Typographical Inspiration for the Weekend

Those of us who work in creative fields tend to need to return to the wells of inspiration for a bit of a recharge for our imagination. In these times we turn to many, many different areas, looking for anything to spark those creative fires once again so that we can enthusiastically charge back into the proverbial fray. Hopefully with enough juice to punch through any of those roadblocks that may have been in our way when we went in search of inspiration.

In this post we are going to be focusing our inspirational radar in the typographical waters to help all of those enthusiasts and fanatics alike to get their fix of all kinds of font-related goodness. Here is an inspirational roundup we’ve collected to keep our readers busy for the weekend. We hope that you find enough typography inspiration in the sections below to keep your creativity flowing nicely for some time.

Typographical Based Artwork

The first stop along the way in this search for inspiration is in the various galleries of some talented designers who have created some imaginative artwork based around, or heavily featuring some typographical elements in the pieces. We have several artists with a handful of their designs in this first showcase, followed by a few random pieces from some other artists that we did not want to leave out. Some you may have seen before, some you may have not, but either way hopefully they will be that needed spark.

ron Jancs

ron's work is colorful and those featured are compromised of linework as the foundation for each piece. Used in completely different styles and weights, the work still shows a dynamic sense and versatility from the designer. Inspired and inspiring.

Lowercase G

From the Vector Graffiti Collection

Tokyork Logo

David Waters

First up beneath the spotlight is David Waters. David's work ranges from both the grunge heavy to the sharp and crisp, but always present is an imaginative type work that accentuates the overall voice of the pieces they inhabit. With such inspired in his portfolio, this easy addition to the showcase should be rubbing off on you in no time.

The KDU Brochure

Ecosystems

Dichotomy

Adolfo Correa

Is a talented designer with some colorful examples in the showcase, where the type elements are the central element of each of the pieces. Below, Adolfo demonstrates that his skills lie outside the digital arena as well with the paper art tribute he created that we have featured.

A Tribute to Yulia Brodskaya

Steve Aoki

Enedi Collaboration 2

Alex Beltechi

As our showcase keeps on moving forward, we stop on the works of Alex Beltechi, a designer whose style and works are filled with a lighter, somewhat playful approach. His in-depth, layered styles lend well to the large typographical centerpieces of the pieces that we have showcased below.

Type Treat

Steampunk Typography

Changing Actions Wallpaper

Diego L. Rodriguez

The next designer that we find filling the wellsprings of inspiration with their amazing work is Diego L. Rodriguez. Diego's designs are as big and as bold as the typographical elements that he crafts into his pieces. Once again, we see a range of styles skillfully employed in each piece as the work explodes from their digital canvases.

Solomon Tribute Album Cover

NAS – The Lost Tapes 1.5 Album Cover

Needles

Michal Sycz

Speaking of playful designs, our next artist up on the showcase is designer Michal Sycz, whose work is certainly no stranger to this fun loving nature as is proven in the first piece on feature. Though this whimsical approach is not in any way the standard for Michal's work as we see the powerful voice of public commentary in the showcase as well.

Milk Sucks

Barcelona

slashTHREE / Order vs Chaos

Dan Beckemeyer's Ampersand Food Groups

This next feature is all about the fun, with something of an unconventional look at typography. Well, at least one character of type that is. Dan Beckmeyer has created a series of Ampersands using two commonly combined foods to give the typographical character both form and a quirky, yet original series of pieces.

Wine & Cheese

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Coffee & Doughnuts

Cris Wicks

Cris Wicks is a designer whose works you have more than likely seen being featured around the webs as their breathtaking typographical portraits tend to catch the eye no matter their surroundings. Using a popular technique to create a portrait out of words, Cris has created some truly inspiring works that rank high in most folk's favorites.

lyric portrait 2nd attempt

Beautiful Boogieman

Mr. Marley

Markie Darkie

Speaking of popular works that tend to make the rounds, you might have seen one or two of our next designer's works. Markie Darkie has some vibrant and explosively colorful and bold typographical artwork that we just would not have felt right about excluding here from our inspirational showcase. For these works are proven useful inspirational tools.

CMYK

Fusion

GK

Steve Goodin

Our next showcase entries come from a talented designer who masterfully transports his typographical elements into a layered bed of classical grunge beauty. Steve Goodin delivers some simply stunning works that are sure to help kick-start your inspirational mojo machine into high gear.

Blackout

Open House

Signal

Dimo Trifonov

Next up along this road to inspiration, comes the work of designer Dimo Trifonov, who wonderfully submerges his typographical elements into his designs until they are nearly lost and merely art themselves. His interesting creations for a range of clients make a dynamic slice of his work which shows a versatility to his voice.

Trust the Mutation

Ashton Illustration

It's all about the shoe

Neil Hanvey

Here our typographical journey for inspiration takes a turn for the whimsical and more playful side as we visit work from the portfolio of the talented Neil Hanvey. Neil's designs are filled to the brim with exciting and colorful elements and sometimes characters. If fun tends to fan your flames of inspiration, then these next few pieces might be the dose you need.

Atomic Circus

Mecha Owl vs Steam Dragon

Hope for Haiti

Daniel J Diggle

The next designer that we are showcasing today is Daniel J. Diggle. Daniel uses intricately designed typographical drawings that heavily rely on various artistic elements to create and give form to the type, instead of the other way around as we have seen. Brilliant and beautiful work that certainly raises the proverbial bar.

Random Got Beautiful

The Roots

5125

Andreas Scheiger's Evolution of Type

Next up, we find an original set of sculptures unlike other works you may have seen before from the Evolution of Type Exhibit by: Andreas Scheiger. This is a uniquely morbid, if not completely awesome idea for a set of typographical sculptures that looks beneath the surface, so to speak, of our type.

