Category Archives: typography / design

Deadly Typos

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Ian Whiteman

A typo, or typographical error, is a fairly commonplace thing and an inherent danger of the printed word. Historically such errors have at times produced catastrophic and very costly results. The lack of a hyphen in some computer coding cost NASA hundreds of millions … Continue reading →

Posted in language, miscellaneous, Publishing, religion, sacred knowledge, typography / design | 10 Comments

Moronic Iconic

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Ian Whiteman

  I have always thought Jonathan Meades’ scathing criticism of the casual use of the word iconic amply justified. I suspect there are many things he, a well known British writer, critic and film maker, and me, would disagree on, … Continue reading →

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Pixel Imperfect

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Ian Whiteman

When computers took over most design offices all over the world in the 1980s, there was a seismic shift in the way that ideas conceived by designers were drawn and constructed. CAD (computer aided design) enabled  an accuracy of seven … Continue reading →

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Arabic typesetting revisited

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Ian Whiteman

Hand written naskh (by Ibrahim Khattat – Iraq 20th century) My involvement with arabic has always been, for over 40 years, essentially calligraphic and I have always disliked the idea of trying to mechanise an essentially hand written script.  But … Continue reading →

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Self-publish and be Blessed

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Self-publishing is a topic which flies about the publishing world like helicopters fly around the valley I live in, seemingly never to land. I do see the attraction to a wannabe writer to fork out not very much money and have his or … Continue reading →

Posted in typography / design | 3 Comments

Translation, Lost and Found

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Above: A page from an as yet unpublished edition of the Shama’il of Tirmidhi. Part One Although my work is principally typesetting books, something previously done by men in inky overalls composing metal type, I do actually read some of … Continue reading →

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Songs in the Key of Light

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

This much anticipated CD arrived on my desk last week. I had sent off the artwork to the USA a few months ago and I was glad to see it at long last. The cover picture aroused my curiosity but … Continue reading →

Posted in typography / design | 3 Comments

Mapping the Universe

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Flipping through my WordPress account recently I realised how many unpublished draft posts I had written which I had just parked out of sight. Some were on medical subjects, others on eschatology but mostly on subjects in which I was … Continue reading →

Posted in miscellaneous, typography / design | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Quirkylympics 2012

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

Readers may be aware I have an ongoing fascination with lettering, fonts, branding, logos etc., and so I followed the recent Olympics with some curiosity as, like many others I suspect, I was acutely aware of its strange logo and … Continue reading →

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The Vanishing Sign Writer

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

Much as I have championed skilful type design I am also saddened that the type font has virtually wiped out the sign writer’s craft. Hand lettering on shops, vans and on sign posts and name plates has all but disappeared … Continue reading →

Posted in language, Publishing, typography / design, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments