Updated May 1, 2018
In a unfortunate turn of events, Songwriters Fonts was recently forced to shut down. The current landing page reads “Hello, Goodbye.” in large block letters, followed by a brief explanation that the project’s success and subsequent notoriety led to legal issues over intellectual copyright concerns.
The news comes as a disappoinment, especially considering the creators planned to roll-out Notorious B.I.G.’s typeface next. If you still need your fix, try downloading President Trump’s handwriting from Buzzfeed designer Mark Davis, here.
It’s called Tiny Hand.
Consider history’s greatest rockers, you think of the headlines: the hits and shows, the breakups and tragedies.
But all those loud moments had to begin somewhere quiet. Lennon hunched over a notepad, Bowie crossing out a conjunction.
Thanks to the design team at Songwriters Fonts, which has painstakingly analyzed sheets and sheets of notes, lyrics and personal letters, you can now use the handwriting of rock and roll legends as a font on your computer, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.
They’ve catalogued a calligraphic alphabet for five prolific songwriters: Kurt Cobain, David Bowie, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen and Serge Gainsbourg, all of which can be downloaded for free from their site.
Songwriters Fonts hopes to induce inspiration for those tapping out thoughts in the exact penmanship of their heroes, or at very least … providing insight into the creative process of the minds behind the work we’re all so inspired by. From Lennon’s letter to Sir Paul on where to score some excellent Japanese food, to Cobain declaring his band’s name “NIRVANA,” in all caps, deciphering old scrawl feels humanizing and spiritual at the same time.
And considering how little folks put pen to paper these days, this might be the last generation of artists with remotely legible letters.
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