The Interrogang Podcast (Proof&Co.)
Explorez tous les épisodes de The Interrogang Podcast
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09 Mar 2022 | Week 9 - Person Behind the Curtain Syndrome | 00:30:00 | |
How big of a head do you need to make it as a type designer‽ It's Season Two, and Josh and Kyle kick it off with some early 2022 releases and dream about which typeface they would want to spend the rest of their lives with (don't tell their wives). Then, they attempt to check their egos at the door and explore how much self-confidence aids or hinders the design process. And as a PSA, remember, if you plan to woo a font, always practice safe typography... | |||
| 15 Mar 2022 | Week 10 - Time Makes Fools of Us All | 00:32:18 | |
What should happen to the fonts of days gone by‽ The guys first look to the stars and hope to find some answers from fonts named after their astrological signs. Finding no luck there, they decide it's time to hang it up and discuss font retirement. With all these new type releases, Kyle posits that it may be time to take some fonts off the market to make way. Josh worries that that might lead to typographic murder, but admits sometimes it's just best to move on. Classic Gemini... | |||
| 22 Mar 2022 | Week 11 - They Must Know What's Best For Me | 00:34:10 | |
Do you remember your earliest interaction with typography‽ While a love of typography may have crept its way into your heart over time, it probably was in spite of your time getting an education instead of because of it. Times New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced, or else! Josh and Kyle break down why we were so typographically boxed in in our youth and dream of a future that can provide some room for personal flair in school papers. Until then, Kyle's gonna go work on his handwriting... | |||
| 29 Mar 2022 | Week 12 - Compost Your Unused Fonts | 00:30:14 | |
Don't you think that with great fonts comes great responsibility‽ In the releases this week, we are transported to a California drum circle, take a look at something just slightly fancier than what you've seen before, and find a font that is a quirky neutral sans. Then, Josh wants to know how many fonts is too many fonts to use in a single design, and Kyle has some examples of "the power of type", how typography is used for social good in the world. And we're still waiting to hear your marketing plans for Wrong Sans... | |||
| 05 Apr 2022 | Week 13 - Mr. Google is Sitting in a Corner Answering Questions | 00:38:48 | |
Where can you turn when you don't know when to use a certain font‽ Let's Google it! Kyle runs through a bunch of new releases and turns to Josh (because there was no one else around) to help us all define what makes a font superfamily "super". Then the guys return to everyone's favorite search engine for font usage advice and find, shall we say, inconclusive results. At least Google was kind to Comic Sans... | |||
| 12 Apr 2022 | Week 14 - Spread Your Wings and Fly | 00:32:41 | |
Have you ever been worried about sacrificing your artistic principles for a job‽ Josh and Kyle tackle the idea of "selling out" in type and realize that it may simultaneously be inevitable and not really a problem in type. But first, Josh jumps to the defense of the type consumer and keeps the dream of superfamilies alive while Kyle yearns for a day when variable fonts are more universally accessible. This episode is dedicated to (but not sponsored by) all those hard-working independent type foundries out there... | |||
| 26 Apr 2022 | Week 16 - A Happy, Hermited, Introverted Bunch | 00:34:36 | |
Do you ever feel like you don't get enough credit for your type work‽ Josh and Kyle would like to give you the credit you deserve, seeing as attribution in the type world seems, well, to not really be a thing. Kyle seeks world peace through type and Josh thinks some recent fonts have let themselves go. But really, where is the zazz...? | |||
| 03 May 2022 | Week 17 - Let Us Speak Not of Twitter | 00:35:11 | |
Where is that artistic feedback that we all so crave‽ It's time to go back to school, but don't worry, this week's episode is an easy A. Josh enrolls us all in Earth University and tries to find you the perfect minor to complement your graphic design major. Then the guys talk about all the feedback we used to receive about our design work, but can't seem to find much of these days. It was all so much easier in school, but there is hope for a brighter, more constructive criticism-filled future. If only Kyle would just stop bringing up Twitter... | |||
| 10 May 2022 | Bonus 02 - I Would Call That Not Science | 00:09:57 | |
What is the Interrogang without Kyle‽ Well, we'd rather not find out. Kyle is away this week, so Josh curates some deleted scenes from this season to tide us all over until Kyle returns. There are metaphors aplenty, what could possibly go wrong? The metaphors may get away from us sometimes, but we can't stop, won't stop making them... | |||
| 17 May 2022 | Week 19 - Why Can't People Just Like What I Like? | 00:32:42 | |
Do you feel relevant when it comes to the fonts you create‽ We all strive to see ourselves in our work, but we want other people to like it too, of course! Kyle ponders what the point of it all is, but Josh is too worried about his elderly eyesight. What is more important, who designs the fonts or who the fonts are designed for? It may be an unanswerable question, just like, "did Kyle really catch that foul ball?"... | |||
| 07 Jun 2022 | Week 22 - A Neo-Grotesk With Great Mouthfeel | 00:36:23 | |
Can you tell the difference between the description of a font and the description of a bottle of wine‽ Josh puts Kyle to the test in a game of "Font or Fine Wine" and may have accidentally ended Kyle's type career. The guys also discuss how having strict parameters can help or hinder your work flow and how ligatures can give creepy backrubs. But what are ligatures if not images of ourselves, and what are we if not images of God...? | |||
| 15 Jun 2022 | Week 23 - A Type Layman's Opinion | 00:36:01 | |
Be honest: how do you really feel about Helvetica and Arial‽ If your answer is a hot take, then this episode is for you! It's Typographic Hot Takes Round 2! Kyle poses some of the most controversial opinions in the type world today to see how Josh feels about them. We learn that we shouldn't have passed kindergarten, Josh is a robot, and we all make mistakes in our twenties. We are pro-Blackletter and anti-Geometric Sans, however hot those takes may or may not be... | |||
