Smashing Magazine

Sexy, Bold And Experimental Typography

• By Vitaly Friedman
• May 12th, 2008
• InspirationShowcasesTypography
• 102 Comments

Sometimes typography is all you need to communicate your ideas effectively. Graphics can support the type or type can support the graphics, but to deliver the message precisely, you need to make sure your type is expressive enough, your design is distinctive enough and the composition is strong enough. The results are sometimes crazy, sometimes artsy, sometimes beautiful, but often just different from things we’re used to. Thus designers explore new horizons and we explore new viewing perspectives which is what inspiration is all about.

This post showcases over 70 examples of sexy, bold and experimental typography. Some examples are typographic posters, some are typographic illustrations and some are just sketches with type. In any case, you will hopefully find some inspiration for your future works.

Feel free to check out our previous typography-related posts:

• Breathtaking Typographic Posters¹ with over 50 typographic posters designed by artists across the globe. We feature Oriental, Iranian, Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese and Russian typographic posters as well as a number of further references,
• Typography In Motion² presents some excellent examples of typography embedded into movies and videos,
• The Showcase of BIG Typography³ with over 35 examples of big, “loud” and yet elegant typography in web design.

So what can be achieved out of simple letters and symbols? Please be patient, some screenshots are huge.

Sweet and Cute Type Link

Sweet Sixteen⁴
Typography with a sweet taste of sugar. A nice composition, an excellent execution. Sometimes not that much is needed to make the type look tasty. The typeface used below is Cutiful.

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Dive Deep⁶
Hand lettering by Ray Fenwick, cutting out by Dan Mogford.

⁷

Scarlett⁸
An illustration created by Nik Ainley. Notice how well every single letter (e.g. “l” and “s”) fits in the composition.

⁹

Newstand Cover for Computer Arts issue 139¹⁰
Alejandro Paul’s Affair typography from Argentina: typography dominates in the composition, the swirly headline is just breathtaking.

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17.06.2007¹²
Created by Michael van Laar using Freebooter Script.

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Aphrodisiac Dessert¹⁴
Dessert type for a dessert announcement.

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FitzGerald Album (Extended Play)¹⁶
Nothing can beat old-style-typography. Nothing.

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Rally¹⁸
Apparently, typography can be used for a number of purposes. Typographical Motorsports: simple yet interesting.

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Tina Colada²⁰
It is worth a discussion if “overlettering” actually helps to deliver a message, but the type looks nicely. And the choice of colors is impressive.

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More ink is coming²²
Impressive lettering by Ale Paul.

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cim_organic²⁴
Sunny, flourish motif for a fresh typographic composition. Designed by Ryan Katrina²⁵.

²⁶

Empire²⁷
The attention to detail is remarkable. Designed by Theo Aartsma.

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Eichholtz²⁹

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Arabic Typography³¹

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Elegant and Sexy Type Link

Climate Change ‘Co2’ ideas³³
Simple idea which uses only the power of typography. Impressive posters do not need to be colorful.

³⁴

Αnapodi Klosti Poster³⁵
Poster for a experimental performance installation. The main lettering is based on PF Beau Sans. Unusual: thin font transform into a thin thread.

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qp logo³⁷
In this logo “q” and “p” belong together. Nice concept, nice colors.

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Tony Rohr³⁹
Similar idea as in the previous one, but a different execution.

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JG3!⁴¹
Slick and sexy, colorful and strong. Notice how beautifully both letters intersect in the middle of the image.

⁴²

CMYK Lovers⁴³
Well, that’s A LOT of letters. Vibrant colors meet 3D-typography. Available as a desktop wallpaper. Designed by Guilherme Marconi.

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Poster in the city of Amsterdam⁴⁵
Dutch graphic design at its best. Interesting typographic construction which captures attention by its structure and attracts by its vibrant colors.

⁴⁶

Requiem⁴⁷
Strong, dirty and grungy typography is also possible. Craig Shields manages to get impressive results combining grunge and type.

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BBB⁴⁹
Designed by Stefan Lucut. The loog looks very modern and powerful, however, at the first glance it is not clear what the red thread stands for. Nevertheless, very original composition.

