FONT A DAY- STENCIL
Okay so apparently talking about a font everyday is a bit more difficult then I thought. Especially when your hanging out with friends till the early hours of the morning and end up sleeping your day away just to do it all over.
BUT NO MORE EXCUSES! Time to get up and continue =)
Stencil
Designed in 1937 by R.Hunter Middleton/ Gerry Powell
Category- Sans Serif
Okay so you’ve probably seen stencil used all over the place. To represent something powerful, factory boxes and possibly graffiti.
For some odd reason even thought I believe the Stencil font may be played out to a certain extent. Seeing the word ARMY in stencil just feels right.
So at first I Couldnt believe Recess used Stencil as there font. It just didnt make sense in my mind. Then I came to realise that Stencil is a typeface that many people have seen. Even non-designers could recognize it. So perhaps the idea of using Stencil was to create a certain amount of nostalgia of when we were young.
Or it could just be the fact that during Recess it was basically a battlefield with children lol.
Ahh the A team. I think Stencil works perfect here because Its a short but sweet name.
I’ve found that using Stencil for more then a few words makes it a really ugly font. I’ve learned this the hard way. Lets just say…some work must never be shown.
FONT A DAY- BASKERVILLE
Baskerville
Designed in 1757 by John Baskerville
Category- Serif
So John Baskerville was a pretty interesting guy. He made many different typefaces but the one named after him is his most memorable.
I love using Baskervill in projects such as books and magazines because its such a beautiful typeface to read. It has a sudle elegance that doesn’t make it over bearing for the reader.
John Baskerville created new types of paper and improved printing methods. So the fact that his typeface is perfect for literature can be no coincidence.
This Video is pretty interesting if you can get past the boring monotone voice of the narrator.
Id also like to add that Baskervills letter e is nice when in small text but looks just plain retarded when blown up!
!?o_O!?
FONT A DAY- BONZAI
Okay so I have no idea who created this much less when but im not even sure if “Bonzai” is its true name. Although after much googling its the most common name for this font.
so….
Bonzai
So the only reason im talking about this font is the fact that its so overused. You can usually find this used on some local chinese restaurant where they probably paid a graphic designer $1 to make a sign for them.
I mean sure its pretty iconic, once you see it you think Oriental food. Still, I dont see the reason for EVERY damn place to do it. Like Helvetica to much of a good thing is bad. However Bonzai was never that good to begin with so it just keeps getting worse.
The only proper use of it I’ve found.
FONT A DAY- BODONI
Bodoni
Designed in 1978 by Giambattista Bodoni
Category- Serif
Ahh Bodoni, I havent spent much time with you so lets see what you are made of.
I can see why Bodoni was used for this poster. Its known for its “fancy” letter type and the fact that “MAMMA MIA!” is consisted of mostly M’s and A’s they are pretty nice to look at. Besides that the exclamation is a bit eh but what can we do about it. (complain!)
Okay so I gotta say. I like bodoni a lot more when its in lowercase. The capital letters are nice and all but there are so many other typeface options out there. If you want to be different, going Bodoni in capitals is not such a great option. Like everything else here. Thats just my opinion but…im right.
FONT A DAY- FF DIN
FF DIN
Designed in 1995 by Albert-Jans Pool
Category- Sans serif
Din is a font that Ive always liked but never have gotten a chance to use.
You can see with the Jet Blue logo that FF DIN is a simple and clean font that stands out. I think thats its the Spur’s on some letters (such at the t and l in this case) having that little curve that adds a bit of unique-ness but doesn’t overwhelm the viewer by trying to be fancy.
In bold FF Din works beautifully. It has geometrics shapes all contained in its form that its easy to use when working on a balanced or symmetrical design.
Note to self: Must design something and use this typeface. Looks better the more I write about it!
FONT A DAY- ARIAL
Arial
Designed in 1982 by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders
Category- Sans Serif
So I understand many designers have hard feelings toward Arial because it shares many similar…(sometimes too similar) qualities to Helvetica but im not here to discuss that (at least not right now).
Focus people! Im here to try and find the beauty of Arial itself. Lets see what its got.
