I really love Highway, the new typeface by '70s historian, expressive typographer, and all-around young jerk Dan Cassaro. In Dan's own words, Highway "is an attempt to capture the charm of hand-done early to mid-century type, the kind of beautiful lettering that happens when a human hand tries to recreate something mechanical. Created during (and inspired by) a cross-country roadtrip, Highway may very well be the first typeface created in the back of a camper. Tons of alternate characters, ligatures, and OpenType sorcery make for endless custom lettering for logos, signage, and seminal prog-rock double albums. Roll on, Babes."
Right on, Dan. So far, I've found Highway the perfect swashy partner for a word or phrase that needs some real attitude. It's grounded, but has got moxie. When you begin working the many ligatures into your design, it becomes what Levon Helm called in The Last Waltz "an adult dose." But don't take Dan's word for it. Or mine. Or Levon's. Go purchase your own copy of Highway. You won't regret it. Here are some of my early experimentations:
Comments