David Bowie was so inspired by @_IanHands’ masterclass on Nice Type, he returned from the grave to rewrite his 1969 anthem Starman. Sing along if you hate Helvetica…

Didn’t know what font to use, the lights were low

I tuned in to Ian’s Nice Type show

Some cat was laying down MD Nichrome

“Lotta style” he said

Then bad fonts like Minimal seemed to invade

Came back like Arial in a braindead phase

That weren’t no Adobe font, that was Dafont.com

There’s a nice font waiting in the sky,

We’d like to use Oh No fonts

But their prices blow our minds

There’s a nice font waiting in the sky,

He’s told us no Helvetica

‘Cause he knows cliche’s a crime

He told us

Font Squirrel’s curated

Valvetine’s curated

Underware’s got examples

Ian made a font and called it Nincompoop

But the tech he used to make it’s been abused

Look at the leading, kerning and spacing too

The crossbars are challenged, Ian moans

Let orphans and widows travel to new homes

In a Hertz van designed by one who knows

There’s bad typography hurting our eyes

‘Beckenham Oddity’ poster would make Bowie cry

Don’t need spaces when your album cover has style

There’s a nice font waiting in the sky

But not all fonts are equal 

And some free ones make Ian cry

He told us

Font Fabrics has nice type

Lost Type has nice type

Behance take ages but it’s nice

DaFont lurking on the web

“The TK Maxx of fonts,” Hands says

Type made in foundries is higher res

There’s a nice font waiting in the sky

He’s told us where to find them

‘Cause he knows it’s worth our time

He told us

Type communicates it

Let the type improve it

Let the typeface choose you

Style

Vile

@rosepower