Dan Wagstaff

@danwagstaff
192 Followers
244 Following
843 Posts
Book and design stuff at The Casual Optimist. Dad. Dog person. Slow runner. Field hockey player. Coffee drinker. Working in the book trade. Occasional soccer chat. He / him.
Websitehttp://www.casualoptimist.com
LocationToronto, ON
Book Covers of Note, March 2026

Hey. It’s almost spring. Hang in there! I took a long-planned week off in March, so this month’s post was somewhat cobbled together around that trip and somehow we’ve ended up wit…

The Casual Optimist
Courtesy of Cambridge University, high-res photos of the original punches used by 18th-century printer John Baskerville to make his eponymous typeface. https://kottke.org/26/03/the-baskerville-punches
The Baskerville Punches

John Baskerville was an influential 18th-century printer and type designer; you’ve probably used (or at least heard of) the Baskerville typeface. Ca

kottke.org

The new book 'Lettres Décoratives: A Century of French Sign Painters’ Alphabets' celebrates the vivacity and timelessness of French sign painting from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/lettres-decoratives-book-french-sign-painting/

#art #design #books

It's fascinating to see which book covers are chosen by SPINE and LitHub in their round-ups each month. Sometimes there's significant overlap between their lists and mine, but this month we only chose a few of the same covers. I was surprised that Brawler by Lauren Groff, designed by Jaya Miceli and featuring art by Vladimir Dunjic, was not included in the others' posts. I assumed it would be the popular choice! It’s a beautiful cover.

https://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2026/02/26/book-covers-of-note-february-2026/

#bookcovers #design #books

Book Covers of Note, February 2026

Hey. I hope you’re keeping safe and well, especially my friends and colleagues in snowy NYC. Thanks to everyone who helped with images and design credits this month — it’s been a …

The Casual Optimist

This month’s look at new and recent book covers is up on the blog:

https://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2026/02/26/book-covers-of-note-february-2026/

#design #bookcovers #books

Book Covers of Note, February 2026

Hey. I hope you’re keeping safe and well, especially my friends and colleagues in snowy NYC. Thanks to everyone who helped with images and design credits this month — it’s been a …

The Casual Optimist

This month’s look at new and recent book covers is up on the blog:

https://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2026/02/26/book-covers-of-note-february-2026/

#design #bookcovers #books

Book Covers of Note, February 2026

Hey. I hope you’re keeping safe and well, especially my friends and colleagues in snowy NYC. Thanks to everyone who helped with images and design credits this month — it’s been a …

The Casual Optimist
Introducing Edisonplein, a display typeface inspired by the lettering at the entrance of the former “Gemeenteschool J. voor GLO” a Dutch public school located at Edisonplein 20–46 in Schiedam, the Netherlands. https://www.brutaltypes.com/fonts/edisonplein

The only Brontë commentary I need...

#comics #illustration #movies