in the early 1980s I was part of a lively scene in London based around a small-press outlet called Fast Fiction, which was really an agglomeration of like minds. The early chapters of my book How to be an Artist are my account of that milieu and you can find that in the big Alec book I previewed yesterday. I'm always pleased when see one of my confreres from those days doing well, as I did a couple of months back in Creative Characters (the faces behind the fonts) issue #21 April 2009. I'm speaking of the excellent interview with Rian Hughes.

Typefaces. Are you a Space Cadet or an English Grotesque?
I’m a Slack Casual. With contextual ligatures.

Most of your typefaces capture a certain style or atmosphere without copying a specific model. Do you feel you’re a “character actor”, in some way? Which of your typefaces come closest to being “you”?
Ministry is the only straight revival I’ve done, though I’m working on a new, unrelated, American revival. Rather than pastiche, I’d say “essence” is what I’m after. Paralucent and Blackcurrant are very “me”. The rough wood types are less “me”, but have been hugely popular. Give the public what it craves!

That's Blackcurrant above left. If you think you don't know Rian's work, I'm sure you've seen it without realizing:



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Distraction of the day: those amusing Japanese
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