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Strong and Bold Type Link

Typography⁵¹
Nicolas Alexander combines typography and retro. Notice how elegant the line starting in the letter “G” goes through “R”.

⁵²

2008 Calendar
Expressing feelings via colors and type. A very clean and beautiful design by Jonathan Davies.

Bckyrdflw Promo⁵³
Well, this one is hard to overlook. Andrew Dyjak’s poster can be read without vocals vowels. Lovely colors, cropping and, of course, type.

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Statistics Table⁵⁵
Strong, bold and extremely expressive. And it is just a table!

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The Well of the Saints A1 poster⁵⁷
A1 Graphic poster produced by John McDermott. Simple, strong and sexy. Sometimes two colors and a bold typeface are enough.

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Breaks logo⁵⁹
A distinctive treatmeant of letters which perfectly fits to the message a poster wants to convey. Designed by Zoltan Szalay.

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Nik Ainley⁶¹
Nik Ainley strikes again. Lovely typographic work where letters don’t just convey the message, but are also functional: their form suggests the second message which is transported with the artwork.

⁶²

Benno Wissing⁶³
Dutch Typography by Benno Wissing. It looks very modern, but it was created in 1963.

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Film Poster⁶⁵
Colorful and distinctive. Each color stands for a different movie which participated in the festival.

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Experiments with type Link

A2⁶⁷

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Crumpler – ABC⁶⁹

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American Graphic Design⁷¹

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The Make Lounge⁷³

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Moctezuma: James Brown⁷⁵

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Dog Type⁷⁷
Sometimes typography is used to deliver a message in a quite, well, unusual way.

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Lead Us Not Into The Future⁷⁹

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»R« letter sketches⁸¹

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Blik x Drez⁸³

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A Stitch Up – Corktown Tavern – Base⁸⁵

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Cubix Rube⁸⁷

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supervision⁸⁹

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Palawa Poster⁹¹

⁹²

seis [cartel]⁹³

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Wishes⁹⁵
Unusual type treatment which makes the wishes quite distinctive from the “usual” crowd.

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Rasterfeld Event Poster⁹⁷

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Personal Geocode⁹⁹

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Cubix Rube Soft¹⁰¹

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font_code¹⁰³

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Experimenting with s¹⁰⁵

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accept | adapt | evolve¹⁰⁷

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fac04_flyer_a¹⁰⁹

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Doblette – Taller Tipografia (uy)¹¹¹

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Bold type¹¹³
These letters are really hard to read. Is it the purpose of typography? Well, it’s definitely an experiment. Cute, fat and bold type in use.

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Extraverage x The KDU¹¹⁵
Pattern is used to create letters.

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Visual Lexicon v 2.1 Metamorphosis¹¹⁷

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Type Area¹¹⁹

¹²⁰

Wim Crouwel: New Alphabet book¹²¹

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Nederlandse Postzegels 1971¹²³

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Askul¹²⁵

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Experimental Jetset: SMCS Invitations¹²⁷

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Triple O’s¹²⁹
Sometimes type doesn’t look like type at all.

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TypeNeu¹³¹

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88. Geometric Type¹³³
This type is quite freaky. Dutch Graphic Design.

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89. YOLO¹³⁵
A (really) striking poster designed by Martin Fewell from Manchester, UK.

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100. Best time of my life¹³⁷
Disturbing yet powerful. This poster delivers the message effectively.

¹³⁸

Recycle¹³⁹
Usually typography is used as a foundation for symbols. In this artwork it is the other way around. The yellow circle in the middle of the composition may be too striking, but it may be the designer’s intention. Designed by Satoboy.

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Chaumont, festival international de l’affiche, version longue – Etienne Mineur archives¹⁴¹

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Last Click Link

Colours Clock¹⁴³
Designed with the sole intention of not over complicating the design. Designed by Richard Shed.

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Holding type¹⁴⁵
These flocked magnets looks pretty sweet.

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Spaghetti Dinner Poster¹⁴⁷
Beautiful integration of type into a photo.

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Matias Ignacio en crema¹⁴⁹
Ok, now it’s time for a coffee break.

