Font art geekery

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I love fonts. I love the subtlety of font variation and how it affects the mood of what you're expressing. My work in photoshop has cultivated this, as I studied the fonts of dozens of Disneyland signs, tried to find similar ones online, and noticed the minute differences. In some cases I had to chop up letters and make new ones with the pieces.

I just saw this (http://www.smashingapps.com/2008/11/13/33-exceptional-logo-rebranding-in-2008-for-your-inspiration.html) and I'm wondering if anyone else here is as captivated as I am by it. I mean, look at the MindShare one. You've got your purple swirly bits. But the transition to the block, all-caps block font is so grounding and strong, I feel happier about the company just looking at the new logo (and I don't even know what they do).

Notice that many of the new ones have rounded edges, and the widths of the individual lines remain the same throughout the curves of the letter, giving them a 2 dimensional, warm appearance. Xerox is a good example. In the old logo, see how the lines are thinner in some places, and how the new one is completely different? There's something so stable and friendly in this fad in fonts.

I've never tried to make my own but I'm getting interested...though, as with my photoshop projects, I'd probably just modify one already done, or recreate an expensive one (like Gotham, the Obama font....*drool*).

I feel like I need to pick up a book on the topic or join a font geek board somewhere. Anyone have any insight into this stuff, or just have an appreciation for typography?

[alphabassettgrrl]

My interests tend to lie in handwritten script and ancient stuff.

Though I'm not immune to a good computer font and I do like the use of different fonts in graphic design. I like when the letters are part of the actual design- like the Animal Planet one.

[lashbear]

I preferred the Walmart logo with the star in it.

Mindshare is beaut !!

[Morrigoon]

Agreed about the old Wal*Mart logo.

Best Buy is really dumb to change from that iconic logo. Other ones I like, although some, like the Discovery Channel, I don't much see the point in changing it. I mean, yeah the new iteration is slightly better, but is it better enough to warrant the change?

Sorry, I know this is supposed to be about fonts...

[Betty]

I love fonts. LOVE them. I will spend a good hour every now and then downloading more I've discovered. I download them for no specfic purpose in mind - other then I love fonts.

I've only ever paid for a handful of them - retro ones that I wanted to use for a specific purpose... the two I used were Chicken Basket and Cocktail Script and I still like those... but I need to go find more. This thread has made me itchy for new ones.

Last count I was up to about 4000 of them. I thought that was bad until I had a guy online about 2 years ago helping out with a logo design who informed me he had over 10,000 of them.

So no, you're not the only one with a thing for fonts.

Even the "plain" font you use in business letter can set the tone of it - happy? serious? The right font can help get that across.

One of my favorite font places is fontdiner.com. A few free fonts - lot's you can buy - and all so very kewl.

[innerSpaceman]

Fonts are our Friends.




I don't think all those logo changes were for the better, but I think changing up is good in itself sometimes. (Um, unless you go from a really cool and famous logo to a lame one with zero recognition factor.)

[Alex]

As always, interesting to see different reactions to the same thing. I would have listed Mindshare as one of the less successful changes (but not nearly so bad as Animal Planets) on that page.

Long strings of all cap are annoying to read. In a quick glance my eye now almost fails to differentiate the letters as such and it turns into a rectangular block of white. Pragmatically, its used of subtly shifting colors will be a bitch to reproduce across various formats and will lose a lot when forced into places that just isn't possible. And the use of white on a colored background means that either your logo needs to carry around its framing with it everywhere it goes or you'll have to use a different presentation.

Though I did just visit their web site and can't find an instance where the logo is presented in white lettering on a purple shield so maybe your link site doesn't present it as it is intended to be used. The version on a white background with black lettering is better (though the lengthy word in tight all caps still fails for me). However, at least in their online presentation those two overlapping discs are animated. I put that in the category of epic fail.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I've only ever paid for a handful of them - retro ones that I wanted to use for a specific purpose... the two I used were Chicken Basket and Cocktail Script and I still like those... Heh, I know exactly the fonts you're talking about, and I've drooled over fontdiner many a time. I think I first came across that site when we were designing the LoT logo.

Funny, since I wasn't the one who actually did the logo I don't know the fonts involved...Erica? Hmm, I may need to dig around. Anyone have a copy of the old logo?

Alex - so I guess you're not a fan of Gotham, though the letters aren't close together. I often like all-caps fonts.

I am not a fan of the new Animal Planet logo at all, it looks like a mess to me.

[Betty]

The animal planet reminds me a dead animal with the letter on it's side.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Dang, I've found the .png file for the logo, but not the .psd. Don't know where I kept that, if I did.

