Speaking of puzzles, I also recently got to design and assemble a book of crossword puzzles from a certain weekly progressive newsmagazine. There wasn’t much to design, and what there was of it I cribbed from the magazine itself. Nor was there much to typeset, since after a not inconsiderable amount of wrangling we were able to get the Quark files from the magazine. But I did learn how crossword puzzles are set, or at least how these particular ones are: It’s a typeface.
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Month: February 2006
Puzzling Samples
Since that puzzle book I mentioned earlier (math, design) has now been printed and should be appearing in stores, I figure it’s time to post some pages of it here, for your viewing pleasure.
What I started with
A very complex manuscript overflowing with cartoony illustrations (none of which are shown in these samples), line drawings supplied as Word art, equations, and notes to the typesetter, e.g., “Start light red background,” “Set in Bible font,” “Set in e-mail font,” etc. Also, a reasonably high-res comp of the cover, which uses ransom-note typography for the title, a very staid sans serif for the author’s name, and a photo of a tangled ball of colorful wire.
Continue reading “Puzzling Samples”