Notebook

Studio Notes #27

Hello, Creative Amigos. Here's issue #27 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 🍎 Last month on the Women Designers You Should Know podcast, host Amber Asay talks to Amy & Jen Hood about the legendary Susan Kare. Susan's pioneering design work at Apple

Studio Notes #26

Hello, Design Pals. Here's issue #26 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This one is particularly media-heavy, which could be due to US news distraction efforts. Hold Fast, friends. 🏥 I'm somewhat of a hypochondriac, so it's puzzling why I would

Studio Notes #25

Hello, Super Cool People. Here's issue #25 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 🎬 I feel like Apple is on a roll with the movies and shows they're putting out these days. So I'm more apt to give their new offerings

Studio Notes #24

Hello, Magnificent Subscribers. Here's issue #24 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 🍚 Here's this week's Rice Tip™: Elevate your plain, white rice by shaking some Everything Bagel Seasoning on it. This may be my new favorite food-related hack ever, and

Studio Notes #23

Hello, Bon Vivants. Here's issue #23 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 📖 I've never used one of these, nor do I even read books all that often, but the (horrendously-named) Bookie Rookie looks like a genuinely useful product for combating hand cramping

Studio Notes #22

Hello, Design Buddies. Here's issue #22 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 🎨 A London studio was vandalized, so the owners made a free font out of the sloppy graffiti. This is how to do revenge type! (via Secret Type Club member, Chris Perrins) ⛰️ Katie

Studio Notes #21

Hello, Good Folks. Here's issue #21 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 💿 Today! We, Other Brother Darryl, released our debut full-length album, Roll Shine Roll. I'm extremely proud of this record that's been in the works for years. It'

Studio Notes #20

Hello, Very Fine People™. Here's issue #20 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 🥤 First up, a cool little video about how Suzanne Ciani created the iconic "pop and pour" audio logo for Coca-Cola in the 70s using only analog synths. You can

Studio Notes #19

Hello, Cool Folks. Here's issue #19 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. 🥽 I've become a fan of Walton Goggins. Not only of his acting, but just...him. And his cool name. GQ occasionally runs a video interview series where the guests share

Studio Notes #18

Hello, Friends. Here's issue #18 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. I'm kicking this week off with something incredibly important that everyone should know about. 🍊 I've been really getting into oranges lately. Specifically, Cara Cara or Red Velvet oranges. It

Studio Notes #17

Hello, Amazing Folks. Here's issue #17 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This is a weekly newsletter that I'm publishing here on the blog as well. You should subscribe if haven't already :) 🥣 If you're in need of a

Studio Notes #16

Hello, Good People. Here's issue #16 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This is a weekly newsletter that I'm publishing here on the blog as well. You should subscribe if haven't already :) 🎸 I've long been a fan of

Studio Notes #15

Hello, Fine People. Here's issue #15 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This is a weekly newsletter that I'm publishing here on the blog as well. You should subscribe if haven't already :) 🏝️ I love California. Always have. As a kid

Studio Notes #14

Hello, Folks. Here's issue #14 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This is a weekly newsletter that I'm publishing here on the blog as well. You should subscribe if haven't already :) 🌶️ It turns out that sriracha makes for great liquid

Studio Notes #13

Hello, Friends. Here's issue #13 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. These have been weekly newsletters and I'm going to start publishing here on the blog as well. You should subscribe if you're not already :) 🚙 Interesting article about Googie, “the

My Mom Taught Me

It was almost a year ago exactly that I wrote about the passing of my Dad. I had shared just a handful of memories of what he had taught me over the years. I'd like to use that same framework for my Mom who passed away on August

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

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

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, 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.

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

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.