Valentype 2009 | The Gallery

To avoid clogging up the original post I decided to have a separate dedicated gallery with all the submissions. I will gradually add new entries as they come in, so come back often. Feel free to comment on the love declarations, but please remember to remain courteous at all times.

February 6th

1 |Sven Lubenau(Berlin, Germany) loves FF Clan

2 |Wynne Hunkler(Keller, TX, USA) loves FF Hands

February 7th

To the woman I love, Tisa,

I have aspired to feel your warm skin with my hands, and caress your soft curves. As you stand on a platform, higher than I am, I know that I could never reach you.

I have met other women, not quite Georgious as you are, in my attempt to forget you. Those have been wonderful Times, I admit, full of bliss and forgetfulness of you, as I believed I have drank from the river Lethe. They were Celesteal, but they were too refined, too perfect for my taste. They became boring, and I grew distant from them.

I have a restless heart, my dear. (Oh, how I wish I could call you 'my dear' face to face!) From ennui, I remembered you, and a desire was re-revealed to me; and in its new form, it was stronger. In my mind was your image, Blurred by time, but you were there, I imagined, Tising me with your hair, whose one side was quite longer than the other.

I have sketches of you, which I worked on under the lamplight, in my room, alone, to remind me of your simple and imperfect beauty, and of your subtle flaws that dance in harmony with the soft, shadowed light of the lamp.

I have all these, along with my desire for you. But the truth is, I have you not.

If my desire proclaimed herein would not move you, if you find my love for you based on wanton want, then consider this my farewell to you, a woman I have never known. Else, head to the park at the afternoon, when the sun is about to set, and I will be there, waiting, with a bouquet of flowers for you.

An admirer,

Josef

3 |Josef Go-Oco(Quezon City, Philippines) loves FF Tisa

4 |Michelle Cormack(Vancouver, BC, Canada) loves FF Absara

February 8th

5 |Noah Burney(Chicago, IL, USA) loves FF Speak

6 |Arno Kathollnig(Obervellach, Austria) loves Monitor

7 |Wynne Hunkler(Keller, TX, USA) still loves FF Hands

8 |Alex Bischoff(Dallas, TX, USA) loves FF Tisa

February 9th

9 |Carolyn Colonna(Charlotte, NC, USA) loves FF Hydra Text

10 |Arno Kathollnig(Obervellach, Austria) loves FF Scala

February 10th

11 |Craig Eliason(Saint Paul, MN, USA) loves FF Tisa

12 |<Dmitri Yarynych(Kyiv, Ukraine) loves FF Maiola

13 |Dmitri Yarynych(Kyiv, Ukraine) still loves FF Maiola

14 |William Boletta(Tokyo, Japan) loves FF Amoeba (designed with FF Oneleigh)

15 |William Boletta(Tokyo, Japan) also loves FF Strada (designed with FF Oneleigh)

16 |Arno Kathollnig(Obervellach, Austria) still loves FF Scala

17 |Giacomo Cesana(Carate Brianza, MI, Italy) loves FF Mister K

18 |John-Paul Knox(Winnipeg, MB, Canada) loves FF Unit

19 |Krishna Iyer(Thane East, India) loves FF Good

20 |John-Paul Knox(Winnipeg, MB, Canada) loves FF Quadraat

21 |Jürgen Sanides(Lahti, Finland) loves Amalia

My dear Seria Pro:

I had to write. I was never big on the whole "a picture is worth a thousand words" thing, and I think it's fair to say that no picture is worth even half of what I'm about to tell you.

I've had my flings… sure, I've had passing crushes in my time, little affairs. Look, you know me. You know everything about me and about them; we talked about them all. You're most likely the one who knows me best.

I'm only human. I'm weak. I know I am. I try hard not to be, but it always seems like there's nothing I can do…

But the truth is: I love you. I really do. Oh, this is such cliché… but I feel like there's no other name for what I feel for you, and still, all the words in all the languages cannot begin to describe it. All these years… all these other variably passionate and intense – though less varyingly superficial as they were – relationships… ever since I met you… you were always on the back of my mind. You were always the standard to which I put all the others up against… and they all but failed to even come within viewing range.

