Harry Potter and company are in hot water today over a lawsuit filed by a New York-based typeface company who claim they own the right to a very wizardly-looking font used in Potter paraphernalia. more ›

One of the complaints that Twittering NYC voters have had with today's general election is the size of the font on the actual ballot. One wondered, "NYC Board of Elections discouraging seniors to vote? Cuz the type on that ballot is extra tiny, even if they do supply magnifiers," only for the NYC Board of Elections to Tweet back, "On all BMDs, “Zoom In” makes the font size larger. “Zoom Out” brings the font back to normal size." The voter replied, "@BOENYC Ummm...no, there were no large font feature on the ballot marking device. Also was not given any instructions by workers." more ›

Citizens of the city, the powers that be are going to be spending $27.5MM on changing all of the capital letters on our signs to lower case letters. The change is being made thanks to a federal regulation change in the new Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, reports the Daily News, who lambasted the idea on their cover today. more ›

There's a new font in town. Designers Ale Paul and Jon Parker created a Brooklyn-inspired typeface called Brownstone, which they describe as, "an original 21st-century design, yet subtly infused with historical and cultural references—keen observers might spot influences from decorative typefaces of 19th-century foundries. And just as faces from that era were influenced by contemporary architecture, the frames included with Brownstone echo the ornate iron railings of Park Slope's row houses." They also say it has an "old-meets-new aesthetic of the DIY craft culture." more ›

After we covered the grammatically-busted Brodaway sign on Brooklyn's G platform yesterday, a number of font-philes questioned the typography in many "Do Not Lean" decals adorning subway doors. NYC Transit's Paul Fleuranges tells us that while "customers see fit to vandalize" signs, this particular error could be blamed on the car builder. He explained:

We did have a recent problem with a car builder who took it upon themselves to manufacture and apply subway car decals without the prior approval of NYC Transit. The cars were delivered to NYC Transit with the wrong decals. They have since been instructed not to do so going forward, and those that were applied in error will be replaced with NYC Transit approved and manufactured decals.

If you want The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway, AIGA has it for you in a sprawling (and well-worth-reading) 9-page article on New York's subway fonts. They state that while it's commonly believed that Helvetica is the official typeface of the New York City subway system, that hasn't always been the case (of course, since the font just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and the first underground transit system in New York City was built in the late 1800s). While "Helvetica is the official typeface of the MTA today, it was not the typeface specified by Unimark International when it created a new signage system at the end of the 1960s." Trace the typeface of the underground, font nerds, you know you want to! more ›