So what makes Arial unique is its imperfections. While many fonts are balanced and symmetrical Arial seems to be just a bit stretched out from the spaces within. I love things to be balanced but to me this makes Arial interesting.
This was a class project I did where I decided to make everything balanced and symmetrical. In the end it felt to symmetrical and sometimes perfection is boring. So I made the eyes a bit uneven and decided to use Arial Black because it fit my idea. The leg of the R and the Oval shape in the O is what captured my attention most. While the letter itself is straight and powerful the limbs and spaces in the font create this awkward sense of something so wrong its right.
Its not something that can be explained its something you feel when choosing your typeface. So next time you create a design why not stay away from your default font, Helvetica. Im looking at YOU reader!
FONT A DAY (FONT SHOWDOWN) - CLEARVIEW HWY VS. HIGHWAY GOTHIC
Clearview
Designed by a team (Terminal Design Inc. Foundry)
Category- Sans Serif
Highway Gothic
Designed in the 1940’s by Ted Forbes
Category- Sans Serif
Okay so im going to keep it clean in our first ever Font Showdown. First you may be asking to yourself. Out of all the fonts that can compete with each other why these two? Well maybe this vid can explain.
If you were to lazy to watch basically Highway Gothic and its variants which are all part of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA Series for short) have been used in our highway signs across America for a while now. Recently this decade however, the typeface Clearview Hwy is slowly starting to replace them.
So first off I agree with the fact that Clearview Hwy looks better while driving. While driving I’ve noticed the different fonts on signs and the much wider spaces inside the letters definitely help you see the words much clearer than before.
However! although the use of Clearview Hwy may be much more practical lets not forget one thing. Font beauty.
Okay so of course this is just my opinion but I think Clearview hwy also wins in the “good looking” department. So I may like the look of some of the letters in Highway Gothic more than in Clearview but overall my eyes like the fact that they can read one easier than the other.
Of course clarity doesn’t always mean beauty but in this case I believe that it does. Sorry Gothic Highway you have served me well but im ready to embrace the new!
FONT OF THE DAY- INTERSTATE
Interstate
Design in the years 1993-1999 by Tobias frere-Jones
Category- Sans Serif
Interstate is just one of those typefaces that you just have to like. It was made to be legible and has the qualities that make me like a font. Clean, balanced, easy to read and looks good in most weights.
While Its used for some highway signs what makes it different from the other fonts used in highways is that its refined to look better on screen and in print.
The only downside is that it shares so many characteristics of a good font that it may lack in originality.
Yes its easy to see and read but is it exciting? Ehh ill leave that up to you.
FONT OF THE DAY- COURIER
Courier
Designed in 1955 by Howard Kettler
Category- Monospaced Slab Serif.
If your like me and have no idea what Monospaced is…heres a definition.
monospaced font - A typeface in which each character is given the same width (as by a typewriter)
Usually used for screenplays and for programming I cant find much use to Courier anymore. Its not that I hate it, its just one of those fonts that you see everywhere and loses its magic. Yes you can use it in your designs to replicate a typewriter font but how original is that?
Well to be fair all typewriter fonts although not the same have common characteristics. You cant change the past either, so Courier is here to stay for a very long time.
I guess I just havent found much need to use courier in my work as of yet, but hey who knows whats the future holds! (Although it contradicts what I’ve said above) Hopefully not anymore Courier!
FONT OF THE DAY- GOTHAM
Gotham
Designed in 2000 by Tobias Frere-Jones and Jesse Ragan
Category- SansSerif
So to be fair, Today I shall talk about Gotham. During the mid section of obamas campaign this was the font that was used and oh, did it work. Not only was it eye capturing enough to lure in the nation but strong enough to have a voice of its own. It was also created by Americans so even the history behind it proved empowering.
I believe not much is needed to be said here. Its one of those fonts where you can see its effectiveness yourself.
Saturday night live has been using it for years now and it has given SNL an image thats hard to forget.
One thing I like about Gotham that stands out to me is that it looks good no matter what weight class you use it in. Extra bold. bold, medium, light, and even extra light.
It was used on a cornerstone of the world trade center.
And it looks great!