Exhibit Number 3

Exhibit Number 2

Exhibit Number 1

Tariq Yosef

As we are winding down in this section of the post, we have the final designer with multiple artistic typographical pieces from their gallery being featured here today and that is the imaginative works or Tariq Yosef. Tariq's chaotic and explosive pieces are both rich and charged with emotion. Definitely an easy add to the showcase!

Numbers Man

typoGeo

its sad

Individual Artist Showcase

Now we have a handful of other designer artworks that not only caught our eye, but got the wheels of inspiration turning as we took them in, so naturally we couldn't check out of this section without stopping in them first.

Nuzzles – Wooden Typographic Puzzles by: John Christenson are an extremely creative and fun break from the other works that we have been showcasing in the post. Once we laid eyes on them, we knew they had to get a spot on the list!

The Antidote by: Jared Nickerson is a simple retro design that uses typography to bring the whole meaning of the piece together and present it stylistically to the viewer.

Typefaces

How could we do a post focusing on typography inspiration and not actually deliver some typefaces that are sure to please and douse those creative embers with a little fuel? Short answer, we couldn't. So feast your eyes and typeface appetites on the gatherings below and don't forget that you need to still come up for air on occasion.

Slinkytype by: Paul Hollingworth

It may not walk down stairs or travel in pairs like its namesake, but the Slinkytype font is a stroke of creative genius. Taking the spiral, coiled visuals from this toy that has entertained countless kids across generations and distilling it into a highly unique typeface made this an easy addition to our showcase.

VAL – Free Font by: Fontfabric

VAL is a Fontfabric typeface whose weight and bubbly nature have made it a virtual splash among the community. The fact that it is free has not hurt either, but given its size and style you would expect it to be somewhat difficult to read, but that is not the case here. With a unique style for fitting the letters together, this font is certainly worth checking out. Click on the images to visit the page with the download link.

ROKE 1984 – Free Font by: Wete

ROKE 1984 is a typeface so refreshingly original that we could not exclude it from this post without feeling horribly guilty for shorting the readers. Wete, the designer, has delivered a font that really sets the bar high for others to follow, with several variations of the font to give your work just the look you were craving. Click on the images to visit the page with the download link.

Kalevi Typeface by: Ossi Gustafsson

Kalevi is another typeface whose elegance and sharp nature made it nearly impossible to pass up as we put this showcase together for our readers. Even with its somewhat boxy style, this font still comes across as classic and professional, and also has a stencil variation that takes it to more of a laid back place. So it works on numerous levels.

my Angle Type by: Andre Roquette

my Angle Type is another highly unique font that has evolved artistically into a funtional, wonderfully stylish typeface. The designer's imaginative approach to the font's creation has seemingly infused the work with an inspiring tone that is almost guaranteed to get those juices flowing.

Disorder Type by: Sig Vicious

Speaking of unique approaches to the font's origins, our next typeface on the showcase shares this spotlight, and that is Disorder Type. Trying to encapsulate the symptoms and feelings associated with Dissociative Identity Disorder, the designer delivered upon a powerful, if not singular, typeface to the community at large.

Perforama – Free Font by: Alexey Frolov

Perforama is a fun font with a retro feel that takes a simple lined character, rounded corner approach to pulling together this typeface. Has the look and feel of an older seventies genre design, while still managing to keep it relevant and from feeling truly dated. Click on the images to visit the page with the download link.

Bardelin – Free Font by: Alexey Frolov

Bardelin is a bold and full typeface that still has somewhat of a lightness to it that most weightier fonts tend to be missing. The subtle waviness to the characters keeps the font from feeling constrictive and as concrete as most bolder fonts do as well. Click on the images to visit the page with the download link.

Dekar – Free Font by: Fontfabric

Dekar is another Fontfabric release, that is tight and crisp in all the ways a professional feeling typeface should be. With both a bold and a light variation of the font, this sharp type has a versatility to it that just might take you by surprise. Click on the images to visit the page with the download link.

Adec – Free Font by: Serge Shi

Adec is another uniquely crafted typeface that would make an inspirational addition to any designers virtual toolbox for sure. Taking somewhat of a split level approach, so to speak, the font combines character elements to give the type a slight sense of whimsy, while maintaining a sharp modern edge. Click on the images to visit the page with the download link.

Deibi v1.0 – Free Font by: Wete

Deibi is the second typeface by Wete that we have featured, though it has a completely different feel and tone to it. Though the font itself has the hand drawn, somewhat loose look, it still comes together in a tight-knit professional look that gives the font a unique personality of sorts. Click on the images to visit the page with the download link.

A Couple More For the Road

Before we go, we have a couple more places to turn when you are looking for typography inspiration that we thought we would drop into the virtual mix to cap things off. We hope that you have enjoyed the post and gotten some inspiration out of its holds.

Baseline Magazine is a magazine that is focused completely on typography. This is certainly a publication for every enthusiast and pro alike to look into to keep their fingers on the pulse of the typography in the design world.

Type Foundry Wiki is the Wikipedia entry for Type Foundries. Plain and simple. Want to know where to go to get all of your font fixes, then visit the foundry entry for lists of typeface sources to turn to!

Friends of Type helps you discover great fresh visual content. Four creative fellows are responsible for the project which features type artwork from artists around the world, yet mainly their personal work. The project values typographic design and serves as a sketchbook, archive as well as dialogue.

Consider Also Some of Our Previous Posts:

• The Beauty Of Typography: Writing Systems And Calligraphy Of The World is a post from the Smashing vaults that can also help out with the inspiration end by taking you through examples of scripts from around the world.
• Typographic Design Patterns and Best Practices is another post from the ghost of Smashing past that can help you once that inspiration gets rolling once again, and you begin your next typography focused design.

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