Posted on 23 December 2009 • 17 comments
Last week, I gave away a few teasers about my magazine pet project. Today, I’m going to give you something a bit juicier. I’m very happy to introduce… 8 Faces.
The magazine takes a very simple concept as its initial talking point: if you could only use eight typefaces for the rest of your life, what would they be? A sort of ‘Desert Island Discs’ for type, I suppose. Each issue asks this question to eight leading designers whose work is well known for its typographical slant, be they print designers, web designers, or type designers. But this is really just a point of focus and proverbial ice-breaker; the interviews then expand into open-ended discussions about all things typographic and are punctuated with examples of the designers’ inspiring work.
The interviewees
From the moment I had the idea, I knew I wanted to interview some very well-known designers, so I emailed eight of my type heroes, not expecting to hear back from most of them. To my astonishment, they not only replied: they said yes! So here’s the list of interviewees appearing in the debut issue:
- Erik Spiekermann — legendary type designer and the founder of FontShop and FontFont
- David Carson — ground-breaking and massively influential print designer (his packaging design for NIN‘s album The Fragile was what got me into design when I was at high school, so on a personal note it’s a real honour to have David involved)
- Jessica Hische — in-demand (she’s everywhere on the internet right now), type-focused illustrator and creator of The Daily Drop Cap
- Jon Tan — web type guru and creative force behind Fontdeck
- Jos Buivenga — new breed of type designer, whose beautiful fonts and ‘freemium’ business approach have shot him to fame
- Ian Coyle — web/print designer and letterpress printer, whose participation on the SXSW 2009 Typography panel inspired the idea for the magazine
- Bruce Willen & Nolen Strals — also known collectively as Post Typography and the authors of Lettering & Type
It’s an absolute pleasure to have these people on board. I’ve also got some very exciting people potentially lined up for #2, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
So, would you like a copy?
There are many more details to follow and I’ll be revealing more in January, but for now, please sign up on the 8 Faces site if you’d like to hear more. I promise you won’t be spammed, and signing up will guarantee that you’ll find out about the magazine’s availability before anyone else. And yes, there will be pre-orders!
17 comments
Vinicius
23 December 2009 @ 10:49PM #
HI Elliot, can you add my email address to the list of 8 faces?
Thanks, I’m a great admirer of your work!
Paul Randall
23 December 2009 @ 11:51PM #
Johno (from I Love Typography & The Font Game) came to mind for Issue 2, but that list is epic!
Looking forward to seeing more.
Markus Danek
24 December 2009 @ 01:12AM #
Looks great and i love the idea/font of your magazine title.
Go Elliot, go!
Design Informer
24 December 2009 @ 04:17AM #
This is awesome! I can’t wait for Issue #1.
Bretton MacLean
24 December 2009 @ 06:50AM #
Great concept! Will you be sharing your own ‘8 Faces’ in this issue?
Tim Smith
25 December 2009 @ 10:51AM #
I’m on a mission to learn more and more about typography. Reason for which I’m so excited about this. I can’t wait!
Gareth Redfern
25 December 2009 @ 12:46PM #
Hi Elliot,
Can you add my email address to the list of 8 faces please?
Tevi
30 December 2009 @ 03:58AM #
Great line up! Would love to see Alejandro Paul and Marian Bantjes in #2!
Bo
16 January 2010 @ 02:52PM #
Sounds as an incredibly interesting project and love the logo : ) Can you put me on the list? I cannot seem to find a sign-up option on the magazine-website?
(btw my website is not live right now, but in preparation :)
Dave Kingsnorth
19 January 2010 @ 12:06PM #
This sounds interesting, I’m gonna give it a look
Phil Rowe
23 January 2010 @ 04:12PM #
This is one of those “why didn’t someone think of this before?” ideas. Keep up the great work, hope to come and hear you in Norwich this Spring.
Luis
24 January 2010 @ 10:51PM #
Sounds like a great idea for a personal project. Best of Luck!!
Dean Hudson
04 February 2010 @ 06:24AM #
Really keen to check this out – are you going to post copies overseas? Even an option to buy a PDF would be nice
Tools and Resources to Improve your Typography on the Web – Inspect Element - Web Design & Development Blog
04 February 2010 @ 07:52PM #
[…] forget to check out Elliot Jay Stocks’ 8 Faces magazine when it launches as all signs point to it being […]
Tuhin Kumar
04 February 2010 @ 11:31PM #
Sounds brilliant by the looks of it. I am sure it would be a refreshing approach to typography. A PDF version would be a nice idea for people like me who are in India or other far off places.
Samuel Blowes
18 February 2010 @ 09:40PM #
Sign me up!
Tools and Resources to Take A Turn For The Better your Typography on the Spider’S Web | Your articles
07 April 2010 @ 08:52PM #
[…] recall to check outside Elliot Jay Stocks’ 8 Faces journal when it launches as all signs immaterial to it being […]