What I learned from reading ⁠Frederic Goudy⁠

Frederic Goudy was the most famous type designer in the world, the designer of over 100 different typefaces, the author of a number of published works, and a public lecturer and teacher. Join me in this conversation as we study the life, work, and influences of Frederic Goudy.

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(2:52) ⁠"Why Designers Can't Think"⁠ by Michael Bierut

(5:36) Goudy's design philosophy

(8:18) Titans episodes ⁠#1 (Jan Tschichold)⁠ and ⁠#2 (Paul Renner)⁠

(9:39) Goudy's Deepdene typeface

(12:12) Goudy's critique of the types of the past

(15:15) ⁠Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead⁠ by Jim Mattis

(25:02) ⁠Confessions of an Advertising Man⁠ by David Ogilvy

(26:58) Goudy meets Will Bradley, leading Art Nouveau Illustrator and the highest-paid American commercial artist

(28:14) Goudy's first introduction to The Kelmscott Press and ideas of William Morris as well as Charles Ricketts and Charles James Cobden-Sanderson, who all became large sources of inspiration for Goudy's work

(30:00) Frederic and Bertha get married and begin a long career together

(31:40) Jeff Bezos on the "smartest people" in ⁠interview with Inc.⁠

(36:51) Goudys move to Hingham

(38:02) The Goudys are joined in Hingham by ⁠W. A. (Billy) Dwiggins⁠, originator of the term "graphic design"

(40:43) Goudy meets ⁠Mitchell Kennerley⁠

(42:02) The Village Press destroyed by first fire

(44:06) Goudy visits England for the first time

(44:58) The Goudys take a second trip to Europe, which changes Frederic's life

(46:40) ⁠Setting the Table⁠ by Danny Meyer, founder of Shake Shack

(48:17) Goudy now an expert in type design

(50:34) Goudys move again to Deepdene Road in Forest Hills Gardens, Queens

(52:39) Goudy as genius designer and master marketer

(53:56) Goudy wins AIGA Gold Medal and begins to receive criticism

(56:21) Goudys move yet again to house and adjoining mill at Marlboro-on-Hudson, naming the location Deepdene, after their previous residence street

(1:01:03) Goudy's final works, A Half-Century of Type Design and Typography: ⁠Volume 1⁠, ⁠Volume 2⁠

Typefaces designed by Frederic Goudy:

Copperplate, Deepdene, DeVinne Roman, Goudy Sans, Goudy Old Style, Kennerley Old Style, Remington Typewriter, and many others.