Valentina typeface

Valentina is a beautiful didone typeface designed by Pedro Arilla and named after his grandmother. It's available for use in personal or commercial work. So lovely! Download it here for free, or make a donation to keep Pedro going.

Free fonts from Font Fabric

Fellow designers, have you investigated the fantastic free fonts at Font Fabric? There are lots of useful typefaces in the giveaway section. Thank you, generous typographers!

Rag Time typography game

Graphic designers might enjoy wasting a few minutes on Rag Time, a game that challenges players to even out paragraphs of ragged text while racing against the clock. You can't use a mouse to position your cursor, though, so I found it frustrating and kept running out of time! Give it a try right here.

Free seamless textures

I shared this link on Twitter the other day, but have to mention it here as well. While googling for background images, I stumbled on Subtle Textures, a beautiful collection of seamless patterns for tiling. A web designer's dream! If you're not a designer, you might still enjoy a subtly-patterned Twitter page background or computer desktop, yes?

Grab some typographic wallpapers

A fresh, new week requires a fresh, new desktop. Download a series of typographic-quote wallpapers in a variety of sizes right here, created by designer Ross Moody of 55 Hi's. I spotted these at Chic Type, a new typography blog I think I'm going to enjoy.

Sullivan, a new typeface

Jason Mark Jones has designed a cool new typeface called Sullivan, available right here at the Lost Type Co-op. It comes in three variations: Regular, Bevel, and Fill. Layer them to create vintage-looking lettering. I dig it.

Five free fonts

Check out some more nice font freebies I found at Myfonts.com. Log in and add these to your cart for a complimentary download: Novecento Wide (scroll down the page to find the freebies), Nashville Serial, Abril Fatface, Deftone Stylus, and Wichita Serial. I often grab the free weights (ha, that sounds like I'm at the gym) for use in logo and print projects, and then go back and purchase the heavier or lighter weights as I need them.

Make and share fonts with Fontstruct

Have you checked out Fontstruct? It's a free online tool for building fonts based on a grid. As you can see, it's possible to achieve a pretty wide variety of styles. Make your own or download some of your favorites shared by others. (Setting up a free account is required.)

New font: Ribbon

The Lost Type Co-op is now offering Ribbon, a geometric display typeface that resembles... ribbon. As with all fonts at Lost Type, you can name your price and download instantly (enter zero for a freebie). If you chip in $30, you'll get a lovely specimen book with contributions from a dozen designers mailed to you. I'm doing it.

Quiz: Typography terms

Are you interested in typography? Fontroduction is a little website that teaches you basic terms and classifications. Test yourself with a quiz at the end. A note: Music plays when you complete the quiz, so if you're sneakily using this as a diversion at work, turn your sound off first!

Funny things for graphic and web designers

While poking around Don't Fear the Internet, a site that teaches non-web designers (like moi!) how to make a website, I found this desktop wallpaper. If you've ever monkeyed around with code, it will make you giggle. The wallpaper is from Jessica Hische and Russ Maschmeyer, the masterminds behind the website.

Speaking of giggling, you might be familiar with the fake Latin text Lorem Ipsum that designers stick into their layouts as placeholder copy. Lorem Ipsum is available in a variety of awesome and inappropriate flavors. Designers, check out Hipster Ipsum, Gangsta Lorem Ipsum, and Bacon Ipsum. Or head over to the Greeking Machine to pick up some Hillbilly, Marketing, or Pseudo German Ipsum (though this last site could do with a few more short words and articles to mimic the rhythm of real copy). Enjoy.

The Periodic Table of Typefaces

Periodic tables are always popular, but I think one of the smartest is Cam Wilde's Periodic Table of Typefaces, representing 100 of the most "popular, influential, and notorious" of the world's typefaces ranked by popularity and grouped by class. Download a high res version for yourself in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Or head over here to order a few different prints, get desktop wallpaper, or purchase wall decals in various colors from Scribble On Everything.

Thanks for the link, CaLynn!

New fonts from Lost Type Co-op

I mentioned the Lost Type Co-op a couple weeks ago as a source of retro-inspired display typefaces. The folks over there have just released a handful of new fonts you might like. (Type "0" into the price box for a free download).

Free, high res paper and canvas textures

If you're a designer in need of digital textures, check out the free canvas textures at Fuzzimo and some paper textures from Dioma. CG Textures also offers plain, decorative and wallpaper backgrounds in their "Paper" section. (Setting up a free account is needed to download high resolution versions there, but it's well worth it).

To get Deming, the font I used in the graphic above, click here.

I use background textures on brochures, websites, headers, and more. If you have portfolio pieces or stationery designs you want to show off, consider layering the digital image on top of a fabric or paper background in Photoshop. Add a drop shadow, and you've got a lovely, fake "photo" of your piece. For inspiration, see how Minted.com presents their stationery products.

Fonts from the Lost Type Co-op

Founded by Riley Cran and Tyler Galpin, the Lost Type Co-Op is a pay-what-you-want foundry. Browse through the retro-inspired typefaces, and when you see one you must have, enter a donation amount from $0 to infinity. After entering an amount and downloading the font, you'll be directed to Paypal if you typed something other than zero. 100% of the funds go directly to the font designer. Enjoy!

Free font: Sybil Green

If that's you, get Sybil Green by Ray Larabie right here for free at Myfonts.com.

Free font: Steelfish

If you like typefaces that can fit into a pair of skinny jeans, Steelfish will make you very happy. Designed by Ray Larabie, half the weights in the family are available for free right here.

Free, high res textures

I just came across Lost and Taken's texture gallery of free, high resolution images for use on personal and commercial projects. What a great resource! Choose from torn paper, book covers and end papers, cardboard, watercolors, scratches, clouds, and more.

A gallery of stationery

The folks behind Lovely Package have launched a spin-off called Lovely Stationery, a blog curating the best in business card, letterhead, and envelope design. Many projects feature delicious die cutting, embossing, foil stamping, and all sorts of expensive finishing no one can afford. Head over there and dream a little.

Free font: Geotica Three

As defined by the Mayo Clinic, "hoarding is the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them." If your computer is filled to capacity with typefaces, if you experience difficulty organizing items, or if you acquire unneeded or seemingly useless fonts, you may need help. To learn more about your hoarding disorder, click here. Or just go ahead and download another free font. Geotica is a type family comprised of 16 fonts based on simple, geometric line elements. Get the lovely Geotica Three for free from Exljbris at Myfonts.com.