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Footnotes Link

1. 1 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/25/breathtaking-typographic-posters/
2. 2 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/11/19/monday-inspiration-typography-in-motion/
3. 3 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/10/15/the-showcase-of-big-typography/
4. 4 http://thisdayintype.com/participate/displayimage.php?album=toprated&cat=0&pos=1
5. 5 http://thisdayintype.com/participate/displayimage.php?album=toprated&cat=0&pos=1
6. 6 http://flickr.com/photos/dansflickr/1335555220/
7. 7 http://flickr.com/photos/dansflickr/1335555220/
8. 8 http://www.shinybinary.com/art.html
9. 9 http://www.shinybinary.com/art.html
10. 10 http://flickr.com/photos/gizo/1052243642/in/pool-63692150@N00
11. 11 http://flickr.com/photos/gizo/1052243642/in/pool-63692150@N00
12. 12 http://thisdayintype.com/participate/displayimage.php?album=toprated&cat=0&pos=40
13. 13 http://thisdayintype.com/participate/displayimage.php?album=toprated&cat=0&pos=40
14. 14 http://ffffound.com/image/41bd7e45b98070cb220f1418c3b1b754d0a67c73
15. 15 http://ffffound.com/image/41bd7e45b98070cb220f1418c3b1b754d0a67c73
16. 16 http://flickr.com/photos/jesse757/2328753993/
17. 17 http://flickr.com/photos/jesse757/2328753993/
18. 18 http://flickr.com/photos/breidholt/2266220395/
19. 19 http://flickr.com/photos/breidholt/2266220395/
20. 20 http://flickr.com/photos/florian_schmucker/345971693/
21. 21 http://flickr.com/photos/florian_schmucker/345971693/
22. 22 http://flickr.com/photos/17849178@N00/2453172448/in/pool-typodotgraphy
23. 23 http://flickr.com/photos/17849178@N00/2453172448/in/pool-typodotgraphy
24. 24 http://flickr.com/photos/neuarmy/2353588570/in/pool-ilovetypography
25. 25 http://www.neuarmy.com/
26. 26 http://flickr.com/photos/neuarmy/2353588570/in/pool-ilovetypography
27. 27 http://depthcore.com/pack-solo/3559/
28. 28 http://depthcore.com/pack-solo/3559/
29. 29 http://flickr.com/photos/7628555@N07/2288731801/in/pool-ilovetypography
30. 30 http://flickr.com/photos/7628555@N07/2288731801/in/pool-ilovetypography
31. 31 http://flickr.com/photos/mostafakawtharani/2463202187/in/pool-41119737@N00
32. 32 http://flickr.com/photos/mostafakawtharani/2463202187/in/pool-41119737@N00
33. 33 http://flickr.com/photos/wheatfields/2108978128/
34. 34 http://flickr.com/photos/wheatfields/2108978128/
35. 35 http://flickr.com/photos/cubic_ds/2169308116/
36. 36 http://flickr.com/photos/cubic_ds/2169308116/
37. 37 http://www.flickr.com/photos/21445551@N04/2353189414/in/pool-abduzeedo
38. 38 http://www.flickr.com/photos/21445551@N04/2353189414/in/pool-abduzeedo
39. 39 http://ffffound.com/image/92a59c36f2d53f569b3463d156aa8df265299cbd?c=643069
40. 40 http://ffffound.com/image/92a59c36f2d53f569b3463d156aa8df265299cbd?c=643069
41. 41 http://www.flickr.com/photos/21445551@N04/2468732574/in/pool-aiburn
42. 42 http://www.flickr.com/photos/21445551@N04/2468732574/in/pool-aiburn
43. 43 http://abduzeedo.com/wallpaper-week-1
44. 44 http://abduzeedo.com/wallpaper-week-1
45. 45 http://flickr.com/photos/jarrgeerligs/259827708/in/set-72157594312317272/
46. 46 http://flickr.com/photos/jarrgeerligs/259827708/in/set-72157594312317272/
47. 47 http://depthcore.com/pack-solo/3871/
48. 48 http://depthcore.com/pack-solo/3871/
49. 49 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/BBB/82068
50. 50 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/BBB/82068