| 24 Jun 2022 | Week 24 - Type Enthusiast Coattails | 00:25:50 | |
Isn't it just better to talk about type in-person‽ The guys are excited to be recording from the same room for the first time, and they take that energy to talk about the joys of discussing and taking in type when we are together and not always engaging with each other over a screen. Kyle gesticulates with typographic enthusiasm and Josh admits to asking dumb questions. But if Josh can learn this much about type, then there should be hope for us all... | |||
| 29 Jun 2022 | Week 25 - I'm Sending in the Goons | 00:35:54 | |
Ever talk to someone who's using the word "lettering" when they should be saying "type"‽ Kyle serves as judge, jury, and dictionary this week to clarify some of the most common wording mix-ups in type. Readability or legibility? Font or typeface? Understanding the difference matters! Maybe. Kyle then turns the Interrogang into its own Chuckle Hut as the guys submit Andrew (and, by extension, you) to their best typography jokes. You'd better laugh, or else you might find some hired goons at your door... | |||
| 08 Sep 2022 | Week 35 - Typography With No Authors | 00:30:50 | |
Why is it so hard to find out who designed a font‽ Josh can't always find a designer listed when a font is released and finds this baffling. He's on a crusade to see designers listed, and he wants names! We may never know who designed all the fonts, but at least there will always be Future Fonts to bring us home... | |||
| 09 Sep 2022 | Bonus 03 - Summer Releases Review of 2022! | 00:25:27 | |
What did we miss over summer break‽ Kyle guides us through several of the best font releases from the summer of '22 while Josh tries not to get in the way. Kyle commits acts of physical prowess and Josh doesn't know much about the city he lives in. At least we finally found out where XYZ Type got inspiration for their name... | |||
| 13 Sep 2022 | Week 36 - There is a Time and a Place for Boring | 00:34:10 | |
Is there a difference between boring and bad design‽ The guys try to keep things good and exciting while realizing that boring design might just be the backbone of typography and bad design can sometimes be a catalyst of innovation. Kyle talks chairs and Josh descends the NYC Subway into chaos. Little does Kyle know, but he's getting a balloon chair for Christmas... | |||
| 22 Sep 2022 | Week 37 - A Buffet of Fonts | 00:34:20 | |
Is there such a thing as a "foundry groupie"‽ Josh and Kyle hang out in the typographic green room and talk about foundries that set themselves up as one-stop shops and how often font buyers only look to one foundry for all their font buying needs. But first, it's story time with Kyle, and his parable leads the guys to the “Goldilocks Zone”, the just right, sweet spot for the number of font styles per family. It also teaches us that terriers know plenty about typography... | |||
| 27 Sep 2022 | Week 38 - What Does Love Look Like? | 00:46:52 | |
Can you describe what a font looks like from the name alone‽ Josh and Kyle see if they can with mixed results. Font names can be weird and Eklektyk, leave you feeling Wild or like a Hopeless Diamond, or even give you inspiration for naming your children. A Zombie Punk by any other name would smell as sweet... | |||
| 08 Oct 2022 | Week 39 - A Pen Stroke Symphony | 00:37:30 | |
Can you engage with typography using all five of your senses‽ Kyle takes us on a fantastic voyage through the senses of the human body, exploring far-reaching realms of typography though smell, taste, sight, touch, and sound. Josh has a great idea for a partnership with Stomp (patent pending), Bailey the cat calls our bluff, and things sometimes get a little creepy in this accidentally Halloween-themed episode. Well, not as creepy as when you lick your computer... | |||
| 12 Oct 2022 | Week 40 - It's a Weekly Typographic/Interrogang Mashup! | 00:48:50 | |
What could be better than two typography podcasts for the price of one‽ Josh and Kyle team up with Micah Rich and Olivia Kane from The League of Moveable Type's Weekly Typographic and have a rollicking conversation through the Olympics, Italian fashion, and, what else, Future Fonts. Our Interro-couple has finally become an Interrogang, and if anyone out there can figure out how to make an ampersand with their fingers, please let us know... Click here to subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter to get all the latest type news and notes from your friends at Proof&Co! | |||
| 20 Oct 2022 | Week 41 - Art With Responsibilities | 00:31:27 | |
Can type design ever be considered dangerous‽ The guys tackle the idea that designs that "push the boundaries" can sometimes go too far and become stupid or even dangerous. Josh shares a story from high school to help prove this point, a story that Kyle thankfully survives. Before all this, Kyle tells us all about the conference (festival) he attended, a deep look into how technology, coding, augmented reality, and AI are aiding typography into the future. Before we get too far, though, we really should determine what the typographic Hippocratic Oath is... | |||
| 27 Oct 2022 | Week 42 - The Podcast is Coming From Inside the House! | 00:41:43 | |
Have you ever considered the font needs of monsters‽ Josh and Kyle are tasked with that very thing in this special Halloween episode as they go about designing business cards for things that go bump in the night. They also encounter headless "S"s, sans-serif existential crises, techy-blobby fonts, and Ancient Roman mummies. And just as long as they don't hear a distant clown horn, they should be fine. Uh oh, Fluffles is right behind me, isn't he...? | |||
| 02 Nov 2022 | Bonus 04 - They're Coming For Our Hairdressers | 00:18:40 | |
Where do all our best deleted scenes go‽ Why, our autumnal bonus episode of course, in which an unevenly designed blackletter precedes an uncertain future, mathematically-inclined fonts cause unintended trauma, font descriptions get automated (and more than a little worrisome), and overachieving designs annoy and delight simultaneously. With all this to talk about, typography's future seems promising! But... | |||
| 10 Nov 2022 | Week 44 - The Potential That Lies Within | 00:30:48 | |
How many glyphs is too many glyphs‽ Stylistic alternates, contextual ligatures, icons, dingbats, and borders, oh my! So much to design, so little time. But is adding to your glyph count always worth it? The guys explore the idea of the "imposition of choice", what it means to designers and buyers when you give people too many options with a font. Their discussions also take us back in time to the year 2000, a time that might be influencing your typography today. We survived Y2K then, we can survive it now… | |||
