Categories / Art and Photography

Coulson Macleod Decades Prints

Sixties1 
Artist Coulson Macleod has produced a series of Decades prints, which feature his signature typographic work.

There are three design in the series, representing the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Each one features the decade name with quotations, film titles, car models, key figures, fashion and music trends and inventions arranged around it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Sixties print is my favourite, with psychedelia, peace, love and Mary Quant mini skirts topping the Seventies mixture of disco, funk and punk references. The Eighties print contains too many things that I’m not ready to feel nostalgic for (Thatcher, yuppies, Eddie Murphy and shoulder pads to name a few), but if you remember that decade more fondly then it might appeal. 

The Decades prints cost £35 unframed or £65 for the print in a white wood frame. Buy online from the Coulson Macleod website.

Categories / Homeware

Barbara Coupe Girls Only or Boys Only cushions

Coupe boys and girls
Regular readers may well remember Barbara Coupe from her Sorry Not in Service cushion cushions, using the typography of old bus blinds. These new Girls Only and Boys Only cushions draw the signage of a traditional school. 

They use the lettering of an old school building, taken from back in the days when boys and girls had to use different entrances to the building. Adapted for the twenty-first century using a linen/cotton mix, they could prove very useful in marking out favourite areas of your house!

Each cushion costs £45. 

Buy it from Not on the high street

Categories / Art and Photography

Gentleman’s and Lady’s A – Z by Chase and Wonder

Chase and wonder
Looking for some old-fashioned elegance? You could take your cue from Chase and Wonder's Gentleman's and Lady's A – Z prints.

Alongside retro typography, each illustrates some of the paraphernalia attached to being a true gent or lady. The gentleman's print, for example, runs from automobile to a zamburak, via a gramophone, moustache and top hat. Meanwhile, the lady's print includes lipstick, a corset and heels. A bit of gender stereotyping maybe, but done by designers David Aspinall and Faye Pearce with their tongue firmly in their cheek. 

The prints are limited to 200 copies and cost £60 each. 

Buy them from the Keep Calm Gallery

Categories / Books, Design and Interiors

Just My Type by Simon Garfield

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If you share our obsession with typography, then the book “Just My Type” by Simon Garfield is a ‘must-read’.

Taken as a whole, the book provides an informative history of printing process, including mentions for retro favourites Letraset transfers and Dymo label makers. There is a chapter about music that includes the Beatles’ logo and Amy Winehouse’s use of a art deco style fonts, whilst a section on politics looks at how a font contributed to Obama’s election campaign, but also goes further back and close to home with information about the typeface favoured during the creation of the NHS. Between the main chapters, there are shorter sections, Font Breaks, which examine the history and use of individual fonts. I would have welcomed more on 60s counterculture design and the Punk aesthetic, about which more could have been said, but all in all, a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the history of design.

Just My Type is available to buy on Amazon, currently priced just £7.99 for a suitably stylish hardback.

Categories / Art and Photography, Books

The Heads of State The Great Gatsby Business Card print

Gatsby_full
If you invested in one of the Penguin Art Deco-style editions of F. Scott Fitzgerald classics, this The Great Gatsy Business Card print from The Heads of State could be the piece of artwork for you.

The print's link to the book is quite subtle. It's inspired by the huge lists of the great and the good and the notorious who attend Gatsy's parties, and illustrates potential business cards of the guests. There's people who work in films and in theatres and other business: all the cards are executed in beautiful period typography, giving a wonderful imagined snapshot of the era. 

The print is limited to an edition of 350 and costs $90. 

Buy it online

 

Categories / Art and Photography, Travel

Personalised destination print by Betsy Benn

Betsy travel
The destination lists for trains, trams and buses are a surprisingly common source of inspiration for homewares, cropping up on cushionsblinds and, of course, art. You've now got the opportunity to create your own dream journey thanks to this Personalised destination print by Betsy Benn

Executed in a similar style to her London weekend print using the traditional typography used for transport, the difference here is that you get to pick up to 14 lines for inclusion. These could be cities that you've visited or places that you've lived but you could also move away from the travel theme to include things such as your family's names – the world is your oyster really. 

As you might expect, orders have already been pretty busy for Christmas, so get your request in quickly. The print costs £52. 

Order it from Not on the High Street