Culture of Type

Typography is a powerful tool in the world of design.  There are so many different typefaces to choose from, and depending on the way they will be used, some are better than others. Three typefaces that I feel have had a strong impact on our society are Times New Roman, Calibri and Caslon.

Times New Roman

Times New Roman is a serif typeface that you may recognize from The Times newspaper. Times New Roman was created by Cameron Latham at the English branch of Monotype in 1931 (1). He was commissioned by The Times newspaper after Stanley Morison criticized the paper for being “badly printed and typographically behind the times (2).” Victor Lardent, an artist from The Times, drafted the font under Morison’s supervision. The font made its debut in the October 1932 issue of The Times newspaper (3). The typeface was released for commercial sale one year later. Times New Roman has been very influential in the development of a number of serif typefaces before and after the digital-font era. One example is Georgia, which has wider serifs but similar stroke shapes to Times New Roman. Today, Times New Roman is no longer used by The Times, however it is still widely used in book typography. It has become one of the most “ubiquitous” typefaces in history due to its adaptation in Microsoft products (4).

Graffiti

This example of graffiti is very humorous to me because it does not have a traditional graffiti look. The typography is very clean, monotone and well structured, and the message is cleverly composed. Like most graffiti, it has a message that is very visible and in your face. I realy enjoy the 3D look of the type and the white strokes. The scale of the typography works very well too. I downloaded this image from www.kabe243.com.

Historical Typography

The image to the left is a great example of historical typography, by Albert Durer. Durer's alphabet consisted of 23 letters. He drafted these fonts around 1535 A.D. He was ahead of his time when he decided to describe how to draft all of the letters of the Roman alphabet. He invented the "science" of technology according to www.sean.gleeson.us.

Text Type with Interesting Color Treatment

I chose this example as "text type with interesting color treatment" since the color plays such an important role. The color is what defines the words under "IDEAS" and keeps them separate despite having no spaces between each word. The background color really helps make the typography pop. The repetition of the colors also make this poster very interesting. I found this poster at www.smashingmagazine.com.

US Typography

This movie poster for Sunshine Cleaning uses ITC Century as its typeface. Century was designed by American type designer Linn Boyd Benton. His son, Morris Fuller Benton, created several variations of it, such as the Century Schoolbook. This image was taken from www.fontfeed.com. I love the classic style of the typography. It seems very soft yet strong at the same time. It is also very versatile.

Business/ Banking Typography

This BB&T logo is a good example of a business/ banking logo. I like that it is simple, however I find it to be very boring. There is no clever graphic that I can see hidden in the layout or font, such as the arrow shape you find in the Fedex logo. There are no interesting color choices either. I do not think it is a very creative use of typography. This logo was taken from www.breridgetrail.com.

Suburban Typography

Even though country clubs are not only found in suburbs, I thought this country club sign was a good example of suburban typography because of the font, texture, color and graphics. It seems like the type of sign you would find hidden in a lush garden area in the middle of a large forest off the main roads. It seems stately and quiet. I can picture quiet neighborhoods with large expensive homes leading up to the hidden entrance to this club. The graphic of the butterfly also makes me think of nature, confirming my idea that it is somewhere in the suburbs. This picture was taken from www.custom-mailboxes.com.

Childlike Typography

This image of the word "Playful" seemed very childlike to me with it's setting, placement and style. Each letter is being treated like a piece of wet clothing hanging out to dry with the melting graphic of each letter, and the fact that each letter individually hangs from a clip against a wall painted to look like a sunny sky. The letters also dip downward in the middle to add to the playful setting. I found this image from http://ilovetypography.com. According to the website, it is by Pablo Alfieri.

Urban Typography

I found this image from jschumacher.typepad.com. I chose this as an example of urban typography because parking garages are usually signs of urban areas, and this image inparticular seems extremely urban with it's use of typography. The font is sleak, simple and bold with no serifs. The arrow symbol to the left is also very urban. I love how the text is layed out so you can view it all at once. The repetition of the text hanging from the ceiling of the garage adds to the visual appeal.

Neon Typography

I enjoy the vintage appeal of this sign, as well as the use of color and layout. This sign will definitely grab a passer-bys attention! I also enjoy the different fonts. The graphics create a strong visual as well. This image was taken from flickr.com. 

Local Flavor Typography

Brewer's Art is a charming little restaurant and bar in Baltimore's Mount Vernon, a historic art district. The typography and design used in this logo are very reminiscent of Baltimore's art culture. I believe that the whimsical typography, graphic and color gives it a charm that you would only find in that part of the city. This image was taken from restaurantsinfederalhill.com.

Industrial Typography:

I found this image of steel handrails in a bathroom forming the word "play" from http://www.oberholtzer-creative.com/visualculture/2008/08/. I was immediately drawn to it's uniqueness and playfullness. I also enjoy this piece because it is functional. The use of material and style, as well as placement, makes it very industrial. However, the shape of the words and choice of word makes it very playful as well.

Logo Typography

The Showtime logo is an excellent example of logo typography. I found this logo through logosdesigners.com. I think this is a very strong design considering it only uses one color, and only uses one graphic element to support it. It is extremely simple, yet strong. The circular shape around the "SHO" creates a clever graphic of a spotlight. I consider this logo to be very successful as a result.