Each Tuesday I would like to spend a moment and talk a little about the typographical issues in the world today.
But, maybe you are not all that sure what typography is. Maybe Tuesday's would be lost if you did not know the depths of this truth known as typography. Let me help you. Let me help your Tuesday's be that much brighter.
Typography is theory in practice. The term does not specifically refer to fonts and type, but how fonts and type are used. And not just how they are used on paper or on screen. We are talking about walls, the cardboard box from Amazon.com, the skywriters, bookmarks, dishwashers. Anything that has some sort of type, lettering, or communicative language involves typography. The actual font or typeface itself is only as significant as the reason why you use it.
Have a look at this image.
There is no real pizzazz. There is nothing really special about it. I created this one really quick to have an example of typography. There are two different fonts used: eurostile and grafik text. Eurostile has that very modern, techno feel to it. I like the "t"; and notice how the letters (especially the "o") are sort of blocky, almost squared. Grafik text gives you the fifteenth/sixteenth century sensibility to go along with background image. That image is an old etching from The Actes and Monuments . . . by John Foxe. There are two men tied to a stake and about to be burned by order of the English Queen Mary Tudor, a.k.a. Bloody Mary, in 1555. The gentleman on the right is John Bradford, best known for the quote, "There but for the grace of God go I."
There are quite a few questions with this image, which may be problems. For instance, why the German out front? Why is there German at all? Does the eurostile font fit in with the rest of the image? Do you need the drop shadow? Can you read the faded English text? And so on. I am not too hot on it myself. It looks like something pieced together quickly. But what aspect of this are we missing? What do we have to understand about the image before we just pass judgment?
What's the point?
Sounds too basic to be worth asking, really. But think about that for a minute. What if I had been asked to create an image around 450x350, with the famous quote by John Bradford, a nice modern font that shows the quote in German, and it must have a drop shadow? If that were the case this would be a fairly good product. With some more tweaking here and there, it would at least be a presentable option. On the other hand, what if I had been asked to a professional lead-in page in a magazine like Christian History where the subject was going to be the influence of the Reformation in England, particularly under Mary Tudor's reign, on the Germanic people?
If I saw this image I would ask to be put on the stake along side those men. Dear Lord, help me.
And that is only a simplified example. But hopefully you can understand the idea of why knowing the motivations or reasons behind an image, in particular specific choices for fonts and font placement (lettering, alignment, spacing, etc), and the message the creator is trying to pass along.
Here is a real life example to look at. This time, let me give you the background first. The European Union will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary next year. A competition was commenced, and students (design and arts students) were commissioned with the task of creating the Anniversary logo. The goal: create an image that would "encapsulate the idea of European co-operation... and the future of Europe in particular." From the 1,700 submissions, the winner came from Szymon Skrzypczak:
What do you think? Did the winning image capture the European Union's desired goal? You can read more about this at BBC News.
OK. Personally I cannot stand the image. It's closer to a typographical nightmare than dream work. I mean, I can understand why Szymon would do this: he tried to bring together various forms, "voices," including accents, into one word to parallel the various voices of the different nations in the EU, and how they come together to try and do some good in the world. The result, however, is a mish-mash of irrelevant letter forms, with no continuity, and does not convey the message of someone who really thought through the design. It's as if he said, "Hey. What if I take lot's of different fonts and slap them together? See what happens." The "r" is not even a letter; that's a symbol. Is "togethe" a registered trademark? Plus, the "since 1957" is not far enough off centered to keep it from looking like bad placement. But now I am just being picky. I would like to have seen the other submissions; get some sort of context for this winning image.
Consider how the image will be used. Consider the message the words will convey. And not just the words themselves, but how they are represented, where on the medium they will be displayed, who will be the audience, and so forth. Typography is theory in practice. It's the difference between landing the bid or considering another career. Art is art. Design is design. There is good art and bad art. Good design and bad design. If you are looking at typography, you have to get beyond the fonts themselves. You have to ask why. You have to ask "Who wants this? Who needs this? How do I get the point across?"
I have over 1,200 fonts in my small laptop. Don't think for a second that I use them all. You have to stay away from the mentality of "use it because you got it." Especially stay away from the biggest trap of all of them: "That's a cool font. I'll use that one." Just because a font is cool does not mean it is the right one. Picking a font is art. It is ultimately subjective, but they will not all give you the end product you were either looking for or actually needed. Of those 1,200+ fonts, it's the tried and true, old reliable's that usually end up in my work. The simple, no nonsense fonts like Verdana or Trebuchet MS, Gill Sans MT or Tahoma, Century or Futura. Those fonts are always there for you when you need them. You will be surprised how usable and comfortable they can actually be if you give them a chance. (I will get more into specific fonts on Friday's.)
That is typography in a nutshell. I had to summarize it in such a way that you get the practical side of the theory, but as a whole typography begins in the mind of the designer. Whether it is "Goodyear" on the side of tires or a 9 pt. letter "A" on a 24"x24" poster, both show typography, and both have their own reasons why they are the way they are. Each Tuesday I will discuss something from the world of typography, mainly real world examples. And maybe, just maybe, between now and then, I will learn how to be a better writer. I do apologize for that. But, if you made it this far, guess it's not half bad. Maybe just three quarters.
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