| 17 Nov 2022 | Week 45 - Teamwork Makes the Dream Work | 00:28:03 | |
How many type designers does it take to screw in a font‽ More than one, as it usually turns out, and Josh and Kyle are here to celebrate that there is no "I" in "typography team" (though there should be one in every typeface). Like drones in the sky coming together to form a letter, we all come together to make good type. But Josh worries that there is a foundational lack of understanding from the general public about what a font foundry actually is (or that they even exist). How can we fix this? Netflix, call us... | |||
| 23 Nov 2022 | Week 46 - We Shall Feast on Typography | 00:39:08 | |
What are you bringing to Typography Thanksgiving‽ Josh and Kyle set the podcasting table, loosen their belts, and bring you the most belly-filling spread of fonts you could possibly imagine. It's a time to be thankful, especially for happy looking "e"s, free swag bags, and for the fact that your hosts kept their pants on. Just don't give Josh any more hats, he's got plenty of hats... | |||
| 08 Dec 2022 | Week 48 - The Professional in the Room | 00:34:30 | |
Can good design be made by committee‽ Collaboration and constructive criticism are supposed to make our creations better, but that can get out of hand when experts aren’t allowed to be experts. Josh and Kyle share their thoughts on design camels, Blackletter-ish miscues, and the oft forgotten capital “Q”. And if we could just give you, the listener, a quick little constructive note…you're doing great... Font releases highlighted in this episode: Austerlitz from Typofonderie Publico Collection from Commercial Type Queens Sans from Kilotype Grep from XYZ Type Click here to subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter to get all the latest type news and notes from your friends at Proof&Co! Please take a moment to rate and review us on your podcasting site of choice and if you like what you hear, tell your friends and family they should listen too! | |||
| 19 Dec 2022 | Week 49 - Here We Go A-Font-Wassailing | 00:35:02 | |
Is Santa ready to deliver all the type gifts this year‽ The independent type world has him covered if not! Joshua Claus and Little Drummer Boy Kyle put their Santa Pants on and review the 2022 Proof&Co Gift Guide for all your gift-giving needs in this holiday episode. Also, the guys get excited for x-height, we learn Kyle likes to sniff his presents, and Josh has Clement Moore rolling in his grave with a new rendition of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”. And yes, there is some caroling. There may be a “Bah, Humbug!” or two in this episode, but we tried to keep it festive… | |||
| 31 Dec 2022 | Week 50 - The Year of Just Right | 01:02:42 | |
How will you look back on 2022‽ It's been a bonkers year, but from the best font names to the best single-style release to what new fonts blew minds into the stratosphere, Josh and Kyle have some awards to hand out for the year that was in type. After glasses are raised to toast the winners, the guys reflect on 2022 and look forward to 2023. Kyle makes up his own rules and wants to get weird with micro fonts, while Josh makes up the word "smarketing" and is optimistic about the future for the first time in his life (briefly). And keep the lyrics to "Auld Lang Syne" at the ready, you never know when they'll come in handy... | |||
| 20 Jan 2023 | Rewind 01 - Font Character Archetypes | 00:33:05 | |
What could possibly make a typeface lawful, chaotic, or just downright evil‽ We assign fonts to the nine role-playing game character archetypes in this Rewind episode from Season 1. | |||
| 01 Mar 2023 | Rewind 02 - Designers as Salespeople | 00:14:01 | |
Do we have to be good salespeople to be good designers‽ This Rewind explores the trials and tribulations of having to talk a big game while still being effective designers. Can good work just speak for itself? | |||
| 03 Mar 2023 | Rewind 03 - Are Emojis Typography? | 00:18:03 | |
Are emojis typography‽ The debate rages on (or rather, rages from a year and a half ago) in this Rewind episode. Click here to get your 2022 Annual Report and Almanac, our data-driven look at the world of independent typography in 2022! | |||
| 08 Mar 2023 | Week 09 - Typographic Jazz | 00:35:10 | |
Is who you know more important than what you know‽ Josh and Kyle cut through the social foofah to put the phrase "It's not what you know, it's who you know" in its place, all while trying to convince you they aren't lonely hermits. There are also two months of type releases to review, and we realize how Ohno Type Co.'s name may hint at our impending doom. It's a lot to handle, but we've got big, jazzy, three-dimensional dreams for 2023... | |||
| 14 Mar 2023 | Week 10 Releases - The Essence of a Font | 00:17:05 | |
Where does inspiration come from when designing a font‽ There were plenty of answers to that question from this past week, from Beast of England's Acorn reminiscing about Acorn Computers to Clothilde Bouan's Niki, which delightfully reflects artist Niki de Saint-Phalle's extensive repertoire, to DS Type's Prelo Pro taking a cue from...its own Prelo family DNA. We also find that it is a Bold Decision to name your font True Serif and that Lexia from Dalton Maag could have added a few more genres to describe it and we still would have loved its panache. Now, let's talk tittles... | |||
| 22 Mar 2023 | Week 11 - Change is Hard | 00:30:41 | |
Who gave Times New Roman all this power‽ Joshua "The Scorpion" Dick and Kyle "Victory Hands" Read review the contentious switch from Times New Roman to Calibri made by the US State Department this year and worry about how little control we actually have about which fonts become all-powerful. Times New Roman may be on its way out, but there are some TNR diehards out there still praying to Our Lady of Serifs. The guys also talk well-designed emojis and come across some heretofore buried phobias that also serve as great wrestler names... | |||
| 29 Mar 2023 | Week 12 - I Have Further Questions | 00:22:51 | |
Did the Big Apple make a big mistake‽ Josh and Kyle are in a New York state of mind this week when they review the new "We Heart NYC" campaign. New York City had the chance to make it here, but instead chose to make it anywhere, and the guys are not impressed. Kyle suggests some New York-based type designers and foundries who could have given the rebrand a better local flair and Josh pitches a typography-based Seinfeld episode. Guess this is what happens when you are a city that never sleeps... | |||
