Richard Keglar is best known for being the founding partner of P22 Type Foundry, the company that develops typefaces for Mac and Windows platforms. He is also the co-founder of the Western New York Book Arts Center.
Throughout his career, Mr. Kegler has created a series of handwriting fonts based on the penmanship style of famous artists. To name a few, he has created fonts to mimic the handwriting of Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miro, Paul Cezanne, and Vincent van Gogh.
Most recently, he tackled the handwriting of Ohio-born, 20th century artist Charles E. Burchfield. The font will be a part of a new exhibit at the Burchfield Penney called "Richard Kegler/P22 Type Foundry: Charles E. Burchfield (The Font Project)."
The Penney already holds over ten thousand pages of Burchfield's handwritten journals, and visitors are likely to enjoy seeing the font and the original handwriting side-by-side.
Mr. Kegler explains his interest in Burchfield's handwriting to the Buffalo News:
"Charles Burchfield's handwriting could be considered less than optimal in terms of legibility and traditional aesthetics... however, the Charles Burchfield font possesses a genuine, simple charm that is rarely seen in digitized versions of handwriting."
Mr. Kegler's comment illuminates why his handwriting fonts, and handwriting fonts in general, remain relatively popular. They aren't ideal for professional use or for absorbing a lot of information quickly, but they maintain an important role in our culture.
Throughout history, handwriting has been closely linked to personality. As more and more gets typed rather than written, we still long for the personal touch that handwriting offers.
By immortalizing the handwriting of these famous artists, Mr. Kegler provides us with a connection to the people we admire, and a moment to ponder over the value of handwriting.
Check out our website for handwritten fonts that represent your personal touch, and contact us if you want to share any of your own font creations. And, every once in a while, jot down a handwritten note.
