Cocktail Shaker

Why do I like this font? It has something to do with it’s retro style and it’s informality. I think it’s an elegant font reminiscent of the 1950’s. It makes me think “Mad Men” style advertising execs. I like it’s brush like strokes and the fact it looks a little hand drawn. It’s old fashioned but kind of new looking. Part of me is thinking Bewitched and part of me is thinking groovy font designer.
I really like the capital S. The way it kind of looks upside down with the bigger circular form at the top and the cheeky little hook it has up there. I think the capital F and T are the least successful letterforms, particularly the T - it looks a bit like a back the front 7. The W is kinda cute too with it’s curly piggy tail middle bit (I think it’s the cross bar but it’s vertical not horizontal).
Where would you use this font? I guess on anything that’s kind of informal? Maybe invitations or record covers or some kind of product branding. I don’t think you would get much use out of this font in the corporate world. I could see it used in a bar or venue, maybe a 50’s inspired diner? I guess what I can learn form this font is have a bit of fun with it, loosen up daddio!

Here’s some info I found out about the font and the designer:

About this typeface:
Wrap your chilly fingers around this ultra cool swingin’ typeface! Cocktail Shaker is a swanky retro connecting script born out of 1950s lounge culture. Often referred to as the ‘googie’ look, Cocktail Shaker blends a casual loungy script with clean readability and a twist of modern Atomic Age charm.

About the designer:
With over 330 typefaces to his credit, Stuart Sandler has solidly established a reputation as the premier designer of retro display typography inspired by 1950s popular culture. In addition to winning Minneapolis’ The Show for the last three year consecutively, he also has several typeface designs distributed by ITC Fonts, Bitstream, Agfa Monotype and his own Font Diner foundry. Between each font release, Stuart is out shooting photographs of old car dashboards and scouring dusty antique shops (the ones that smell like dad’s old army uniform), and jet-setting to spots all across America where fifties design still stands proudly. With a library of vintage periodicals and a host of ephemera, he’s often found pouring over his collection to recapture the design sense and style of the past. This research proves invaluable to him as he crafts new ‘old’ typefaces.

Website
This is the designer's web site http://www.fontdiner.com/ and I think if anyone likes the retro look this is definitely worth checking out. When you put the address in the address bar a little hamburger appears on teh side (geeky but kind cool). If you click on the free silverware button there is a whole page of free fonts, some more successful than but hell for free they are great!