| 06 Apr 2023 | Week 13 - Fonts Under Our Fingernails | 00:27:12 | |
What’s wrong with selling your font as one that can do it all‽ The guys worry that you can oversell the usefulness of your fonts, and thus hurt your actual sales. Can a font fulfill the dream of being "one-size-fits-all" for your needs or does that just make it boring, and perhaps, a liar? Josh also rants about how overused the word "workhorse" has become and Kyle calls for an end to its use. Oh, and the new fonts this week give us some beefy Light weights, erect font posture, and inspiration to knit some truly ugly sweaters... | |||
| 12 Apr 2023 | Week 14 Releases - Everything Old is New Again | 00:20:40 | |
Care to join us on a typographic journey through time‽ The past week's type releases give us a chance to do just that with Ohno Type Co's art-deco inspired (and perhaps worrisomely named) Regrets; the updated, expanded, and neato Netto from TypeMates; a modernist take on the historical Clarendon with Studio Rene Bieder's Stakkat; and a retro, baseball-inspired Tuscan serif with Dinger from Dingbat Co. Is all this time travel even possible? Well, we and Letteror can Neither Confirm Nor Deny, but we can tell you inky variable fonts might be leading us to a bold, new type world. Man, with all this going on, we haven't had time to deal with our font ennui... | |||
| 21 Apr 2023 | Week 15 - Answer in the Form of a Question | 00:37:30 | |
Ready to play along with some Type Jeopardy‽ Josh and Kyle each play host and contestant in this round, with clues coming from three type-themed categories: Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Catch Me 'Ser'if You Can, and Shared Names. Josh thinks there are such things as "Yielding Serifs" and Kyle has gone insane listening to the Jeopardy theme all week, just to win fake money. It all ends with Tech-Master Andrew trying to stump the guys with video game font trivia. There's much to learn from this episode, ranging from font styles decreed by God to the cast of Gilligan's Island, so buckle up! Oh, and their names were Mr. and Mrs. Howell... | |||
| 26 Apr 2023 | Week 16 Releases - Made You Look Twice | 00:21:39 | |
Some fonts are more than what they seem, aren't they‽ This week, Kyle takes us on a journey through some recent font releases that may seem unassuming at first, but require a double take, like R Typography's Picaresk, a blocky grot that walks the line between a 19th-century Egyptian look and a 1930s Great Gatsby feel. Or the once in-house Onsite from Sociotype, a font so beloved by the foundry that they decided to share it with the world. Or Pizza Typefaces' Hop, which could be rounded, or straight, or straight-rounded, or rounded-straight. There were also some major collection extensions this week with exciting new styles: Yuni Grotesque from Rudiger on Future Fonts and ABC Laica Mono from Dinamo. And as a bonus for listening to the episode, you'll get to hear Josh recite a type-themed version of a Hamlet soliloquy, lucky you... | |||
| 03 May 2023 | Week 17 - One If By Land, Two If By Sea | 00:27:55 | |
How big of a threat is the oncoming AI revolution to type design‽ Well, type nerds, it's hard to say. Josh and Kyle assess the threat level that Artificial Intelligence poses to type designers and find that they're actually less worried about it than everyone else seems to be. Kyle is downright positive about its inspirational impact (surprise, surprise) and Josh thinks cheerleaders are better suited for giving you letters than AI currently is. This episode also includes strong, aggressive stencils, requests for italic handshakes, and a helpful start on your Catcher in the Rye essay... | |||
| 12 May 2023 | Week 18 - We Decide To Give It Power | 00:32:19 | |
How can type design benefit from advancements in AI‽ Kyle's here to tell you how, and whether it's doing the kerning for you, writing your specimen copy, or inspiring new genre mash-ups, Artificial Intelligence might just lead you to the best unpaid intern you've ever had. Then the guys do some soul-searching and identify their "glyph essence". Kyle needs to say "no" more often while Josh has more to say but doesn't want to be a bother... | |||
| 18 May 2023 | Week 19 Releases - A Little Context | 00:18:15 | |
What does a font go through to become a "mutant"‽ This is the question inspired by Signal Type Foundry's release of Reckham this week, and that's not all! We also discuss the affordability of Kimura Sans from Plau Design, Nova Type Foundry's "whipped-cream dollopy" Baga, why Octavia from Flavia Zimbardi and Tida Tep is the Ethel Merman of fonts, and how the liscensing news about The Freight Collection is big in more ways than one. But still, it doesn't look like any of these fonts will get to join the X-Men... | |||
| 25 May 2023 | Bonus 05 - J'accuse! | 00:20:35 | |
What are the most "flawless" typefaces out there‽ Well, it's subjective, but type nerd Kyle shares his list for the can't-go-wrong, no-notes independent fonts out there. The guys also dig deep into whether new tech in type constitutes cheating in your design process, or maybe it's just progress, hard to say. And you'll have to listen to hear who Kyle refers to as the "Monstars" of the type world, our first (of hopefully many) ever reference to Space Jam... | |||
| 09 Jun 2023 | Week 22 - The Seven Deadly Fonts | 00:39:17 | |
How sinful can a font even be‽ This episode smells a bit of sulfur as the guys dream up designs for fonts named after the Seven Deadly Sins. This "tour-de-sins" overcomes its slothfulness to bring us drippy descenders, smoky serpents, and fonts that look like Spider-Man villains. Kyle might be the least wrathful person you'll ever meet and Josh's biggest sin turns out to be using the word "chonky" too much. And we didn't even get to original sin... | |||
| 13 Jun 2023 | Week 23 - Linotype to a New Generation (w/ Doug Wilson) | 00:35:20 | |
Why is it so hard to book Etaoin Shrdlu‽ Well, we got Doug Wilson instead, who joins the podcast this week to tell us all about his upcoming Linotype Book Project, documenting the history of the famous typesetting machine and its outsized impact on printing, journalism, and society. You can subscribe to this fantastic project at https://linotypebook.com. We know you’ll want to, we don’t even need to use a Jedi mind trick, move along, move along… | |||
