an art piece than a functional font. I started this one in October 2015, returning to it off and on again to tweak little details. I wanted to create a set of characters based around something simple and clean, like a circle. I put a lot of consideration and care into this one, and I hope you enjoy. As with all my fonts, it’s free for personal use with a commercial version available from Harried Type.

Memorial Day weekend photos

5/29/2017

Many left Vancouver, WA – the city I call home – for a three day holiday this Memorial Day weekend. I didn’t. Instead, I took the time to photograph a number of the neighborhoods adjacent to mine. Without many people out and about, most of the images are not traditional “street” photos. Rather, they capture the street itself. The intermittent nature, the construction, the nooks and crannies. I shot the images over all three days, editing them at night and during the heat of each day. You can find them all on my photo blog, Written in 35 mm. I hope you enjoy.

I compared Apple Music to loving music

5/21/2017

I wrote a piece comparing on-demand streaming music services. I also added a little bit about the joy of music collection and what the streaming present and future means for audiophiles. I don't normally write things like this, but it's something I've been giving a lot of thought lately. If you'd like to read it, I published it on Medium! Hope you enjoy.

Edit Mark

4/17/2017

This is Edit Mark, a grand experiment if there ever was one. In keeping with my earlier fonts June 5 and Granite Letter, it was developed as a spur of the moment project. Evolving from a few different concepts, it became a hodgepodge that I found interesting. The resulting font isn't perfect, or what I set out to design, but there's a lot about it that I like. In fact, I think that there's enough to share it publicly.

Download Edit Mark free for personal use, or buy a commercial copy at Harried Type.

Welcome to v26

4/10/2017

Things are looking a little different around here. Let me explain.

This is the all-new 26th edition of this website. It features a fully rethought aesthetic, a sharp new monogram logo, and an even easier to use navigation system. It's also fully responsive.

The new site and look are designed not only as a fun and necessary refresh, but as a refocus. My typefaces – the element of my portfolio I am most passionate about – are now front and center, with simplified installation and purchasing options. The other three content tabs – photos, paint, and graphics – now only display a sampling of work, instead of entire series or styles. However, you'll still be able to access a series with a direct link, like this.

So let's talk about the new logo. A highly stylized, adventurous, and offbeat monogram, it replaces the Blakeman Tree which was introduced in 2014 (along with the 25th iteration of the site). The Tree was a great logo, and served me well over the last few years. However, recently it was feeling a little stale and I wanted to make a change. This monogram logo balances traditional with new, and is much more personal. Expect a gradual replacement of the Tree with the monogram as I continually update materials.

Hope you like the changes!

Manhattan in B&W

4/7/2017

I was in New York this week visiting a friend and seeing as much of the city as I could. While I was there, I snapped a few dozen black and white images of the people, the streets, and the amazing architecture.

You can find all of the images on my photo blog, Written in 35 mm.

Font #13: Ventures

3/5/2017

I'm pleased to present my thirteenth font, Ventures. I took a new approach to designing this one, creating each character individually with a singular aesthetic goal but without creating an overarching set of guidelines first. I'd like to give a special shoutout to the "S." As always, you can download Ventures for free and personal use, or grab the commercial version at Harried Type.

Top five films of 2016

2/26/2017

As per annual tradition, here's my list of the top films of the previous year. I normally do a top ten, but this year I've decided to honor only five films. On the whole, I found 2016 to be a weaker year for the movies. Still, these five were excellent and important, bringing oft-overlooked stories to our attention and by offering relief and escapism in a troubled time.

<<Previous