As discussed in our most recent newsletter, FontShop is big on type in print. We love the stuff — perhaps unhealthily so. Even still, we’re spreading the love in the form of free swag! And all you’ve gotta do is sign up for a free account at FontShop.com. We’ll take you through the proper account settings, but first, the goodies:

Font 007 is the newest issue of our Font magazine. This issue focuses on generative art, borne from rigid systems and the chaos that naturally counterbalances them. Of course, Font 007 also shows off a slew of brand new type from top notch foundries. We’ve even used a couple varieties of paper in this issue to give you an even better feel of what it’ll look like in its proper inky goodness. You can preview the whole mag, as well as peep the PDF back issues, here.

Next up is FontBooklet No. 2. As you can see in the first issue, this series shows a selection of the best text typefaces, with samples of headlines and blocks of text, in a variety of weights and styles, point sizes and leading. FontBooklet No. 2 is at the printers as I type, and will be arriving in your mail slots in just a few weeks.

If you’ve not yet signed up for an account at FontShop, head over to the Login page and register as a new customer. When registering, make sure you use your shipping address, and also make sure to check the subscription boxes: “Send me future issues of Font magazine for free” to receive Font 007, and “Sign me up for font catalogs” to receive FontBooklet No. 2. After hitting Submit, check your inbox for our Account Verification email — once you’ve clicked the activation link in that email, you’ll be all set to receive the goods. (If you don’t see an email from us, even in your Junk or Spam folders, let us know.)

A quick note: Even if you receive our email newsletters, it’s possible that you do not yet have an account with us. Feel free to contact us and we’ll gladly check for you.

If you already have an account, make sure that your address and subscription settings are in order. To do so, sign in to your account and then go to My Account.

To confirm your shipping address, click on ”View or change my account information” and click the Edit link if you need to adjust your shipping address.

To check your subscription settings, click on ”Manage all my subscriptions”, tick the check boxes to opt in, hit Save, and you’re ready for delivery.

Good morning, class. Today we’re going to be discussing typography, a subject that I’m sure you are all familiar with. Please take out your books and turn to the chapter on Education. There are two parts to this chapter: one for Students, and one for Educators. You’ll find that there are a whole bunch of great resources, links, and information that will help prepare you for the semester.

Oh, and FontShop U is currently offering a 10% discount on all of your class materials! Simply create an account with your .edu email address, and use the promo code EDUCATE10 during checkout. For you students who don’t use an .edu address, let us know and we’ll enable your account to receive the discount.

There will be a quiz at the end of class, so be sure to study up, get the materials you need, and we’re sure you’ll do fine!

We’ve all been there. After meticulously filling out all the required information in a web form, we hit submit, only to be taken back to the beginning with an annoying “Complete required fields” or “Must be X characters long” message. Now we’ve got to scan the form to find the offending field. Frustrating!

We recognize this nuisance of the web and, in the ongoing effort to enhance your FontShop.com experience, we recently added new intelligence to our forms. As you enter data, it’s important to know as quickly and concisely as possible if something goes wrong (or right). FontShop.com used to message users with a large bar across the top of the page or, in some cases, a pop up window.

To prevent you from discovering these mistakes after the fact with this intrusive messaging system, we’ve redesigned messages to be more dynamic and clear. Now, most user input will validate as you enter it and errors appear in close proximity to where you type, clearly indicating what is required and delivering a satisfying checkmark of approval when things are golden.

Our new form validation will let you know if you’ve neglected something in the checkout process before you hit that Confirm button.

Once your input meets the requirements of a field, a supportive checkmark tells you it’s ok to move on.

You may have already noticed this improvement while registering a new account, logging in, or checking out. But if you haven’t, even better. Just like good book typography, the goal of successful user interface design is to communicate clearly without interrupting your flow.

Things look a little different around here. This space was once occupied by the FontFeed, our journal on all things typographic. Well, this week we gave that thing the boot. Nothing personal — the little blog was all grown up and deserved its own home where it could stretch out with new authors and more frequent content.

On Inside FontShop.com we’ll broadcast important developments, from new products to new website features — anything that effects the way you sample and buy typefaces at FontShop.com. We have made significant improvements to the site over the last few months that help things go more swimmingly. Some of these changes will go unsaid — we’ll quietly let you benefit from the increased usability and crystal goblet clarity — but others are worth mentioning. Grab the RSS feed or subscribe via email to keep up with what’s new at FontShop.com.