| 22 Jun 2023 | Week 24 - Conform, Conform! | 00:31:26 | |
How much is Apple dictating the future of typography‽ Whether it's more 3D type, worrying about your font's weight, or making sure there is always a variable option, there could be big changes coming to the type world. Or not. We're not quite sure what the future holds, but at least there are exciting font newsletters to fill our time with... | |||
| 29 Jun 2023 | Week 25 - A Crazy Person, a Type Designer, or Both | 00:29:12 | |
Does it matter where your inspiration comes from‽ We love hearing about where great design ideas come from, but the guys find that your personal design journey can be just as fun when you just do it your way and don't feel obligated to explain your creative decisions. That said, type designers can find inspiration in just about anything, which explains their love of time traveling fonts, creating "a better Plantin", and manhole covers. So sneeze into a napkin and see what font comes out... | |||
| 07 Jul 2023 | Week 26 Releases - Bring On the Creativity | 00:24:19 | |
How can we keep up with all these new fonts‽ Well, we cram three weeks of our favorites into one episode, that's how! The guys discuss Commercial Type's Terza at Editor speed, the delightful refinement of Glazier from Positype, and the out-of-this-world influences of Production Type's Paramount. There is also plenty about whether NaN needed the aid of elves to complete the unconventional NaN Metrify superfamily, how Brutalist Aerospace seems like a fascinating oxymoron with the Air Collection from Pangram Pangram, and just how lazy some letters are allowed to be in Overlap Type Foundry's Outgo. But, please, leave the puns to the professionals... | |||
| 15 Jul 2023 | Week 27 - Ethereal Elegance (w/ Lindsey Laseter) | 00:51:58 | |
Can you tell the difference between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence‽ Special guest Lindsey Laseter joins the guys this week in Part 3 of our AI series to share her perspective on what AI means to the design world. She leaves the guys actually feeling all warm and fuzzy about it. Then Josh throws font descriptions at Lindsey and Kyle and they have to guess if a human wrote it or if ChatGPT wrote it. It was...surprisingly difficult and left Kyle thoroughly embarrassed. AI might be writing font descriptions sooner than you think. But as long as the lawyers from Friends don't come after us, we'll be ok... | |||
| 20 Jul 2023 | Week 28 - We Seek the Holy Grail | 00:30:44 | |
What does it mean to pursue perfection in type design‽ It's summer so maybe we should just hit the pool, but we decided to tackle some big type topics first. There are designers out there working to make the perfect font right now, and maybe Jony Ive's LoveFrom Serif found it, but is it worth the time and energy? The guys think through nobility and ego and legacy and motivation and Dr. Seuss tubas and ultimately find it is akin to a quest for the Holy Grail of fonts: an epic journey that might just be foolish. But, as Kyle reminds us, the true Grail is the fonts you made along the way... | |||
| 02 Aug 2023 | Rewind 04 - Getting Rid of Half of All Fonts | 00:16:56 | |
Would you snap your fingers and make 50% of all fonts disappear‽ Will Josh or Kyle put on the gauntlet, or will they send in the Avengers to save the fonts? | |||
| 16 Aug 2023 | Rewind 05 - Rate and Review Fonts | 00:16:30 | |
How many stars does a sensible serif deserve anyway‽ We return to the pros and cons of a widespread font rating system in this week's Rewind. | |||
| 01 Sep 2023 | Rewind 06 - Snobbery | 00:19:28 | |
Aren't we all a snob about something‽ Well, we tried our best not to be too obnoxious about it in this Rewind episode about having strong personal preferences around type. | |||
| 06 Sep 2023 | Week 35 - Should We Be Unlearning? | 00:34:49 | |
Do you have any bad habits you need to break‽ Josh and Kyle are back in the habit of podcasting, so they wonder how much the traits you develop as you grow up might hold you back as a professional. You probably don't need to unlearn everything you know, because sometimes, your habits just make you who you are. Kyle can't finish what he starts and Josh's arm movements are barely human, but their neural pathways may not allow for much better... | |||
| 13 Sep 2023 | Week 36 Releases - Summer Loving | 00:23:31 | |
How did all these foundries keep so busy this summer‽ There's so much to cover in this episode: the concept of social kerning, new foundry Adotbelow's explorations of multiculturalism in type, CSTM's Backslanted defying the laws of typographic gravity, Arbale serving as Typofonderie's Avengers, the hints of Helvetica in Typotheque's Münchenstein, the orderly bounciness of Smilena from Melvas Type, and how Colophon's Parent inspired revolution out of Josh. And you'll never guess which one of these fonts we're going to use to sell our asbestos... | |||
| 20 Sep 2023 | Week 37 - Bless the Freelancers | 00:32:26 | |
How much could an agent help freelance designers find work‽ Josh and Kyle put on a suit and tie this week and tackle some business topics. Could tying cost-of-living data to font prices be the way of the future? And what would a world with type design agents look like? Along the way, Josh wants to start a giant game of font naming telephone and Kyle is freelance Robocop. As if there is any question who the weird ones are... | |||
| 29 Sep 2023 | Bonus 06 - Introducing TypeCraft | 00:10:58 | |
Need more type podcasts in your life‽ We've got you covered! We're expanding our podcasting output with a new show: TypeCraft! TypeCraft is a podcast mini-series with interviews conducted by our very own Kyle Read, where we will hear from some of the biggest names in type. Give this episode a listen to hear who we've got lined up for Season One. Then stick around to solve the mystery of why you've only been listening to Josh for all these years... | |||
| 12 Oct 2023 | Week 39 - Let's Get Wordy | 00:43:46 | |
How badly do we all need to expand our type vocabulary‽ This episode starts with Skeleton fonts, a typeface that brings the glom, creative pixelation, and the Goofus and Gallant of font releases, and then the guys rank the definitive* list of type words, phrases, and concepts that everyone should know. Josh just won't let you forget about Blackletter fonts and Kyle is all about those ligatures, but it turns out you probably won't impress people by being able to tell the difference between a dash and a hyphen. And then the 90s came around (heavy sigh)... | |||
