The Vibes of Type

  I hemmed and hawed, of course, over what to blog about this month.

  

  I’ve settled on type.

  

  Typography.

  We almost had a textbook on typography, and then we didn’t. I was mildly disappointed.

  I can’t claim to know anything about type (although I was looking for a specific kind of serif typeface the other day and my mother had no idea what I was talking about, so I at least know enough jargon to confuse the common-folk), but I find it highly interesting and I’m very committed to using typefaces and fonts that have the right vibe and play well together.

  Vibe is probably not the Professional Designer’s Way™ of choosing a typeface, but if the vibe is off, jiminy crispies the results could be disastrous.

  Let’s see if I can explain my point with visuals. And unnecessary humor.

I want you to take me seriously.

  Of course, Mr. Roman. Oh, Mr. Roman was your father? Alright, Times New.

  Is…is this a joke? Go back to clown college, Comic Sans. (Comic Sans is not a bad typeface, it was just overused and has a bad reputation.)

 Strong, authoritative, could sell me some propaganda probably. The all caps help with that, I think.

  Also solid. Makes a real Impact, don’t you think?

  Yikes. I will definitely take you seriously, but only because I’m not sure which demon I summoned.  This is probably written in blood on someone’s ceiling.

  Perfect for horror. Not so perfect for a restaurant or a Presidential Campaign.

I’m sorry, you’ll have to speak up.

  That’s better. Although highly problematic for spacing in a word processor because in order for the thing to be even legible it has to be 36 pts and the text cursor is double that so it leaves enormous and unnecessary gaps. Great for a heading maybe, and that’s about it.

  We’ll explore the vibes of some other typefaces later this month, but that’s all for now.

 “It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.” 

J. R. R. Tolkien