LetterCult — Custom Letter Culture

CUSTOM LETTERS, BEST OF 2010, DAY 1

by Beejay on March 9, 2011

THE YEAR IN CUSTOM LETTERS, 2010.

DAY 1

Appreciation for the people making Custom Letters. Inspiration for everyone else. A whole lot of great work.

Please keep in mind:

• Everyone who submitted something will have something featured. Remember, there are two days of stuff.

• Both days are AWESOME. Our host asked us to split the post because of load issues. We will merge everything back into one file after a week or so. People with a significant number of images will see most of their work on Day 2.

• If you submitted something and don’t see your name today, please wait for Day 2. Don’t even fret.

• Links this year!

• Questions, concerns, worries, errors, omissions, broken links, did I miss your work, please email brian (bj): lettercult /AT/ gmail.com

• Friday, look for a post on LetterCult t-shirts. And look for Part 2 on Thursday by 5 p.m. PST.

Apologies for the delay with this. It’s embarrassing how many hours went into it, but hopefully worth the wait.

• Thanks to Tara Gee for the help.

ENOUGH TALK, HERE ARE THE GOODS

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DOYALD YOUNG REMEMBERED

by Beejay on March 8, 2011

DOYALD YOUNG WAS CUSTOM—
just like his work. He was one-of-a-kind, distinctive, unique.

Doyald Young passed last week due to complications following heart surgery. He was 84. Memorial services are pending.

He leaves behind a rich legacy.

As a teacher, he unlocked the secrets of letters for more than 4,000 students.

As a publisher of his own books, he passed on that same knowledge to thousands of would-be lettering artists in dozens of countries.

As a friend, he was a good listener, loyal, patient, exceedingly gracious, and generous.

Doyald Young was really good at being a great person.

And he created magic with a pencil.

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THIS WEEK AT LETTERCULT

by Beejay on March 7, 2011

EXCITED FOR THIS WEEK.

But we proceed with a heavy heart.

Last week, the Poet of Letterforms, Doyald Young, passed at age 84. Doyald was a friend and mentor and his work making Custom Letters was the guiding inspiration for LetterCult. Tomorrow, we will have a remembrance.

Doyald, rest in peace.

TUESDAY: Doyald Young remembered.

WEDNESDAY: The Best of 2010 Part I.
WEDNESDAY: Some LetterCult T-shirts.

THURSDAY: The Best of 2010 Part II.

NEXT MONDAY: The Top 10 as picked by a group of type and lettering aficionados.
NEXT MONDAY: Alphabattle (the Number 2).

NEXT TUESDAY: Person of the Year.

We had to break up the Best of into two parts because of the server load. (We’ve crashed some servers in the past.) A few days ago, we got set up on a new server. (crossing fingers). Part I and II will be merged into one post after a week or so.

Thanks for your patience. There’s so much amazing work in 2010.

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ALPHABATTLE – 1

by Beejay on February 28, 2011

ONE IS DEFINITELY THE LONELIEST NUMBER.

The Alphabattle continues with the Number 1. Fewer submissions than usual, but perhaps appropriate for 1.

We’ll continue with the Number 2 in two weeks. Submit by Sunday, March 13 for publication March 14.

And the countdown begins for our Best of 2010, coming in one week, next Monday. We’ll follow with a Top 10 next Wednesday. And the Person of the Year two days later, Friday.

Now, the ONES.
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ALPHABATTLE – Z

by Beejay on February 14, 2011

ZCAPS THE YEAR-LONG ALPHABATTLE.

Or does it? Quite a few people over the past month have suggested … continuing this.

So, after asking around a little bit, it’s clear that people want to continue — with numerals, punctuation, ligatures, interrobangs, etc. So … yeah, let’s do it! (Ok, maybe not all that.) We’ll start with numbers, er, numerals.

First up is the Number One. (1 or One or No. 1 or Numero Uno or however you wish to interpret it).

You can submit your Number 1 by February 27 to be published February 28.

Now to the letter Z. Thanks to everyone for participating!

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ALPHABATTLE – Y

by Beejay on January 31, 2011

YIS UP.

Submit Z by Sunday, Feb. 14, to be published Feb. 15.

You can submit something non-Alphabattle-related for our Best of 2010 by February 6.

Now the letter Y.

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BEST OF 2010 – CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

by Beejay on January 18, 2011

NOW THAT 2010 IS OVER, THE FUN begins as we sort through the best and the brightest in Custom Letters!

Our Best of 2009 featured more than 600 images, our Top 10 lists, and our Person of the Year. Last year, we scoured the internet, including hundreds of personal sites, yet took in a relatively small number of submissions.

We hope to get more subs this year, so if you or anyone you know create Custom Letters, please pass on the link! We don’t want to miss anyone.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The Custom Letters category includes calligraphy, sign painting, graffiti, stone carving, digital lettering, hand lettering, paper sculpture, and original type design. It could also involve making letters with sticks and berries, or carving letters into a tree. It’s an elastic category.

The Custom, in this instance, means built from scratch; we ARE NOT looking for customization—a type treatment or 3d treatment—of an existing typeface. Again, no type treatments.

A few other things:

• The deadline to submit is Sunday, February 6, midnight Pacific time. We will be publishing our Best Of the third week of February.

• E-MAIL ADDRESS: lettercult [AT] gmail.com. You can submit for yourself or others. You can include the actual files or submit links. Please put 2010 SUBMISSION in the SUBJECT FIELD.

• SUBMISSION FORMAT: .png or .jpg, 600 pixels wide, 72 dpi. We’ll confirm receipt of your submissions, but we won’t contact you after that. There is no limit to the number of submissions you can make, but please edit yourself, and pick your BEST WORK. Please include a link to your site. And please do not send work completed before 2010, or work from 2011.

• ALPHABATTLE LETTERS: We’ll be doing something separate once we finish Alphabattle so INDIVIDUAL LETTERS will stay separate from the Best Of.

• If you don’t submit, there’s still a good chance we’ll find your piece if you’ve uploaded it somewhere—Flickr, Behance, etc. However, if it’s on your site, and it’s unclear what year you created it, we won’t include it.

• We are aware of certain styles that get copied. If you’re aping the current Designer of the Moment, we’d ask you to please, find something original to submit.

• If you or someone you know are not on our list of LetterMakers, email us.

Finally, I’ve gotten a few questions about why a Best Of would include so many images—why don’t you narrow it down to a manageable number so it’s truly a BEST OF. Well, the continuing goal is to introduce people to Custom Letters, and to celebrate those who are making Custom Letters. It’s as simple as that. Our aim to be inclusive, not exclusive.

Thanks!

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