fonts

Our class discussion on Friday about the documentary 'Helvetica' put us on a tangent about fonts and their innate attributes. I agree that the font Helvetica has a neutral undertone that it relies more on the content behind the font rather than the font type itself. However, the same can be argued or denied about other fonts as well. For example, in the attachment file, I have uploaded a random story typed in four different font types. The idea is that when reading the exact same story in different fonts you [the reader] create a distinctive setting for the story without really knowing the facts. I assume this is the case because of the association that drawn between the content of the text and the font itself. In reference to the attached file, example #1 gives the reader the impression that the war is set during the middle ages. Example #2, is assumed to be futuristic, a sort of star wars epic. Example #3 alludes to a sort of Persian or Middle Eastern war. Finally, example #4 could be assumed to be a made up story by some random person for a homework assignment. These four fonts have their own unique characteristics and personalities.  read more »

So a lot of the Helvetica documentary was talking about what type of message the font got across. Whether that message was corporate, stylish, or bland, the people in the documentary agreed that what font something is written in has an affect (however large or small) on its overall message. And being the East Asian Languages and Literature major that I am, I immdiately thought of Asian calligraphy. Since we learned how to add pictures into blog posts this week, let's see if I can manage.
example: Piece of work by the Chinese poet Mifu, image from Wikipedia.  read more »

It's been very interesting to see people's reactions to the documentary Helvetica (and even just the font itself). I'm a graphic designer for both print and online, so the film really resonated with me. I have always loved fonts and typography, and it was so great to see a documentary featuring people who think about the same things I do. Actually, it made me feel a little better about myself because I'm not nearly as obsessive about everything as most of the people being interviewed. But, I'm still a budding designer, so maybe that's me in the future... interesting.

Anyway, it's weird for me to see people talking about typography and fonts like they "don't get it" ... "it's just a font," "it's boring," "it doesn't mean anything," and then transitioning into thoughts like, "I've never thought about it that way before," etc.  read more »

My own thoughts (read as: biases) toward Helvetica have previously (meaning: before watching the documentary) been that it was just that annoying font that everyone has on their computers. Most of my dislike for it was entirely based on the fact that there were a number of other fonts I could use that would make an essay seem much longer. Seven pages in Helvetica? How about eight and a half in 'Geneva'! Now, of course, I can only bring myself to print things out in Times New Roman. Printed at 12-point font, Helvetica and Geneva just look giant and cartoonish; Times New Roman seems a little bit less like 'cheating'.  read more »