And now for something completely different: FontSunday's circus fonts challenge
Yesterday Design Museum's FontSunday challenge was playful and, well, a bit of a Flying Circus affair. The museum challenged the Twitterverse to bring out the #circusfonts element to the front and the social media platform's timeline was filled with serifs, serifs, oh, did we mention serifs?
On the event of this typographic circus affair here is another foray into the lands of type history, featuring Clarendon, a typeface which has been featured in all those infamous wanted posters, on proclamations from the German Empire during World War I and on numerous circus posters, at least the French Clarendon version of the family. Clarendon, the first face to be patented, is a traditional English style of typeface from the 1840’s, named for the Clarendon Press in Oxford, designed by Robert Besley for Thorowgood and Co. Eventually Besley's patent under Britain’s Ornamental Designs Act of 1842 expired after three years and Clarendon was radically altered by foundries in the United States in the late nineteenth century.
The result was the French Clarendon type style, which had enlarged block serifs at top and bottom, is traditionally associated with wild-west printing and is commonly seen on circus posters and wanted notices in western movies.
Explore more #circusfonts here.
@DesignMuseum The type for Monty Python's Flying Circus seems appropriate. #FontSunday pic.twitter.com/XQHvEZ7uyx
— Connor Edwards (@Conrad_14) May 26, 2019
#FontSunday 'The Big Top' – Letterpress Print by Alan Kitching (2009).
— MHD / Graphic Design (@MHD_Studio) May 26, 2019
@DesignMuseum #Circus #Design #Letterpress #Type #Typography #Art pic.twitter.com/P5fumI9qlI
One of my favourite posters for the legendary Electric Circus nightclub, NYC. Design and custom font by Chermayeff & Geismar / 1967. @DesignMuseum @cghnyc #fontsunday #circus pic.twitter.com/WMe1YAjDWv
— Selected Works (@selectedworks_) May 26, 2019
'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite', the #circus poster that inspired the #Beatles song, recreated by Peter Dean with Andy English and New North Press @DesignMuseum #FontSunday #circustype pic.twitter.com/2OAGqQV4zx
— Derek Stewart (@scozzese) May 26, 2019
#FontSunday 'S' Sculpture By Ben Eine.
— MHD / Graphic Design (@MHD_Studio) May 26, 2019
A 2m tall sculpture using Eine’s hallmark New Circus typeface from his ‘Everything Starts Somewhere’ Exhibition in 2018.@DesignMuseum #Circus #Design #Art #StreetArt #UrbanArt #Sculpture #Type #Typography pic.twitter.com/ddPboErBs5
Damn Everything But The Circus screen prints by Sister Corita Kent, 1960s #fontsunday #circus @DesignMuseum pic.twitter.com/elHf6EbyuV
— (@DanielCookney) May 26, 2019
Type only. @DesignMuseum #FontSunday #Circus pic.twitter.com/mDjvga0hy4
— Paul Wolterink (@deptofdev) May 26, 2019
Henri Matisse - Circus (Le Cirque) from Jazz (1947) #fontsunday #circus @DesignMuseum pic.twitter.com/ZNu7GmHzIw
— (@DanielCookney) May 26, 2019
Branding project for a 21st century circus produced by Nathan Godding when he was a graphic design student at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco @DesignMuseum #FontSunday pic.twitter.com/r7JsIsUGKy
— Birmingham 81 (@Birmingham_81) May 26, 2019
The Great Stone and Murray #Circus, 1870. @DesignMuseum #FontSunday #circustype pic.twitter.com/zAnG2obDff
— Derek Stewart (@scozzese) May 26, 2019
The @RollingStones Rock n’ Roll Circus, December 1968.@DesignMuseum #FontSunday #Circus pic.twitter.com/Bz3N01Gm7j
— Graeme Piper | Copywriter (@DropCapCopy) May 26, 2019
We couldn’t contribute any circus fonts for #FontSunday because we were too busy today at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum checking out their posters, like these! #print #design @DesignMuseum pic.twitter.com/y80QW6yUY5
— Ross Creative Works (@RCreativeWorks) May 27, 2019
Tags/ typeface, font, twitter, design museum, fontsunday, serifs, clarendon
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