Matthew Carter, born British but now residing in the Boston area, is the creative force behind many widely used fonts today including Verdana, Tahoma, Georgia, New Century Schoolbook and Helvetica, to name a few.

Carter began his career as a traditional typeface designer, studying under Jan Van Krimpen’s assistant P. H. Raedisch, where he learned the distinctive craft of punch cutting and eventually transitioned into using digital methods to create his fonts, a more expedited method than traditional processes.

In a presentation given to members of the AIGA (New York Chapter), Carter reflected on his many experiences with developing the fonts he’s so famously known for and revealed that many, if not all of his creations, were inspired by actual typefaces from historical architecture.

According to Wikipedia, Matthew Carter “co-founded the Bitstream type foundry in 1981, which he left in 1991 to form the Carter & Cone type foundry with Cherie Cone.”

Bitstream, Inc. was a first of its kind, a company formed solely for the purpose of the production and distribution of digital fonts and their respective licenses. Unlike traditional type foundries, where the typographers would sell wood and metal typefaces, Bitstream dealed exclusively with digital fonts.

If not for the hard work and impressive efforts of Matthew Carter, designers would be limited as far as font selection for print and web.

Whether he knows it or not, Matthew Carter has left behind a legacy that will continue to thrive in future generations, all because of his desires to preserve historical typefaces.

If you haven’t seen NBC’s Heroes, I’d suggest either Tivo’ing it or watching it every Monday (9PM/EST). Next to Lost, it’s been one of the only shows in recent years that I’ve been so involved with — including having side conversations with friends and family — and that’s due to a few factors that make the show so engrossing.

Apart from the great acting, the writing continues to amaze me because the story is chock full of interesting twists, turns and free falls.

There are so many layers and angles the writers have chosen to explore and the story itself is rich in character exploration and interaction. At it’s surface it seems like just a show about people with various talents and powers, but if you look further you begin to unravel the puzzle and mythology that is Heroes, which transcends the small screen in the form of an online comic and web blog.

Over the course of the first season I’ve made some mental notes (mostly spoiler-free) and I’d like to share some of those with you. In turn, I invite you to share your own, as I know we all have our own thoughts and theories on where the story arch might lead and where it’ll continue to go.

Theories on Heroes

• Biblical names used for some of the main characters; Gabriel (arch angel), Mica, Eden and Peter.
• Overall story arch (so far) has a deliberate sense of urgency and foreshadowing: some plot points uncovered, questions both answered and unanswered
• Reminds me a bit of Steven King’s The Stand in that a group of people, who previously had no contact with each other, have come together for a greater purpose
• The writing is multi-faceted and intriguing, much like Lost, and while it’s intentionally serialized it does seem more self-contained than Lost.
• The characters themselves and their stories are intriguing because of the emotional state they share; urgency and for the most part a deep rooted nonacceptance of their talents, almost a resilient self-doubt.
• Hiro (named appropriately) comes across as the glue holding everything together. He seems to be the favorite for most viewers and that’s because of his personality and willingness to work within the limitations of his power.
• Mr. Bennett (Claire’s father and codenamed: HRG for Horned Rim Glasses) seems almost as if his alignment is neutral. He’ll protect those he cares for, but also obeys his superiors’ wishes. The writers have mentioned that he is a but a cog in the bigger wheel that is his employer and at the moment their true intentions and/or motives are still unclear
• The Haitian, while mysterious and obeying of HRG’s commands, seems like he has his own motives beyond the scope of his employer

Now, what about your theories? If you have some, please share by commenting or sending me an email at erik(at)kartooner.com.

An inked sketch entitled Barbaric Eggs Storming the Enemy Foxhole, inspired by a series of descriptive statements called ‘I am for the art of’ by Claes Oldenburg (1961).

This sketch along with some others are part of a book I created called ‘I am for the Art of Imagination: A Book of Oddly-inspired Illustrations‘, and it just so happens to be one of the most off-the-wall projects I’ve worked on all year.

We’ve all heard, at one time or another, the old adage “Patience is a virtue”. Sure, it’s virtuous to be patient but to learn patience is no different than adding a new skill to your personal repretroire.

The Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings traced the origin of this infamous proverb to an allegorical narrative called Piers Plowman by William Langland and it happens to be similiar to the Latin saying, Maxima enim..patientia virtus (Patience is the greatest virtue).

As with all things, impatience is not always immediately recognizable. Rather, we tend to rush things through so as to appease the part of ourselves that loves the end result to happen now, not then, but right now. This is where patience comes in and gently reminds us, “Look, you might not already see what’s to come, the end result, whatever, but that’s okay, it’ll be worth the wait.” However, just when you think you have a good grasp of it, it can easily slip through your fingers, fall through the cracks or hide under the rug (right next to that flattened piece of ABC gum) and only then you’ll realize it’s importance.

No one likes an impatient person. If you were to poll a thousand people from various ethnic, age and geographical backgrounds, you’d find that a great majority of these people if asked, “Do you like an impatient person?” would all have the same answer. It’s a no-brainer, but it’s amazing how many impatient souls are out there in the real world.

Next time you don’t get that Frizzo Latte Supreme in under 3 minutes or if that guy behind the counter at the store is moving at a snails pace, just remember that patience really is the greatest virtue. It’s something on a daily basis that I have to remind myself to embrace it’s importance and utilize it’s strengths.