Double Acts in Pop: An Incomplete Survey is the first comprehensive type specimen from Commercial Type in nearly a decade, presenting their entire library in a compact and highly readable paperback format.

Keen experimenters with both the form and content of type specimens, Commercial Type cofounders Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz found that the often nonsensical texts in specimens were a missed opportunity. This opinion has inspired their ongoing series of type specimens that are designed to be as engaging to read as they are to look at.

Double Acts in Pop is their latest effort in this vein. Barnes and Schwartz invited Molly Lambert, an LA-based journalist and former MTV podcaster who has written for Pitchfork, to tease apart the dynamics of some of the most iconic pop duos to understand what made these celebrated double acts flourish or flop.

Ardent fans of pop music, Barnes and Schwartz reflect on their twenty-year creative partnership in their foreword to Double Acts in Pop and discuss how they have drawn inspiration from bands and record labels to shape Commercial Type.

New York-based designer Chris Wu had free rein on the design, giving each spread its own layout and showcasing the entire Commercial Type library. The specimen is a buoyant fusion of content and form: irreverent, opinionated, and exhilarating.

Edited by Caren Litherland

Designed by Chris Wu (Wkshps)

Published by Commercial Type, 2024

Softcover, 272 pages, b&w, 4.25 × 7 inches

ISBN: 979-8-21-851955-1