"Hello? No, I'm on the boat. The boat. I'm crossing the river. The river. You're breaking up..."
A man chats on his cellphone while crossing the river in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (photo from bbc.co.uk)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Can You Hear Me Now?
"Hello? No, I'm on the boat. The boat. I'm crossing the river. The river. You're breaking up..."
A man chats on his cellphone while crossing the river in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (photo from bbc.co.uk)
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Cuckoo Clocks, Neutrality and the World's Most Popular Font
Who knew there could be so much buzz about a typeface?
Helvetica, the typeface used in the corporate logos of Gap, Panasonic and Tupperware, turns 50 this year. Lars Mueller has managed to write an entire book about the Swiss font and a documentary devoted to the typeface was screened back in March at the SXSW Film Festival in Texas.
According to Neville Brody, a graphic designer and typographer interviewed for an article on the BBC website:
"Typefaces control the message. Choice of font dictates what you think about something before you even read the first word. Imagine Shakespeare in large capital drop shadow. Our response would be quite different towards the content."
Perhaps this is why teachers around the world use Comic Sans as the default worksheet font (my English cousin pointed this out, rolling her eyes): it says, “Hey kids! Do this worksheet that I’ve made to look super-fun, but is actually quite boring and serves only to allow me a few minutes of quiet time at my desk.”
There is actually a Ban Comic Sans website where you can buy merchandise, sign a petition and post photos.
So what is YOUR favourite font? Is it the Helvetica rip-off, Arial? Do you like the old school typewriter feel of Courier? Do you like the impact of, um, Impact? Or do you exist in the world of Zapf Dingbats?
Or do you have better things to do than care about types of typeface?
Helvetica, the typeface used in the corporate logos of Gap, Panasonic and Tupperware, turns 50 this year. Lars Mueller has managed to write an entire book about the Swiss font and a documentary devoted to the typeface was screened back in March at the SXSW Film Festival in Texas.
According to Neville Brody, a graphic designer and typographer interviewed for an article on the BBC website:
"Typefaces control the message. Choice of font dictates what you think about something before you even read the first word. Imagine Shakespeare in large capital drop shadow. Our response would be quite different towards the content."
Perhaps this is why teachers around the world use Comic Sans as the default worksheet font (my English cousin pointed this out, rolling her eyes): it says, “Hey kids! Do this worksheet that I’ve made to look super-fun, but is actually quite boring and serves only to allow me a few minutes of quiet time at my desk.”
There is actually a Ban Comic Sans website where you can buy merchandise, sign a petition and post photos.
So what is YOUR favourite font? Is it the Helvetica rip-off, Arial? Do you like the old school typewriter feel of Courier? Do you like the impact of, um, Impact? Or do you exist in the world of Zapf Dingbats?
Or do you have better things to do than care about types of typeface?
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