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NOTEBOOK

SimpleBits® news and weekly Studio Notes™. Plus exclusive posts (and free fonts, discounts, and other perks) for Gold members.

Paint Factory

Our latest typeface, Paint Factory, is inspired by an old marine paint company building that sits on Gloucester Harbor here on the North Shore of Massachusetts. I'll often make the short trip to G-Lo from Salem in my trusty Boston Whaler, and the building's giant "

Simple Type Club

Simple Type Club

Hello friends, today I'm excited to announce something special: Simple Type Club! A very special calendar-year 2024 subscription which bundles all of our typefaces along with other great perks through December 31, 2024. I wanted to rethink the concept of a “fonts bundle” and add some other perks,

Wilco Loft Sans

Wilco Loft Sans

When I was 19 or 20, my favorite band was Uncle Tupleo. I remember shaking Jeff Tweedy's hand before a show at Club Babyhead in Providence, Rhode Island some 30 years ago. I'm sure I thanked him for the music and the inspriration. I went on

My Dad Taught Me

My Dad Taught Me

My Dad, Roy F. "Bud" Cederholm, Jr., passed away on August 27 and we said goodbye to him yesterday. He left peacefully after a long illness. While we're devastated, we're also comforted that he's finally at peace. Dad's legacy is

Free Lunch

I think the first letter I drew for Free Lunch was the C. I wanted one that had a “tight bite” (clearly an actual typographic term). Like it’s really chomping down on itself. I love the attitude it projects. I guess I love chompy Cs. From that initial C,

For Immediate Release

SALEM, MA—Today, SimpleBits® LLC announced the acquisition of Simple Type Co. in a blockbuster deal that brings two extremely connected and confusingly-similar brands (run by the same person) now under one roof. “We're really excited to bring the Simple Type Co. fonts and goods shop we made

Grandsans

I have been a lifelong Red Sox fan, and Fenway Park has always been a special place for me and my family going back generations. We’re even season ticket holders as of last year. The type around the historic park has always been inspirational. Thick, cream-colored, painted letters on

Simple Type Co.

Simple Type Co.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to channel my existential anxiety into a long-standing goal of designing a typeface. It would actually be a second attempt, as back in 2007 I'd hacked together a pixel font based on little 16×16 icons. That one doesn'

Twenty Years of SimpleBits

Twenty Years of SimpleBits

I used to design websites for a living. What a way to kick off a dusty ol' blog! This year, 2022, marks the 20th anniversary SimpleBits—or more specifically the anniversary of the simplebits.com domain name, which I registered for my blog and later a freelance design studio.

What I Learned Co-Founding Dribbble

What I Learned Co-Founding Dribbble

Last month, I gave a 30-minute talk at the Awwwards  conference in San Francisco. I used to give talks fairly often, mostly covering CSS and web design in general, but this one was a bit different. I decided to share 20 things I’ve learned by co-founding Dribbble over the

Kare

It's been a few weeks now, but the inspiration and buzz is still lingering. A highlight of my career was introducing Susan Kare at a Dribbble + Photoshop meetup at Adobe's headquarters in San Francisco. Last year, Rich, Charles Pearson and some of the Photoshop team had

Made By

Just last week, Naysan Naraqi and Josh Janssen from Envato visited me here in Salem, Mass. to make a short video for their Made by series. Miracuosly, they edited down my babbling into a coherent narrative. There's even some banjo playing and a quick Salem walking tour thrown

Second Edition

Five years ago, Mandy, Jeffrey, and Jason launched a little publishing imprint called A Book Apart. It focused on very specific topics for folks that build websites for fun and profit. The books were short and to the point. They paid their authors unheard of royalties compared to other publishers.

The Lift

My favorite part of snowboarding is the lift. That time spent on the chair, heading up a mountain. It can start off chaotically: Skiers and riders shuffling through a long line, the chair whipping around the corner and scooping you up. And then off you go. It gets really quiet.

Hyper Static Text

Hyper Static Text

I am not big on resolutions, but like many of you, I'd sure like to write more this year. Writing was the single biggest factor in helping my career, and it's led me to start new projects, find new interests, helped solved problems, etc. I'