51. 51 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Typography/89817
52. 52 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Typography/89817
53. 53 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Bckyrdflw-Promo/88326
54. 54 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Bckyrdflw-Promo/88326
55. 55 http://ffffound.com/image/6ec393e8e5b911c91cbec67baf218e6cf06c7fa9
56. 56 http://ffffound.com/image/6ec393e8e5b911c91cbec67baf218e6cf06c7fa9
57. 57 http://flickr.com/photos/oobaties/2411311482/
58. 58 http://flickr.com/photos/oobaties/2411311482/
59. 59 http://flickr.com/photos/ins/811753720/in/pool-ilovetypography
60. 60 http://flickr.com/photos/ins/811753720/in/pool-ilovetypography
61. 61 http://www.shinybinary.com/
62. 62 http://www.shinybinary.com/
63. 63 http://flickr.com/photos/insect54/493511063/in/pool-692888@N22
64. 64 http://flickr.com/photos/insect54/493511063/in/pool-692888@N22
65. 65 http://ffffound.com/image/e2e073cdaa28aa3f32c9869a3696e3f1efe28cc1
66. 66 http://ffffound.com/image/e2e073cdaa28aa3f32c9869a3696e3f1efe28cc1
67. 67 http://www.flickr.com/photos/myfavoritething/576459709/
68. 68 http://www.flickr.com/photos/myfavoritething/576459709/
69. 69 http://www.tinanded.com.au/crumpler/crumpler-abc-letters/#more-257
70. 70 http://www.tinanded.com.au/crumpler/crumpler-abc-letters/#more-257
71. 71 http://www.flickr.com/photos/20745656@N00/413975598/
72. 72 http://www.flickr.com/photos/20745656@N00/413975598/
73. 73 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/The-Make-Lounge/80086
74. 74 http://www.behance.net/Gallery/The-Make-Lounge/80086
75. 75 http://blog.iso50.com/?p=1511
76. 76 http://blog.iso50.com/?p=1511
77. 77 http://ffffound.com/image/3f1b42a970065da6c8a9df32af7b8949b8e3d08c
78. 78 http://ffffound.com/image/3f1b42a970065da6c8a9df32af7b8949b8e3d08c
79. 79 http://depthcore.com/pack-solo/3844/
80. 80 http://depthcore.com/pack-solo/3844/
81. 81 http://flickr.com/photos/maria_stoff/1969104113/in/pool-typodotgraphy
82. 82 http://flickr.com/photos/maria_stoff/1969104113/in/pool-typodotgraphy
83. 83 http://flickr.com/photos/extraverage/1284263074/
84. 84 http://flickr.com/photos/extraverage/1284263074/
85. 85 http://flickr.com/photos/thisandagain/1041901938/
86. 86 http://flickr.com/photos/thisandagain/1041901938/
87. 87 http://flickr.com/photos/ciphah/2298650861/
88. 88 http://flickr.com/photos/ciphah/2298650861/
89. 89 http://www.pnmnl.com/files/sooper.html
90. 90 http://www.pnmnl.com/files/sooper.html
91. 91 http://flickr.com/photos/javaloca/2220435550/
92. 92 http://flickr.com/photos/javaloca/2220435550/
93. 93 http://flickr.com/photos/chicharronkonpelos/2300591946/in/pool-typographyfriday
94. 94 http://flickr.com/photos/chicharronkonpelos/2300591946/in/pool-typographyfriday
95. 95 http://ffffound.com/image/04d11d818d0222be1a3fdaa7b29d080945c716cc
96. 96 http://ffffound.com/image/04d11d818d0222be1a3fdaa7b29d080945c716cc
97. 97 http://flickr.com/photos/networkosaka/2375665566/in/pool-typodesigns
98. 98 http://flickr.com/photos/networkosaka/2375665566/in/pool-typodesigns
99. 99 http://flickr.com/photos/mylifesupport/2324076713/in/pool-41119737@N00
100. 100 http://flickr.com/photos/mylifesupport/2324076713/in/pool-41119737@N00
101. 101 http://flickr.com/photos/ciphah/2299448044/in/pool-348309@N25
102. 102 http://flickr.com/photos/ciphah/2299448044/in/pool-348309@N25
103. 103 http://flickr.com/photos/capoluiz/2360333577/in/pool-tipografiabrasil
104. 104 http://flickr.com/photos/capoluiz/2360333577/in/pool-tipografiabrasil