| 19 Oct 2023 | Week 41 - Don't Overthink It | 00:41:20 | |
Why is this podcast so obsessed with the names of fonts‽ Because it's important, that's why! (And fun!) This time, Kyle challenges Josh to come up with his own name for fonts, both real and imagined, to explore the thought process behind how a font gets its name. Turns out, naming a font is quite a journey; in this episode alone we have Chonkboards, we get a little Smoishii, there are Spooky Actions, and even some Tragedy. Is Josh up to the challenge? Ah, what a Cloisterfuch... | |||
| 24 Oct 2023 | Rewind 07 - Monster Business Cards | 00:22:59 | |
Have you ever considered the font needs of monsters‽ It's a monster mash (or rather, job fair) for this Rewind episode in which we design business cards for all your favorite Halloween ghosts and ghouls. And, unfortunately, for Fluffles... | |||
| 30 Oct 2023 | Week 43 - Fonts That Go Bump In The Night | 00:40:43 | |
What are the best fonts for horrifying candy creations‽ This is our annual Halloween episode and Josh has the mad scientist credentials to meet the occasion. He and Art Director Ygor introduce you to the next generation of Halloween candy and the fonts they will use to sell them. The guys also discuss what haunts them in type, ancient incantations to rid us all of a particular typeface's curse, a font that is already filling its Piehole, and the reason Kyle is never stylin'. So grab a potato sack of Novaburst and give in to the insanity, your Trick or Treat bag might get a little heavy this year... | |||
| 09 Nov 2023 | Week 44 Releases - Long Live The Superfamilies | 00:23:05 | |
Did you know that font releases come in all sizes‽ Of course you did, you've been listening to this podcast for almost three years now. The releases keep getting bigger and bigger this week, and we start by pulling Gantry out of Ohno Type Co's dangerous Drawer, then we get old-timey with Ephemera Font's Osbert, followed by the jive-inducing Name Mono from ArrowType, and finishing with the behemoth that is Sharp Type's Sharp Grotesk Global. Now If we could only get Kyle to start paying attention to any of this, we might be on to something... | |||
| 15 Nov 2023 | Week 45 - Brand Schmand | 00:36:03 | |
Can an iconic brand also be a dynamic one‽ This episode starts with a good font with which to sell hugs, a new release that also serves as a marketing exercise, and two handwriting fonts, only one of which is born of hand writing. Then, Josh has to rant about how the ever-changing NBA jerseys are examples of poor branding, and even though Kyle may not exactly disagree, there's a chance the guys are simply behind the times. But at least they are partners in confusion, and we can all agree that good branding has a through line and Pepsi reeks of desperation... | |||
| 21 Nov 2023 | Week 46 - A Smorgasbord of Fonts | 00:33:22 | |
How much typography can one person possibly consume‽ We intend to find out this week as we foodify some of our favorite releases from this year and fill our plates with typefaces, all in the name of being thankful for this year's font harvest. We've got entrees that will get you toned, starchy fonts that remind us of the power of potatoes, cool and refreshing display types, and sugar-coated fonts to round out your meal and your year. With such an incredible array, we enter the holiday season typographically satiated, overstuffed, and maybe encountering the slightest bit of Regrets... Support the Interrogang and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! | |||
| 14 Dec 2023 | Week 49 - Fonting In A Winter Wonderland | 00:38:58 | |
Who will help guide Santa's sleigh tonight‽ It's our annual Gift Guide review, and although Josh has had too much eggnog, Kyle the Red-Nosed Reindeer is here to help finish out your holiday shopping list. There are pencils that will encourage you to sketch more, apparel for your naked designer friends, tools for adding typography into your next woodworking project, and more than enough globby holiday spirit. And Josh responds to a fan letter with "Yes Virginia, There is a Perfect Font" to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas: loving the fonts you're with... Support the Interrogang and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! | |||
| 27 Dec 2023 | Week 50 - Taking The Hopeful Route | 00:47:38 | |
What's next for type in 2024‽ We're all about FUN this episode (finally), and with a new year rapidly approaching, Josh and Kyle look back on what this past year has been like for independent type and make some hopeful predictions for the future. It also seems like as good a time as any to clear the air and start fresh, so Josh tells us why he doesn't need your ampersand and Kyle will allow a free font, if only to prove he's not crotchety. It was a huge year, the universe of indie type was ever-expanding, and we tried to cram it all into this one episode. Did we succeed? Nah, but we all need room to do better next year... Support the Interrogang and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! | |||
| 30 Jan 2024 | Rewind 08 - Font or Fine Wine | 00:18:53 | |
Can you tell the difference between a font description and a description of a bottle of wine‽ Kyle was put to this ridiculous test with his type reputation on the line. Hear how well he fared in this Rewind episode. | |||
| 14 Feb 2024 | Rewind 09 - Artistic Feedback | 00:19:52 | |
Where is all the artistic feedback that we so crave‽ Tech Master Andrew sends us back to our discussion from Season 2 in which the guys wonder how we are supposed to develop as designers in this criticism-filled world we live in. | |||
| 07 Mar 2024 | Rewind 10 - Typographic Rule Breaking | 00:17:36 | |
Are all type rules meant to be broken‽ We take you back to our convo about the pros and cons of challenging the so-called "rules" of good type design in this Rewind episode. | |||
| 17 May 2024 | A Quick Programming Update | 00:03:14 | |
“Where are all the new Interrogang episodes‽” you, our gentle listener, may be asking yourself. Here’s a quick programming update and a brief trip on the Hogwarts Express. | |||
| 17 Jul 2024 | S4E1 - This Is Typographic Anarchy | 00:40:04 | |
Did you miss us‽ It's been a while and we've got a lot of ground to cover to make up for lost time. This episode has font help for indie comic designers, football jersey oopsies, and a serif wave crashing to shore. We also explore the concept of a juice cleanse for font foundries and introduce a font release that makes us question our very existence. It's a weird one, but we're into weird... Support the Interrogang and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! | |||
