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Do typefaces really matter?
July 21st, 2010 |
Posted by Unknown in Print Design |
6 comments
This BBC News article about typefaces caught my eye, not only because I have a passion for typography, but also because it?s a subject which is rarely brought to the general public?s attention. As a discipline, typography involves more than simply choosing a font for a particular purpose; amongst other things it also requires an appreciation for the subtleties of the art of typeface design, a knowledge of the history of alphabets and letterforms, and perhaps most importantly a functional understanding of legibility and readability. But these things don?t consciously concern most people. Type is there to do a job, and when done well, it should be ?invisible?. Counter-intuitively, it?s for this very reason that typefaces really do matter. It?s true that there are snobs who needlessly complain about the proliferation of fonts like ?Comic Sans? and ?Papyrus?, blaming it on the wide availability of standard fonts within DTP software on affordable desktop PCs; but frivolous elitism should not be allowed to cloud the issue. For example, using the wrong typeface for a corporate document is almost as disastrous as using the wrong company logo. Typefaces should be specified as part of any good brand identity guidelines because, as well as facilitating the readability of text, they contribute to the style, tone and personality of your communications. Underestimate the power of typefaces at your peril! |
Comments
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Posted by Ryo |
Posted on June 14th 2012, 15:32:51
This is a really nice piece of work, dinsctitive and instantly recognisable. Good to see the pencil sketches as well.I agree with your comments about logo design in general. I always try to draw a custom font if I can (even if sometimes I make a loss on it). Although I disagree about type designers being at the top end of graphic design they are just two different skills under a big umbrella. I’m a very good type designer but a reasonable graphic designer. And a lot of my type design friends never really got into graphic design at all.You should keep going with your type designs, work the best ones up into full fonts and then use them in your work perhaps even try to get them released on one of the independent font sellers.
Posted by Adriaan van Marle |
Posted on July 21st 2010, 13:04:17
Precisely; it?s all about appropriate application, so you can?t just rule out a typeface because you don?t happen to like it.
Granted, it usually requires a designer/typographer who has the necessary skills to bring the best out of any typeface; but then that applies to all typefaces.
There?s also an inverted snobbery whereby designers go out of their way to prove that typefaces which are accepted as classics are in fact poorly designed; Helvetica and Gill Sans are probably the most common victims of this.
Posted by Jon Strube |
Posted on July 21st 2010, 12:04:55
Its true that there are purists who frown upon the use of such standard fonts, such as Comic-sans and although I would agree with the "elitists" surely everything depends on the subject and format as to the application of the typography.
Its true that you would never even consider such a font for the production of corporate literature but what about the design of a children?s book?
Over the years I have seen the most unlikely standard type faces being used that work extremely well.
