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Shapes for Cash is the shop window for Timothy Donaldson’s latest typefaces (it’s actually him typing this). I have been designing typefaces since The Olden Times (the late 1980s), with the first few produced for dry transfer lettering sheets. This means I am vintage; old skool; someone who remembers what it was like back in the day ¶ Now then, as I was saying, I’ve been at this lark for a while, my designs have been published by Letraset, ITC, Adobe and FontShop. Most of these are still available. However, this is the first time I am offering my stuff for sale myself. In recent years, all of my time was dedicated to full-time teaching and although I was always producing ideas for typefaces, I wasn’t finishing them off. I did manage to write a book during this wilderness period: Shapes for Sounds – out of print but still highly esteemed. I have stopped full-time teaching now, and although I occasionally get asked to visit universities to do lectures, workshops, performances and suchlike, most of my time is spent tending the lettershapes.

thank you

this collection of baubles would not be possible without the kindness of a collection of people, who must now be thanked: *. Colin Brignall, for his faith in commissioning my first typeface; Tony Forster & Phill Grimshaw (The Master & The Apprentice) for a joyful decade of lettertalk, taking the piss in the way Northern lads do, and their love; Linnea Lundquist for belief, challenge, poetry and solid encouragement; Steve James for daring me to make the typeface that became Manchester/ Donaldsans/ This/ That, and for gently kicking my arse; Carolyn Puzzovio for being constant in support, love and belief (and for banging the desk); Carol Twombly, for her gentle shepherding and teaching me the difference between lettering and typeface; Jeremy Tankard, for always answering my questions patiently, with his delightfully honest humour; Jessica Jenkins for recognising my thrall to orthography and loving it (and buying me ink); Erik van Blokland, for the joy and workmanship of risk he brings to the world of letterwork, but also for patience, kindness and a workmanship of certainty (and a couple of other things I can’t remember at the minute); Callum Dean, Dan Prescott, Gregor Cowling and Craig Oldham, for using early versions of my typefaces in work; Lana Zoppi, for looking, responding and reading (and for making me think); Aaron Chiffers, for goading, chiding, encouragement and making me feel embraced by Kernow (Nicole Stephens is also guilty of encouraging this emmet); Luke Charsley, for purity and a different kind of goading (a kinder, gentler machine-gun hand); Rutherford Craze, whose type design skills long ago eclipsed mine, and whose kindness and generosity in helping me to create this shop window is a form of redemption and salvation.

in addition to some people already mentioned, I would like to thank the following for responding to prototypical pages for this site: Gemma Audus; Maria Beardall-Rabbini; Armelinda Beqiraj; Therēze Brence; David Pearson; Albertas Valecka.

*I did have a list of famous people here, all of whom helped the young, autodidactic version of myself on this road, but I decided that it seemed boastful, so I have removed it. Many of them no longer inhabit the realm of mortals, but as a wee tease, their initials are: HZ; VT; KH; WS; G SE B; RS; BW; WC; MH; NG