I am weak, that's for sure. I am weak and I am blind, for I've lived all these years knowing this, but not really considering and understanding it. It's taken me a lot of time, but now… now I know! I do! Now I know why I was never able to feel the tiniest bit of happiness! Of sheer, pure, innocent, unassuming and unabashed bliss! Now I know why even with all the caring and tenderness and – I'll be honest (even though it'll probably kill whatever chances I have left with you – if any –, but honesty is all that's left for me) – raw sexual prowess that was bestowed upon me by several others since I know you (even though it was all probably completely misplaced on me and undeserved on my behalf), I never felt anything even remotely close to what I feel when I simply take a gander at you. And to think, all of this time, I never realized this! All the great moments I shared with others, all the great and wonderful things that, while undeserved, were given to me by this incredibly mysterious universe, I compared with what I feel when I merely sense your presence, and it all was completely insignificant.

I learned a lot along the way, don't get me wrong, and I probably regret nothing… from Din I learned that you can be practical while still being elegant and quiet; from Quadraat I learned that being different is not a mistake, but probably a gift, nay, an obligation; from Fairfield, Electra, Californian, Deepdene, Poliphilus and Manuscript (that was some night…) I've learned over and over again that, sometimes, it's hard to distinguish between our quirks and ourselves, and that we should be proud of them as of us, that it's okay to be strange and freaky and inconsistent; from Auto I learned that you don't need to be extravagant to be absolutely beautiful; from Mommie (that beautiful oddball) I learned quite the opposite (which is also true), and also that what allows us to value the good things are these moments when we can compare the thick and the thin, side by side, and that this is a wonderful gift; from Requiem I learned that life can still be great while conforming to common standards; with Columbus I learned that there's classical beauty and elegance to be found also in the stoutish (physically and spiritually, if that makes any sense at all, to you); with Centaur I learned that there's no such thing as "old"; with Legacy I learned that there's no such thing as "new"; with Futura I learned that there may be; …

I could go on and on… and on. I've had many friends, lovers and acquaintances of all colours and backgrounds. But for all that I got and for all that I've learned, lived and seen, it's all still nothing when compared to the sight, the touch, the voice, the character and the spirit of you.

These supermodels are gorgeous, but they mean nothing to me. These Rialtos and Poeticas and Trinités and even Requiems. Those common Helveticas and Comics Sans are good, wholesome company for a while, but they have no substance. Sure, Cronos is quite warm and charming, but there's no brave heart there. There's something wonderful in all of them, that's for sure; there's something wonderful in every one of us… but they're still not you. And none of them – nor even any combination of even all of them – will ever complete me like I know you can.

I'm so sorry for taking so long to realize this… but I know, I just know that there may still be hope for me… for us… and it's quite a coincidence that I've come to understand all this in this particular day, the fourteenth of February… so… will you make this Valentine's Day this poor sap's most incredible and unforgettable day ever in his amazingly lucky yet still unfulfilled life? You know I'm not perfect… and neither are you (although you've had me fooled for quite some time, now)… and I have nothing to offer… but I love you deeply, more than anything else in this universe, and I know that I make you happy… that's got to mean something. Will you try this with me…?

Ruben

P. S.: You told me you don't even like Mister K (by the way, his braces seem a bit out of place, don't they?), and he's told me that he doesn't feel much for you either, that your relationship is hanging by a hair – yet another one of my most unbelievable strokes of luck –, so forget him. Dump him and come make the world a more beautiful place with me…

22 |Ruben David Marques(Leiria, Portugal) loves FF Seria

February 12th

23 |John-Paul Knox(Winnipeg, MB, Canada) still loves FF Quadraat

24 |Ruben David Marques(Leiria, Portugal) loves FF Mister K

25 |Jürgen Sanides(Lahti, Finland) still loves Amalia

26 |Andrew Boardman(Winnipeg, MB, Canada ) loves FF Meta Serif

February 13th

27 |Kyle Tieman-Strauss(New York, NY, USA) loves FF Jackie

28 |Kyle Tieman-Straussstill loves FF Jackie

You appear wide-eyed, but I know you're not;

They say you're broken, but you seem to work;

You are not robust, you stand your ground;

I'd appreciate your sticking around

Or they'll all say that I'm a dork.

I know I look good when I'm with you,

But that's just not what it's all about;

This is about a love so strong

With full resistance to tracking long

And spaces filled with loving grout.