| 31 Jul 2024 | S4E2 - Rebrand Cliff Diving | 00:35:00 | |
How adventurous can a big corporate font rebrand really be‽ Obviously, there's a lot of room for improvement there and Josh has a bold new direction for Chipotle to go. The guys also talk Olympic logos, handwritten fonts that make you feel seen, a foundry's equivalent of the Burger King Kid's Club, and the trials and tribulations of font pairing. And Fonty McFontface has a cool new type release that you should definitely check out... Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 14 Aug 2024 | S4E3 - A Multiverse of Font Madness | 00:38:43 | |
Are we entering an entirely new universe of font genres‽ It's becoming harder and harder to classify genres in typography, and many of the newer releases are just exacerbating that difficulty. Whether it's finding whimsy in your text serifs where it doesn't belong, a dot font that abandons all conscious typographic reality, or a new-fangled approach we're calling a "multi-genre" font, new fonts are as alive and creative and confusing as they've ever been. That is, unless Kyle succeeds at taking us back to Ancient Rome... Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 28 Aug 2024 | S4E4 - The Potential Ahead | 00:39:30 | |
How old is too old for a font‽ There's a lot of discussion around the age of a font in this episode, as we tour recent modern medieval designs that don't look the way you think they do, question the value of fonts released decades ago, and wonder why we continue to put up with Papyrus. Josh is all about calligraphy, and Kyle has found that gravestone under a depressing tree glyph you were always looking for. Once the judges scores were tallied up, though, it's clear: Josh put on a podcasting masterclass... Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 12 Sep 2024 | S4E5 - Friendly Does Not Equal Perfect | 00:39:55 | |
What does Google know about what fonts are made of‽ Josh and Kyle turn once again, despite their better judgement, to Google in everyone's favorite Interrogame to see how well Google's AI can answer your questions about fonts. It's a mixed bag, but once you listen to the episode you might just learn that gothic fonts are from the Gothic era, that modern fonts attended leadership training, and that Mr. Rogers had some enemies. Google may not always wax philosophical on type, but Kyle sure can (for *most* people)... Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 28 Sep 2024 | S4E6 - Yeah, Baby! | 00:51:00 | |
What makes for a good name‽ In this very special episode of the Interrogang, there's reason to celebrate as Josh and his wife welcome their first child into the world. So, we're throwing a font-themed baby shower! Kyle takes the reins in this episode and devizes baby shower mini-games, naming challenges, and (maybe not so helpful) friendly suggestions for baby names inspired by the type world itself. We even have a special guest to join in on the fun: our very own editor Andrew finally comes out from behind the mixing board and in front of the mic. And as much as we wanted to, we couldn’t bring ourselves to title the episode “Quirky Spermo”. Didn’t seem like a good parenting decision… Links to typefaces and things mentioned in this episode: Extraset's ES Park Monotype's Global Type Use Survey Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 30 Oct 2024 | S4E7 - Engineered Terror | 00:40:38 | |
What fonts are best for your scariest messages‽ It's the annual Halloween episode and the guys have unearthed a plethora of fonts to make your skin crawl. From fonts that just returned from the torture chamber, to sweet fonts with a dark side, to plant-like alien protuberances, it's a ghoulish typographic menu. Then, Josh has prepared four Halloween short stories, each requiring Kyle to conjure up a font to truly get those goosebumps working. So gather 'round a campfire for this one folks, and when you hear the clown's laughter, don't linger... Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 19 Nov 2024 | S4E8 - Shifting Into Neutral | 00:44:12 | |
Why do we think of neutrality as a dirty word‽ Josh and Kyle highlight what makes neutral typefaces integral to the lifeblood of modern type design, both creatively and economically. Now, it may sound like such a conversation might be pretty middle-of-the-road (ya know, neutral), but a lot of ground is covered here. Does the specter of Helvetica loom over all neutral sans designs? When should we look to remove cultural inspirations from our designs? How do serifs fit into the world of neutrality? Should you do a rollout from a moving airplane? Why is Josh still on this podcast? All good questions... Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 27 Nov 2024 | S4E9 - Gather 'Round Our Typographic Table | 00:44:01 | |
What’s your starchiest font‽ It’s Turkey Time again people, and we have once again laid out a five-course meal of our favorite fonts from 2024! So get ready to devour gorgeous backslants, crunchy fonts with no curves, and New Jersey license plate letters that say "I'm walking here!". You’ll wash it all down with tipsy mono italics and finish up with everyone’s favorite anarchical type masterpiece. Whether you clean your plate or not, there's plenty for everyone. May it never be said that the Interrogang table is not inclusive of weirdos… Support the Interrogang for as little as $3 a month and help us expand what Proof&Co. and the Interrogang have to offer! These episodes are all thanks to your support! | |||
| 20 Dec 2024 | S4E10 - Stockings Full Of Fonts | 00:36:46 | |
Have you ever wanted to find a font specimen underneath the tree on Christmas morning‽ Then you might just be...a type person. With gifting season upon us, it is once again time for Josh and Kyle to bring you their favorite physical media from indie foundries and shops, ranging from type that is cuddly to tools that facilitate play to a hat that might just help you get lucky at the bar. And we're really into pencils on this podcast if you're into that sort of thing too. Josh also has a very Grinchy present for Kyle this year, and won't be waiting until Arbor Day to give it to him... | |||
| 13 Jan 2025 | S4E11 - All The Typographic Feels | 00:49:51 | |
