methodologies in choosing fonts

Creative ideasworth spreadingPETE

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METHODOLOGIES IN CHOOSING FONTS11.14.12Tom Futrell

PETE

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LANGUAGE IS ARGUABLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT HUMAN CHARACTERISTIC

OVERVIEW

TYPE IS THE VISUAL MANIFESTATION OF LANGUAGE.

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WHY?

OVERVIEW

characters into WORDSwords into MESSAGES

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OVERVIEW

TYPE IS THE AUDIBLE VOICE - LINKING THE WRITER WITH THE READER

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OVERVIEW

MORE THAN MAKING

MESSAGES LEGIBLE

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FUNCTIONALCRITERIA

OVERVIEW

FORM CAN ALTER THE

INITIAL INTENTOF MESSAGE

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FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

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Everyone thinks he knows an ‘A’ when he sees it; but only the few extraordinary minds can distinguish between a good one & a bad one, or can demonstrate precisely what constitutes ‘A-ness.’ When is an A not an A? Or when is an R not an R? It is clear that for any letter there is some sort of norm. To discover this norm is obviously the first thing to be done.

13©2012 PETER MAYER

Everyone thinks he knows an ‘A’ when he sees it; but only the few extraordinary minds can distinguish between a good one & a bad one, or can demonstrate precisely what constitutes ‘A-ness.’ When is an A not an A? Or when is an R not an R? It is clear that for any letter there is some sort of norm. To discover this norm is obviously the first thing to be done.

FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

14©2012 PETER MAYER

Everyone thinks he knows an ‘A’ when he sees it; but only the few extraordinary minds can distinguish between a good one & a bad one, or can demonstrate precisely what constitutes ‘A-ness.’ When is an A not an A? Or when is an R not an R? It is clear that for any letter there is some sort of norm. To discover this norm is obviously the first thing to be done.

FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

OVERVIEW

FORM=

FUNCTION

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FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

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FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

Helvetica Condensed RetinaMore compact. More contrast.

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FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

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FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

Clearview Highway+80 ft (+1.2 seconds @ 45 mph)

FHWA Highway Gothic

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FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA

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PERSONALITY OF TYPE

TOOLS

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WHAT'S IT SAYING?PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTESTHE DESIGNER(S)TIME PERIODCOMMON USEGEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN

THE DESIGNER

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FRENCH DESIGNER XAVIER DUPŔE

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

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type = place

JOHNSTON SANS BY EDWARD JOHNSTON IN 1916

TIME PERIOD

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BODONI BY GIAMBATTISTA BODONIIN 1798

COMMON USE

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COMMON USE

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HELVETICA BY MAX ME=IEDINGER IN 1957

COMMON USE

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Corporate face 3MCorporate face AEGCorporate face Agfa GevaertCorporate face American AirlinesCorporate face BASFCorporate face BayerCorporate face BMWCorporate face BundespostCorporate face Daimler BenzCorporate face JeepCorporate face LufthansaCorporate face NestléCorporate face NixdorfCorporate face PanasonicCorporate face SiemensCorporate face Sparkasse

Cultural ReferencesTypeface SelectionStephen Coles

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CULTURAL REFERENCS

CULTURAL REFERENCES

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BABY TEETH BY MILTON GLASER IN 1968

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TEMPLATE GOTHIC BY BARRY DECK IN 1990

CULTURAL REFERENCES

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TRAJAN BY CAROL TWOMBLY IN 1989

CULTURAL REFERENCES

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CULTURAL REFERENCES

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BLACK LETTERHOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE BLACKLETTER WHICH IS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH FASCISM AND THE RIGHT WING MOVEMENTS WAS ADOPTED BY COMMERCIAL BLACK MUSIC GENRE R&B?

CULTURAL REFERENCES

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CULTURAL REFERENCES

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CULTURAL STEREOTYPES

CULTURAL STEREOTYPES

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CULTURAL STEREOTYPES

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CULTURAL STEREOTYPES

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BEST + WORST

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COMIC SANS BY VINCENT CONNARE IN 1994

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BEST + WORST

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THE BEST?WHAT EVER IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE AND COMPLEMENTS THE MESSAGE

BEST + WORST

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HOWEVER

BEST + WORST

1. Helvetica - 1957

2. Garamond - 1530

3. Frutiger - 1977

4. Bodoni - 1790

5. Futura - 1927

6. Times - 1931

7. Akzidenz Grotesk -1966

8. Officina - 1990

9. Gill Sans - 1930

10. Univers - 1954

11. Optima - 1954

12. Franklin Gothic - 1903

13. Bembo - 1496

14. Interstate - 1993

15. Thesis - 1994

16. Rockwell - 1934

17. Walbaum - 1800

18.Meta - 1991

19. Trinit - 1982

20. Din - 1926

100BESTTYPEFACES.COM

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IN CONCLUSION

FORM EQUALS

FUNCTION

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CHOOSE BASED ON

NEED

KNOW YOUR

AUDIENCE

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RESOURCES

RESOURCES

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INFORMATION GRAPHIC BY JULIE KATRINE ANDERSEN

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See: Fontstruct http://fontstruct.com

Listen: TypeRadio www.typeradio.org

Read: Designing Type by Karen Cheng http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Type-Karen-Cheng/dp/0300111509

Read: Typophile http://typophile.com

Read: Fonts in Use http://fontsinuse.com

typography.com

typotheque.com

underware.nl

typofonderie.com

RESOURCES

MORE!

MORE!

MORE!

MORE!

MORE!

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PETETHANK YOU

OVERVIEW

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CONCEPT SKETCHES BY XAVIER DUPŔE