[Gemini Cricket]

The new Walmart logo looks like it's advertising a cellphone company.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I too love fonts. Back in the day of Letraset, before the all-powerful PC changed the design world forever, I would pore over those books in search of the right one for the project at hand, and had a knack for finding it. There is a font related art exhibit opening or just opened in L.A. It was featured on boingboing.net.

I am also keen on artists who produce work that emphasize the word and how it's presented - giving the word more weight or stripping it down so that is is a beautiful object devoid of meaning. Projecting sentences, in large blocks of light, onto buildings...

If you are interested, there are definitely classes in font design. I met a Yale student who was even majoring in font design.

I love reading a book printed in a pleasing or approproate font, and how the design is usually credited at the back. A lot of thought goes in to picking the right look.

Awesome post, CP.

[Gemini Cricket]

The animal planet reminds me a dead animal with the letter on it's side.
Now that you posted that, I can't see it any other way. I guess what bugs about this change is what does the 'M' on its side supposed to mean? It kinda looks like a '3'.

[Ghoulish Delight]

There's nothing wrong with Best Buy changing from an iconic logo...if they had come up with something worthwhile to change to. That one just looks like crap.

[Alex]

Alex - so I guess you're not a fan of Gotham, though the letters aren't close together. I often like all-caps fonts.

I'm not opposed to all caps, but that does not mean all caps is always good. And I think "mindshare" all by itself in a sea of nothing is too long to benefit from it and long enough to suffer for it.

When it comes to design, there is but one universal: No matter what, someone will hate it.

But I'll admit my biases may be influenced from struggling with medieval Russian in college. Which was handwritten in all caps and with no spaces between words.

[Ghoulish Delight]

There's something ironic about a site touting the virtues of good design having their column spacing fouled up.

[Kevy Baby]

If you are interested, there are definitely classes in font design. I met a Yale student who was even majoring in font design.As part of my college education (Graphic Communication), I took a class called "Design With Type." We didn't get into font design, but more about the usage/selection of fonts in creating an overall look. We also got into kerning (the space between letters), leading (spacing between lines of type), etc. Not only does the font itself have visual impact, but how it is presented as well.

One of the things I was fascinated with is the adjustment made to individual characters depending on their size. If one blows up a 6 pt. version of a character and compares it to a 48 point version of the same letter, there are subtle differences to account for visual acuity.

There's something ironic about a site touting the virtues of good design having their column spacing fouled up.One downside of the mass availability of information is how poorly it is sometimes presented. HTML, et. al. isn't perfect. But even a lot of printed items are just attrocious. A coworker (a former Adobe instructor and graphic artist) and I often just cry when we see some of the garbage that we are printing.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Even more than the font updates, I find it striking how many of those lean towards gradient/shadowing (which I'm not fond of; similar to online graphic designs that use reflections - wow, that's some shiny internet) and how many put more emphasis on oversized icons instead of the words. Tasty D Lite, Walmart, Mindshare, Stop n Shop, Woolworths, Quikcheck, Xerox... plus others, to a lesser extent.

I do love fonts, though, and find it all fascinating.

[Alex]

I believe most know about it. But if not, I recommend watching Helvetica, a documentary about, well, the history and use of the Helvetica font. (It is available for instant viewing on Netflix, which is how I watched it.)

It's very interesting and the people in it will demonstrate just how incompletely you love fonts.

[Kevy Baby]

Even more than the font updates, I find it striking how many of those lean towards gradient/shadowing (which I'm not fond of; similar to online graphic designs that use reflections - wow, that's some shiny internet) and how many put more emphasis on oversized icons instead of the words. Tasty D Lite, Walmart, Mindshare, Stop n Shop, Woolworths, Quikcheck, Xerox... plus others, to a lesser extent.

I do love fonts, though, and find it all fascinating.One of the painful realities is that flashy fonts and other gimmicks are often used in place of intelligent and creative design ideas. Too many people are suckered in by the flashiness of something, realizing that it would not have long-term staying power.

I see that in a lot of web-site design. People put all sorts of Flash animation and other dazzling effects without realizing that it takes away from the impact of the message. I am not saying that capturing someones attention and the use of these tools is a bad thing: I am just saying that it is so often done in a way that often distracts from the message that one is trying to communicate.

[Alex]

By the way, since we're on the subject of fonts:

If you are one of those people who send workplace emails in Comic Sans, you will be eliminated when I take over the world.

If you are one of those people who use comic sans for communication in other less formal channels you will be sent to a re-education camp when I take over the world.

If you are one of those people who will respond to this post saying some version of "ah, but I like comic sans" then I won't wait until I take over the world.

[Kevy Baby]

By the way, since we're on the subject of fonts:

If you are one of those people who send workplace emails in Comic Sans, you will be eliminated when I take over the world.