What kind of year has it been in type‽ Josh and Kyle have much to reflect on from 2024, and even though they try to do it with a chill vibe, it's hard to ignore all the energy coming from the type world. Kyle can't quite pin down how 2024 made him feel, but he finds the strength to forgive all those unnecessary ligatures. Meanwhile, Josh identifies a Times New Roman assassin and thinks we might be getting a little too creative with our minisites. And in the end, the two can't agree on whether or not 2025 will be full of weirdness or not, I guess it's up to all of us to find out... | |||
| 22 Mar 2021 | Week 11 - Rat's Nest of Progress | 00:25:20 | |
Wouldn't it be great if accepting cookies on a website came with ACTUAL cookies‽ Josh accepts cookies, both digital and real, and we find out where Kyle and Josh both put their success sliders in this week's Interrogang! | |||
| 29 Mar 2021 | Week 12 - Climbing Out of the Primordial Ooze | 00:23:00 | |
Forget Darwin's finches, isn't the evolution of fonts what we all care about‽ Josh and Kyle discuss the importance of type evolving over time and Josh is reminded of how cool he is not. | |||
| 05 Apr 2021 | Week 13 - You Say Smart, I Say Nefarious | 00:24:30 | |
What did Garamond ever do to you‽ Josh and Kyle break some old news about the US Court of Appeals banning the well-liked serif font and Kyle reveals his honest opinions of some of history’s most infamous fonts on this week's episode of the Interrogang Podcast. | |||
| 12 Apr 2021 | Week 14 - Where No Typeface Has Gone Before | 00:21:53 | |
Could it be that we are all running out of original ideas‽ Josh and Kyle begin a big conversation on originality (so big in fact, we couldn’t fit everything in this episode, part two coming in the next few weeks) and Josh’s dog insists on being interviewed. | |||
| 19 Apr 2021 | Week 15 - Meet Me at the Bar | 00:28:00 | |
Are there really people out there who don't know what typography is‽ Josh and Kyle dig a bit deeper in what it means to "bridge the gap" between type people and non-type people and they can't help but get a little Spuk-y, all day long. Also, Kyle handles a deer carcass situation in his yard (or does he?). | |||
| 27 Apr 2021 | Week 16 - Inspiration is Inspirational | 00:21:40 | |
Shouldn’t every font have an Arcade style‽ Josh and Kyle wonder if there are rules around creative inspiration, get retro with video game-ready fonts, and fall down the ink trap well. Includes part 2 of the Originality discussion. Babyfat Foozle Arcade everybody! | |||
| 03 May 2021 | Week 17 - We Are None of Us Perfect | 00:26:34 | |
Have we gone too far conducting experiments with fonts‽ Josh and Kyle discuss the ramifications of trying something new and ponder the pros and cons to showing your type design experiments to the public. Also, Microsoft Office is getting a typefacelift. | |||
| 10 May 2021 | Week 18 - You’ve Gotta Just Throw Down the Gloves | 00:25:39 | |
Typographic war: what is it good for‽ Josh and Kyle wrestle with the pros, cons, and economics of creative competition in typography. Unless this was all a typographic fever dream... | |||
| 24 May 2021 | Week 20 - Some Fonts Are Just Up to No Good | 00:47:28 | |
What could possibly make a typeface lawful, chaotic, or just downright evil‽ Josh and Kyle get caught up in the epic struggle between font good and evil and classify some typefaces using role-playing game personalities as a guide. Chaos ensues, but only because that's a requirement of the game... | |||
| 01 Jun 2021 | Week 21 - People Have Good BS-o-Meters | 00:24:20 | |
Do we have to be good salespeople to be good designers‽ Josh and Kyle go door-to-door and grapple with the difficulties of having to sell yourself and your creations in order to make it as a type designer. And just in time, Kyle’s Go Fever just broke... | |||
| 08 Jun 2021 | Week 22 - Open Yourself Up to a World of Possibilities | 00:27:17 | |
Why can't we all just do the work we want to do‽ Now that the world is opening up again, Josh and Kyle are ready to get ambitious again. We all have to keep our audience in the back of our minds when we design, but who we create typography for matters! And if you've got a Pandora's box of fonts to unleash on the world, go for it, what could possibly go wrong‽ | |||
| 14 Jun 2021 | Week 23 - I Have Either Solved Chaos or Brought Chaos | 00:29:00 | |
If you could snap your fingers and make 50% of all fonts disappear, would you‽ Josh and Kyle assemble to marvel at this conundrum and its tremendous ramifications. In the meantime, Josh encourages you to go stare at your clocks... | |||
| 22 Jun 2021 | Week 24 - There's a Fine Line Between Courageous and Stupid | 00:29:58 | |
Are all type rules meant to be broken‽ The internet sure doesn't think so... Josh and Kyle weigh the pros and cons to breaking typography's written and unwritten rules through the lens of interesting (read: questionable) movie font decisions. And remember, always double or triple brace your heavier fonts. | |||
| 29 Jun 2021 | Week 25 - Just Get On With Your Life | 00:27:00 | |
How can I quit when I’ve put so much time into this‽ Josh and Kyle sink into the Sunk Cost Fallacy and want you all to know it’s ok to be a quitter. We also look for inspiration via dog defecation. And sorry Iceland, you’re no longer in the universe… | |||
| 06 Jul 2021 | Week 26 - I Was After Something, But I Lied | 00:33:08 | |
Have you seen the Wizard about some courage‽ Josh and Kyle close their eyes, take a leap, and jump into discussing what kind of bravery it takes to make it in a creative field. Can you play it safe and still succeed, or do you need to engage in some risky behavior to get on people's radar? How is creative courage different in type? We narrowly escape discussing Yentl and explain how risk-taking can break your back. As a bonus, this episode includes "Hey Jude" like you've never heard it before. | |||
| 14 Jul 2021 | Week 27 - Metrics for Shame | 00:29:11 | |
How many stars does a sensible serif deserve anyway‽ Josh and Kyle rate and review the idea of a rate and review process for new type releases. Would this be a benefit to designers or just supply a new venue for unnecessary, opinionated vitriol? Plus, Josh rejects “postmodern” as a descriptor and attempts to coin its replacement, ever forward into the supernow! | |||
| 25 Aug 2021 | Week 33 - This Is What You Get For Coming For Charles Dickens | 00:30:07 | |
Are emojis typography‽ Josh and Kyle throw down over whether or not emojis are under the typography umbrella and discuss when it is inappropriate to use emojis in everyday life. Along the way, you may even get some beatboxing advice... | |||