In lonely nights when I can't dream

Of a life of sinning with you, my dear,

I'll be sincere, I "squoosh" Arial,

I pretend I'm stroking Chaparral,

But I still have faith that you'll be here.

With your wide g you'll make me flush,

It's just the way your shapes are lush

That, while "robust", are oh!, so fine

When, like Cash, you "walk the line".

Your "italic" s ain't ghetto booty;

It's gettin' fruity, exquisite diamond beauty;

You might be broken, but I'm just swept,

Just one look and I just wept.

There's just no point in faking this,

I like your at, you're quite a bliss;

Your tilde sharp, with strength your own…

Come, I'm sure to make you moan.

29 |Ruben David Marques(Leiria, Portugal) loves FF Quadraat

30 |Jesse Anderson(Kingston, Ontario, Canada) loves FF DIN

31 |Chris Carpenter(Clane, Ireland) loves FF Meta

32 |Krishna Iyer(Thane East, India) still loves FF Good

33 |Krishna Iyer(Thane East, India) still loves FF Good

34 |William Boletta(Tokyo, Japan) still loves FF Alega

Sure, Versa has its charms

And okay, its Sans is nifty.

But if what you want

is expressed *love* for a font?

Look, I'm just trying to get this thread to reach fifty.

35 |Craig Eliason(Saint Paul, MN, USA) loves Versa

36 |Matthew Dickin(Herts, UK) loves FF Mister K

37 |Jürgen Sanides(Lahti, Finland) loves Amalia

38 |Leena Pohjansalo(Lahti, Finland) loves FF Clan

39 |Nina Stoessinger(Basel, Switzerland) loves FF Mister K

40 |Philipp Antoni(Schrems, Austria) loves FF Meta Serif

February 14th

41 |Nina Stoessinger(Basel, Switzerland) loves FF Legato

42 |Leena Pohjansalo(Lahti, Finland) loves FF Bau

43 |Johanna Dietrich(Braunschweig, Germany) loves Parry

A graphic designer from Ghent

Loved Hydra to such an extent

That he'd try any ruse

To get hold of his muse

But he wasn't allowed to contend.

Bummer… :/

44 |Yves Peters(Ghent, Belgium) loves FF Hydra

I may not have the capacity to make enchanting Versas, nor do I have the skill to sing like a nightingale; but with my desire, may you be charmed.

Will you be my Valentype?

45 |Josef Go-Oco(Quezon City, Philippines)

Oh, Chambers, let me free you from your dungeon, and let us be fertile and have text all night long!

46 |Josef Go-Oco(Quezon City, Philippines) loves FF Chambers

47 |Pauline Nunez(Paris, France) loves FF Balance

48 |Pauline Nunez(Paris, France) still loves FF Balance

49 |Nina Stoessinger(Basel, Switzerland) loves FF Legato

You set your own standard without pride.

You are idea, not style.

You will be new – always.

You are beautiful beyond vision.

I'd love to be tied together with you, Legato – forever.

50 |Jan Erdmann(Frankfurt, Germany) loves FF Legato

February 15th

She doesn't LOVE you, that's for sure;

But still, she's all alone.

She studies architecture and

She has no student loan.

But her work is close to fontless

Because she can't afford

To spend the little money

That her boss can afford.

I think you two will hit it off

To such a huge extent

That I promise that designer

That seems to be from Ghent;

If he accepts this Valentype

In someone else's name

I'll arrange for you and her to meet

And together you shall reach fame.

I showed her what you look like,

She said she'd give it a shot;

So won't you be her Valentine

And forget the "loves me not"?

51 |Clara Isabel Fernandes Pereira(Lisboa, Portugal) loves FF Scala Sans

52 |Henri Liriani(Myrtle Beach, SC, USA) loves FF Netto

53 |Daryl Prondoso(Sydney, Australia) loves FF Meta Serif

54 |Michael J. Young(Toronto, Canada) loves FF Absara

55 |David Ross(Massachusetts, USA) loves FF Zapata

56 |Luke Wilhelmi(Sandy, OR, USA) loves FF Tisa

57 |Luke Wilhelmi(Sandy, OR, USA) still loves FF Tisa

58 |Luke Wilhelmi(Sandy, OR, USA) still loves FF Tisa

Header image:Women of Color by Jane ·Typeface:FF Chambers