This sign hangs above a small coffee shop that I frequently pass on my way downtown. Each time, its loops and swirls catch my eye. But it took me several times of biking past to realize that the sign said something — something in English. I’m used to having to stop and look for a moment to decipher signs in Japanese, but this was a new experience. Even now, I’m not entirely sure if the second word is “fill” or “pill”. Here’s a closer look at that letter:

What do you think? Take a “Chill Pill” or have your “Chill Fill”?

I am loving these maple Valentype blocks from House Industries.

They are available in red and silver, but only until February 14. For the procrastinators among us, House Industries has a word of advice:

Order by February 11th to avoid providing grounds for the termination of your relationship.

You need a deadline anyway to make sure you don’t put off this relationship-critical gift-giving event until the last minute, leaving you with few alternatives besides the high-fructose corn syrup-infused chocolate samplers and ornate digital picture frames offered at your local drug store chain.”

Jacob Cass, the talented graphic designer behind Just Creative Design and Logo Of The Day, kicked off February with the Top 12 Logos of 2009. The showcase is a compilation of Logo Of The Month winners, as determined by readers, and now voting is open for Logo Of The Year.

My vote went to “Coffee” by Jan Zabransky:

Logo for coffee house Coffee CUP where high quality coffee is served. Notice that logo of coffee cup is made of letters ‘CUP’.”

I love the swirls and the use of typography, plus it really makes me want a cup of coffee. It’s even more beautiful in use.

For more design inspiration, check out all 12 logos, and cast your vote by February 12.

Added to the “Things I Would Like in My Future House” list: these lovely typographic wall decals from Harmonie Interieure. You can customize the size and color and stick them on walls, furniture, tiles — wherever you need a little type goodness.

Here are my favorite finds of the week, starting with ‘A is for Argyle’ and ending with The History of the Ampersand.

The word ‘ampersand’ was first added to dictionaries in 1837. The word was created as a slurred form of ‘and, per se and’, which was what the alphabet ended with when recited in English-speaking schools. (Historically, ‘and per se’ preceded any letter which was also a word in the alphabet, such as ‘I’ or ‘A’. And the ampersand symbol was originally the last character in the alphabet.)”

Alphabet prints by Paperfingers, via design work life

Tas-ka shade made of paper cranes, via Oh Joy!

Chalk Chalk bike, via poppytalk

We thought it would be exciting to see what happened if you invite 10 typographers and graphic designers from different backgrounds, countries and ages to design a house number.” – MEDIUMISM

Whale bookmark by Atypyk, via swissmiss

History of the Ampersand

Evelin Kasikov is bursting with design talent that ranges from printed matter to handmade type, book design to graphic design. I was drawn to her website after her work with handmade type was highlighted by Black*Eiffel.

By transforming printing processes into handmade cross-stitch embroidery my work is influenced by craft, but still retains the context of graphic design. Whilst I work with variety of mediums, engagement with materials and love for detail remains at the heart of my practice.

This love of detail definitely comes across in the CMYK alphabet that Kasikov designed for UPPERCASE magazine, where each 5×5 embroidered letter combines two CMYK colors.

Handmade elements are also incorporated into some of her book designs and printed matter, as you can see in one of her poster sets based on Gill Sans Light.

Of course, Kasikov’s work is even more amazing up close, so be sure to check out the incredible detail in each stitched creation on her website and in the studio spotlight from Black*Eiffel.

I love the form of letters, so it’s not too surprising that a lot of my inspiration lately has come from the alphabet. I have hopes of getting crafty with an alphabet-inspired collage project over the holiday break, but in the meantime, I’ve been enjoying the eye candy from these works that range from mixed media to embossing.

Alphabet paper bird sculpture by cottonbirddesigns

A lesson in creating type from the ever-so-talented Jessica Hische, who recently launched a gorgeous website redesign

Let it S-N-O-W — Anthropologie display via Heart Fish

Alphabet button magnets by luv4sams

The ABC’s of Branding by The Best Part, via design work life

A few of my latest starred items in Google Reader, all lovely and inspirational:

From the Daily Drop Cap series by Jessica Hische

Book-harp by Swiss designer Hanspeter Steiger, via swissmiss

From Steiger’s website:

The strings of the book-harp are a play of light and statics, three-dimensional picture and bookend, transparent and complete simultaneously. Depending on the angle of the literary instrument it seems once closed, sometimes translucent – and turns to life upon passing. It captures the passer-by at the corner of his eye and draws attention to itself, the variegated content, or out into the sky.

“The Tea Factory” by Sollinero, via Grain Edit

I love to play Scrabble and began a tradition of “Scrabble Sundays” when I was an undergrad student. What else do I love? Typography and fantastic design. So I was thrilled to see this academic project from Matt McInerny where he redesigned the Scrabble logo and packaging.

Scrabble redesign concept from matt.cc

You can check out the full redesign on Matt’s Flickr. Here’s what he had to say about the packaging redesign:

My design strips away the need for a box to hold your board and instead turns the package into the product. This new Scrabble board functions more like a book, featuring the logo and instructions on the outside, with a board on the inside that’s revealed as you open the package. [...] The new package is only about 10 inches tall, so it can fit comfortably on a bookshelf, no need to stack it on top of or underneath other board games.

I absolutely love the concept and execution of this, and can only hope that Hasbro hires Matt for a special edition Scrabble so I can add it to my bookshelf and weekly repertoire.

I am loving this typography set from Etsy’s afavorite that combines typographical wordplay with letterpress loveliness.

Typography Set from afavorite

From the description:

The series is based off some of my favorite & maybe even one not so favorite fonts. Playing on words & meaning while creating visual interest with typography. Perfect for any font savant, designer or typoholic.

The set is currently sold out, but the cards are still available individually in afavorite’s Etsy shop.