105. 105 http://flickr.com/photos/13606271@N06/2284446898/
106. 106 http://flickr.com/photos/13606271@N06/2284446898/
107. 107 http://flickr.com/photos/gabere/2297585842/in/pool-ilovetypography
108. 108 http://flickr.com/photos/gabere/2297585842/in/pool-ilovetypography
109. 109 http://flickr.com/photos/ins/780393730/in/pool-ilovetypography
110. 110 http://flickr.com/photos/ins/780393730/in/pool-ilovetypography
111. 111 http://www.flickr.com/photos/damiaosantana/296439916/
112. 112 http://www.flickr.com/photos/damiaosantana/296439916/
113. 113 http://www.flickr.com/photos/fca_/1130850503/
114. 114 http://www.flickr.com/photos/fca_/1130850503/
115. 115 http://www.flickr.com/photos/extraverage/1606981040/
116. 116 http://www.flickr.com/photos/extraverage/1606981040/
117. 117 http://www.flickr.com/photos/cubic_ds/2401071056/in/pool-_typography
118. 118 http://www.flickr.com/photos/cubic_ds/2401071056/in/pool-_typography
119. 119 http://www.behance.net/gallery/Type-Area/63148
120. 120 http://www.behance.net/gallery/Type-Area/63148
121. 121 http://flickr.com/photos/insect54/485104752/in/pool-692888@N22
122. 122 http://flickr.com/photos/insect54/485104752/in/pool-692888@N22
123. 123 http://flickr.com/photos/insect54/2257250913/in/pool-692888@N22
124. 124 http://flickr.com/photos/insect54/2257250913/in/pool-692888@N22
125. 125 http://dieline.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/askul.html#more
126. 126 http://dieline.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/askul.html#more
127. 127 http://www.experimentaljetset.nl/archive/SMCS_2020Vision.html
128. 128 http://www.experimentaljetset.nl/archive/SMCS_2020Vision.html
129. 129 http://ffffound.com/image/b684808020eabec913d946a46f94fdd8a044bded
130. 130 http://ffffound.com/image/b684808020eabec913d946a46f94fdd8a044bded
131. 131 http://ffffound.com/image/b7a30b54f659f7ba9a9558f50b50dffbdbbfd94a?c=531198
132. 132 http://ffffound.com/image/b7a30b54f659f7ba9a9558f50b50dffbdbbfd94a?c=531198
133. 133 http://ffffound.com/image/489876335325d7dd1de12824bb11145053bdd324?c=531113
134. 134 http://ffffound.com/image/489876335325d7dd1de12824bb11145053bdd324?c=531113
135. 135 http://ffffound.com/image/962b475cab8e2598a42980e6eb150618cab820bb?c=531082
136. 136 http://ffffound.com/image/962b475cab8e2598a42980e6eb150618cab820bb?c=531082
137. 137 http://ffffound.com/image/537e6fa4bb73e02a701e75fa31bec3116a6074c5
138. 138 http://ffffound.com/image/537e6fa4bb73e02a701e75fa31bec3116a6074c5
139. 139 http://flickr.com/photos/satoboy/2475757520/in/pool-colorfulgraphics
140. 140 http://flickr.com/photos/satoboy/2475757520/in/pool-colorfulgraphics
141. 141 http://www.my-os.net/blog/index.php?2006/05/16/402-chaumont-festival-international-de-l-affiche-version-2
142. 142 http://www.my-os.net/blog/index.php?2006/05/16/402-chaumont-festival-international-de-l-affiche-version-2
143. 143 http://www.richardshed.com/product/colours/
144. 144 http://www.richardshed.com/product/colours/
145. 145 http://flickr.com/photos/marinachaccur/2176133223/in/pool-typodotgraphy
146. 146 http://flickr.com/photos/marinachaccur/2176133223/in/pool-typodotgraphy
147. 147 http://www.flickr.com/photos/greysheepduo/2472253642/
148. 148 http://www.flickr.com/photos/greysheepduo/2472253642/
149. 149 http://www.flickr.com/photos/clau_gatik/2274907127/in/pool-latinotype
150. 150 http://www.flickr.com/photos/clau_gatik/2274907127/in/pool-latinotype

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