Daniel

EICIILIO, ORNAMENTED LETTERING
BEICH
ERUU
BY MCA MUELLER
CORRSSTTUu
VVWW) xcosaz
&Pi in@fftrntiESO
(11I??4,vm...
127Y567890
rekflith
ITC BUCKEROO MAKES NO
BONES ABOUT ITS ORIGINS:
NOT ONLY DOES IT LOOK LIKE
THE BOLD, ORNAMENTED LET-
TERING FOUND ON SALOONS
IN THE OLD WEST, BUT, WITH
THE NOTCHES CUT OUT OF THE
ENDS OF THE LETTERS, IT EVEN
APPEARS AS THOUGH SOMEONE
HAD TAKEN OUT HIS SIN-GUN
AND SHOT THE SIGN FULL OF
HOLES. RICK MUELLER'S INSPI-
RATION FOR Buciusium WAS A
BOOK TITLE THAT HE SAW SEV-
EMAIL. YEARS AGO, SET IN A VERY
BLACK DECORATIVE TYPEFACE.
FROM THAT STARTING POINT,
RE CREATED HIS OWN DISPLAY
TYPEFACE. "I DREW THE BASE
SHAPES DIRECTLY IN ILLUSTRA-
TOR, THEN MOVED THEM TO
FONTOGRAPHER TO BUILD THE
ALPHABET AND THE REST OF
THE CHARACTERS;' HE SAYS.
FT4 DRIMUT ITC Outback
ITC DRYCUT, LIKE ITC OUTBACK, IS DV Sellbt PICHII
BASED LOOSELY ON THE TRADITION
OF HEAVY "WOOD-CUT" TYPEFACES,
BUT IT TAKES THE OPPOSITE TACK: A ADUCCDDie
SHARP, CLEAN EDGES, EVEN THE
WHITE CUT MARKS AND BLACK SLIV-
(RS LOOKING LIKE SHARDS OF GLASS.
"THE SLIVERS AROUND THE EDGES
SUGGEST TRACES LEFT AFTER AWK-
WARD MOVEMENTS OF A KNIFE,
WHICH ARE OFTEN VISIBLE ON OLD
WOODCUTS;' SAYS VANCOUVER-
BASED DESIGNER SERGE
"FOLK ARTISTS OFTEN DIDN'T CARE
MUCH ABOUT REFINING THEIR
CARVINGS—THE SLIVERS WOULD
HAVE BEEN LEFT AS LON6 AS THE
LETTERS REMAINED READABLE:'
THE LETTERS ALL HAVE A SLIGHTLY
DIAGONAL MOTION, ACHIEVED BY
COMBINING A SLIGHT INCLINATION
WITH THE DANCING SLIVERS.
M 0 0 P P
ITC Outback comes out of Bob Atom's
background at Photo-Lettering in New
York, where he has worked for a total of
)) years. Outback is a contemporary type-
face in the "distressed" mode, crude and
rough, but embodying Alonso's long expe -
rience of how a display typeface works.
It's condensed, very economical of space,
and quite bold. In a way, it weds the rus-
tic '105 feel of Rudolph Koch's Neuland
with the proportions of a '60s headline
face, then roughs up the edges '90s style
with a coarse wood-file. Outback is clearly
intended for display, but it reads surpris-
ingly well at sizes as small as 18 point.
A tOti
By Bob Alonso
AaBbCcDdLe
rfGQHhiiJjKk
1,1NmOoPpQq
RrIsTtlluilv
WwXxYyZz
&1111@*.# 0/0StiY
(1?"tt>