Safari Typo Amsterdam is a brief typographic tour of letters in public space in the Dutch capital, presented by type designer Bas Jacobs. If you’re willing to leave the well-trodden touristic paths, let letters guide you across Amsterdam. If you have seen enough touristic traps, or don’t want to see them at all, this tour will take you to various parts of the city you would otherwise have missed. Discover how architects, artists and designers left their mark on the city by means of the letters they created on buildings, on bridges, on monuments and elsewhere. This pocket-size book is easy to carry with you as you explore the city. This book is only meant for tourists ready for a mind-expanding experience.

Filmed in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Based on a documentary by Thomas Sipp

Part 1: Amsterdam school & its contemporaries
Lettering in public space by architects & artists

How did architects leave their typographic mark on the city during the interbellum period, and how do contemporary architects and designers respond to this? Featuring letter forms by Piet Kramer, Martijn Sandberg, Reinoud Oudshoorn, Anton Kurvers, Janno Hahn, Hijman Louis de Jong & Rene Knip.

Part 2: Letters with a story
The extravaganza uncensored tour

Can letters tell you a story which you cannot directly read from the letters themselves? The stories behind the letters are as interesting as the letter shapes themselves. This uncensored safari features letter forms by Adrian Frutiger, Jan van Krimpen, Hermann Zapf & Bert Johan Ouëndag.

Published by De Buitenkant, and presented last Friday in Amsterdam. Bookshops have it in store from today on, but it can also be ordered online in our shop.

Media coverage: local newspaper, tv & radio.

More about the publication Safari Typo Amsterdam.

Some stuff makes us sooooo happy. Ever since we released Tripper earlier this year, we have been playing around with real Tripper stencil sets ourselves. We decided to take them in production, so everybody can play around. Here it is: the let’s-not-fake-it-this-is-the-real-Tripper-stencil-set.

We know you’re sitting behind a computer screen now, and we know you are completely clean. Probably you are totally clean seven days a week, no? But look what can happen if you are willing to get your hands dirty. Go ahead, surprise your lover. Surprise your colleague. Surprise yourself.

Tripper stencil set
size: 120 x 140 mm
pieces: 36 (A-Z 0-9)
material: Sendzimir
price: €124,–

This one is for the Dutch only. Sorry. We wrote a short text on web typography, from obvious questions to often overlooked issues. Luckily the complete text is available online, so Google Translate yourself crazy.

Wat hebben Laurel & Hardy met regellengtes te maken? Hoe kan het dat microtypografie op het web vijf eeuwen achterloopt? Is er dan nog hoop? Jawel. Letterontwerper Bas Jacobs behandelt als een snelheidsduivel in vogelvlucht de belangrijkste elementen van typografie op het scherm, van welbekende inkoppertjes tot vaak over het hoofd geziene zaken.

Omdat de tekst het verschil aanhaalt tussen lezen van een scherm versus lezen van papier, is de tekst op beide media beschikbaar.

Read online | Read printed

The ‘Book of war, mortification and love’ contains a little note:

Wanna get the full voluntary suffering experience?

Step 1: Write down the page numbers of every page in this book containing the word ‘pain’.

Step 2: Send the page numbers to the publisher and earn the Authentic Martyr Certificate.

A while ago we received this handwritten letter:

Dear Mick, thanks for your letter.

We received plenty of emails which mentioned the correct page numbers, but as a true martyr you were the only one who candidly understood that real sufferers don’t send emails. They write a letter by hand instead. Well done, our compliments.

Additionally we should compliment you with the correct page numbers, you passed the test. Furthermore we appreciate your use of language, deepest hope to be granted the certificate for official martyr-dom (which actually should be martyrdom, but we’ll turn our blind eye to that). If that ain’t enough, you send us your compliments: I absolutely loved the book. The stories sometimes really got to me in an emotional way. Brilliant! We forgot to tell we don’t like to receive compliments, we like to suffer as much as we can. These 2 sentences almost destroyed your achievement, but we will be generous with you.

Handwritten & correct page numbers & correct language. Well, well, well. Scoring 3 out of 3 means you’re the only person ever to sincerely deserve the Authentic Martyr Certificate. Please find it enclosed in this envelop. In case you’re hoping to receive a nicely designed certificate, you should have known better. True sufferers are proud to have a Microsoft Word template on their wall, which reminds them every day of their god damn life that suffering is learning.

Keep suffering!

Underware

Want to read naked in a sauna but attached to your privacy? Travel often but don’t want to skip your daily sauna moments? This Unique High Quality Portable Infrared Sauna is affordable and can be used in privacy of your home or apartment or any living environment without large spaces & special wiring. Read naked anytime, everywhere.

update 14 Feb: oldskool video

Dear sir/madam,

Have a nice day!

I am Cindy, from Xuzhou healthland sauna equipment Co., Ltd here. Do you import sauna from China?

(more…)

Book of war, mortification and love at Nijhof & van Lee, Amsterdam

Being the epicenter of graphic design in Amsterdam, Nijhof & Lee is a bookstore you have to see while visiting Amsterdam. Feel and smell the love for books.

Book of war, mortification and love at van Stockum, Den Haag

Bookstore van Stockum is one of those bookshops which is always very eager to nicely present their books, which means our books as well. You might remember them from the extreme sauna book testing. Being close to central station in Den Haag, their window has lots of visibility for passersby. Mr. Linssen is watching you.

From: Lernplakate | Christian Büning
Date: May 5, 2010 10:08:43 AM GMT+02:00
To: Underware Office
Subject: Re: Yes/no

Dear Underware Guys,

Thank you very much for this great poster and also for shipping it twice.

I modified it a bit to make the »Yes« more legible by adding a little pink area to the o/e (and created a counter). In my eyes, it works better now. My office partners are of the same opinion. Included is a photo… what do you think?

Kind Regards from Münster in Germany,
Christian

Hi Underware,

Thanks for the poster.
here is an image of a shark dog for your collection.

Cheers, Guus