The final act of the blackletter mystery — with, additionally, some unpublished work that I couldn’t help but share 🙂 hflr.io/eginvy5

On Instagram, I'm posting one of my favorite typographic mysteries, in four parts. Part 1: E.G.I.N.V.Y. hflr.io/eginvy

Jonathan Hoefler on Instagram: "A typographic mystery Part 1: E.G.I.N.V.Y. Starting around 1825, the type specimen books of the Caslon type foundry start to include the letters “EGINVY” at the end of...

3 likes, 0 comments - jonathanhoefler on May 27, 2026: "A typographic mystery Part 1: E.G.I.N.V.Y. Starting around 1825, the type specimen books of the Caslon type foundry start to include the letter...

hflr.io

On the relationship between ethics and the AI business: a cogent and thoughtful perspective from the always-great Paul Ford. My gift link, to share on your own channels: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/o...

Opinion | This Is How We Get Moral A.I. Companies

nytimes.com

Aha! @korystamper.bsky.social’s new book arrived today, and the week ahead is suddenly immeasurably brighter!

What else belongs on this list? 1. “Schrödinger's Cat:” invented as a send-up of Bohr and Heisenberg, now invoked as a demonstration of quantum mechanics →

This is really worth a look:

kottke.org@kottke.org · 7mo ago

Great data analysis of what would US would be like if it were just an average country in its cohort of wealthy democracies, e.g. “the nation that would exist if our democracy functioned to serve the public rather than protect the already powerful”. [kottke.org]

Today I learned that Cambridge University has published high resolution photographs of their collection of Baskerville punches. Cue the revivals!

One of the great logos, achieving everything that we hope for: it’s meaningful, recognizable, relevant, practical, reproducible, memorable, and fun. RIP, Jean Widmer. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/a...

Jean Widmer, Designer of Celebrated French Graphics, Dies at 96

nytimes.com

In December, I casually sent a vacation photo to Paul Lukas, a friend and fellow obsessive, because it had an inverted “H” that I knew would give him a giggle, or vex him, or both. Two months later, amazingly, these 2,000 words: www.inconspicuous.info/p/h-bomb-a-f...

H-Bomb: A Frank Lloyd Wright Typographic Mystery

The famed architect made a surprising error on one of his most notable buildings — or did he? A deep dive to uncover the truth.

inconspicuous.info

HOW have I never known the word “logodaedaly”?

Say what you will about AI, but it's the only technology that’s ever managed to effectively combine mansplaining with the ritual apology

Posted without comment

A great piece of information visualization by Prof. Christina Pagel — and maybe the first time I’ve ever seen a toggle between “Classic UI” and “New UI” that shows two equally great interfaces. Bookmark and share!

Prof Christina Pagel@chrischirp.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Tracker here www.trumpactiontracker.info

The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023. The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets. https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3

Found on Threads; bringing it here so @jessesword.com and @korystamper.bsky.social and @skleinedler.bsky.social and @benzimmer.bsky.social get to enjoy.

While the pasty incels who work the federal agencies continue to churn out feeble, bloodless AI pastiches of Axis propaganda, here’s how a living breathing artist powerfully invokes design history. This is by illustrator Emily K in South Philly, a free poster-sized download on her website: →

Achievement unlocked! Next stop: NYT Crossword fill.

New poll finds an encouraging 34% of Americans unwilling to volunteer a glib binary answer about a complex and multivalent phenomenon

Matthew Facciani@matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 8mo ago

New poll finds just 18% of Americans "embrace" AI, with 49% saying they reject it.

I’m hopeful that New York’s terrific new First Lady, Rama Duwaji, can finally heal the divide between people who say “ceramist” and people who say “ceramicist”

Journalists, when you write that someone is “her generation’s Elphaba” or whatever, please know that I want to smack you just as hard as I did twenty years ago when you wrote that someone was “their generation’s Dumbledore” or whatever.

James Mosely's series of lectures on the history of letterforms were delivered every year to students in the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. These were recorded in 2020-21, and are now available for everyone to watch: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

James Mosley's History of Letterforms - YouTube

James Mosley’s lectures on the history of letterforms were delivered in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication over many years. They represent ...

youtube.com

There’s going to be a printed 12th Edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary! Even if you’re living that digital life, you should order one, for the splendid and thought-provoking delight of opening to a random page and seeing something unexpected. → hflr.io/mw12

Reposting, because: 1. CLANKER 2. words generally 3. H&Co fonts on the website!

Jesse Sheidlower@jessesword.com · 12mo ago

Important new Historical #Dictionary of #ScienceFiction entry: _clanker_ 'a robot', which, despite the 50 articles last week claiming this is a 2005 Star Wars thing, has been in use since the '50s, from major authors such as Tenn, Saberhagen, Pohl, Rucker, &c. sfdictionary.com/view/3048/cl...

How ever to define a color in the dictionary? This is the topic of @korystamper.bsky.social’s long-awaited new book, now available for pre-order. As a huge fan of her splendid “Word by Word,” I am absolutely tickled in a color as of coral or salmon! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/555914...

True Color by Kory Stamper: 9781524733032 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

A kaleidoscopic journey through the secret history of hues—and the story of the obsessive genius behind the definitions of colors we use today, from the beloved author of Word by Word begonia...

penguinrandomhouse.com

Just going to consult this reference book, “The Consequences of Pursuing Godlike Power,” by The Entire Canon of World Literature

The greatest gift I have ever received has been the introduction to the *millions* of people around the world who’ve sharpened their love of letterforms through my episode of “Abstract” on Netflix. This morning, a lovely email from a complete stranger in Krefeld, Germany — thanks, Melissa!

By “the industry,” are we talking about the one that has enriched civilization since the stone age, or the one run by a small handful of tech titans

HappyToast@happytoast.co.uk · last yr.

The latest in a long line of terrible humans seeing if they can destroy people lives before asking if they should. If only sociopaths were seen as bad instead of rewarded.

To the Honorable Judge @darthbluesky.bsky.social: Budino has discovered that his longtime favorite, the slipper, sometimes has (when worn) a hard crunchy center (the human toe.) The literature advises that I’m supposed to discourage this, but I am weak to deny him this apex happiness. Advise?

It really might be time to let all the tech CEOs fulfill their ambition of building an extra-territorial tax haven island where they can all go and live together, allowing the rest of us some peace and quiet, or at least the ability to take them out with a single naval bombardment

Anil Dash@anildash.com · last yr.

A bunch of tech CEOs are talking about being “AI-first”, the latest in a series of CEO fads like “return to office”, “founder mode” and “pivot to full fascism”. This one’s weird, though, because it only makes sense if… none of their workers are great at their jobs. anildash.com/2025/04/19/a...

I don’t know what chance or fate led me tonight to rewatch The West Wing S05 E16, “Eppur Si Muove,” but my god did it hit like a ton of bricks. American scientists, 2025. The scientists.