Reversed-stress typefaces occupy a funny little corner of the world of typeface design. These typefaces flip letter-drawing conventions on their head with jarring, amusing, and sometimes even useful results.
These typefaces are often associated with the Wild West, but they have much more to offer than the novelty of gunslingers and swinging saloon doors. This talk will explore the history of the genre, take a closer look at some particularly interesting specimens, and detail the drawing challenges that arise when the thick parts get thin and the thin parts get thick.
David Jonathan Ross
Type Designer (Los Angeles)
David Jonathan Ross draws letters of all shapes and sizes for custom and retail typeface designs. He joined The Font Bureau in 2007, and his typefaces include Manicotti and Trilby, reversed stress slabs; Condor, a high contrast sans; Turnip, a rugged bookface; and Input, an extensive family designed for computer programming. David…