If you are one of those people who use comic sans for communication in other less formal channels you will be sent to a re-education camp when I take over the world.

If you are one of those people who will respond to this post saying some version of "ah, but I like comic sans" then I won't wait until I take over the world.Can you please add to your list, along with the Comic San users, anyone who uses a background in their emails?

[Ghoulish Delight]

MOMA had a display about the 50th anniversary of Helvetica last year.

Douglas Hofstadter has written quite a bit about fonts and typeface. His slant is towards how it relates to machine intelligence and if it's theoretically possible to create determinate models to distinguish between letters programatically, but he also just generally likes the topic of fonts. The book Metamagical Themas: Questing For The Essence Of Mind And Pattern (http://www.amazon.com/Metamagical-Themas-Questing-Essence-Pattern/dp/0465045669) is a collection of columns he wrote, so you can skip to just the ones about type if you don't want to wade through all his other stuff (though everything else is fascinating as well, even if he is a little too obsessed with Rubiks).

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Here is the font exhibi (http://www.subliminalprojects.com/main/current/)t (House Industries!) in Los Angeles.

[Betty]

By the way, since we're on the subject of fonts:

If you are one of those people who send workplace emails in Comic Sans, you will be eliminated when I take over the world.

If you are one of those people who use comic sans for communication in other less formal channels you will be sent to a re-education camp when I take over the world.

If you are one of those people who will respond to this post saying some version of "ah, but I like comic sans" then I won't wait until I take over the world.

AMEN!

And I'm with Kevy and the backgrounds too. Especially when they are black with white text and hit reply and can't read a thing because I don't have mine set to use white text too.

[innerSpaceman]

Not only do I like Comic Sans (though I hardly use it any more), I also like the new Animal Planet Logo.



Send the Hit Man now, if you dare!

[Gemini Cricket]

I like Palatino Linotype.

But I can't explain why, I just do.

:)

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Bleah - I hate Comic Sans more than I hate Papyrus.

[Gemini Cricket]

Ah, I had to go to Word to see what Comic Sans and Papyrus looked like.
I agree. Bleh!

[JWBear]

And what's with this "Verdana" font. Horrible... People who use it are really lame...


What?


Oh.


Love Verdana!

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Oh, I actually like Papyrus when the font is small, especially when typing a person's name.

[innerSpaceman]

Hahah, I LOVE Papyrus!


Some people clearly have no font taste.




And, no, I don't mean me. :p


< of course, i'm rather partial to Bridges of America font, but only when used sparingly and for protest.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

See, for me, it's just lazy shorthand for "we're trying to be zen." It's overused. Especially in the cheeseball amateur context noted so well by iheartpapyrus.com

Though, Helvetica is certainly used a great deal, and I quite like it.

[Kevy Baby]

I like Palatino Linotype.

But I can't explain why, I just do.

:)It is actually a very feminine font. (And to be pedantic, the "Linotype" portion of the name is the name of the foundry and not really required to identify the font. In fact, it may not be correct if you are not using Linotype's Palatino. All of the major foundries have a Palatino.)

Though, Helvetica is certainly used a great deal, and I quite like it.I know I am in the minority, but I really despise Helvetica.

[Moonliner]

It is actually a very feminine font. (And to be pedantic, the "Linotype" portion of the name is the name of the foundry and not really required to identify the font. In fact, it may not be correct if you are not using Linotype's Palatino. All of the major foundries have a Palatino.)

I know I am in the minority, but I really despise Helvetica.

Oh, how fun. Dissecting personality traits by font preferences. This is great.

My fav font is Tahoma.

What does that say about me Dr. Kevy?


(Other than I obviously have certain masochists tendencies to ask something like that in the first place... )

[Kevy Baby]

What does that say about me Dr. Kevy?That you have a propensity for lying: especially in on-line signatures. :D

Actually, Palatino is the only one I remember because I am such a fan of it.

[Ghoulish Delight]

It is actually a very feminine font.



Actually, Palatino is the only one I remember because I am such a fan of it.
Shocking.

[Disneyphile]

Argh. This is making me want to change up my logo which is still new. And, I also have enough backlog on my plate to finish.

Love the concepts though!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

As part of my college education (Graphic Communication), I took a class called "Design With Type." We didn't get into font design, but more about the usage/selection of fonts in creating an overall look. We also got into kerning (the space between letters), leading (spacing between lines of type), etc. Not only does the font itself have visual impact, but how it is presented as well.

One of the things I was fascinated with is the adjustment made to individual characters depending on their size. If one blows up a 6 pt. version of a character and compares it to a 48 point version of the same letter, there are subtle differences to account for visual acuity.

One downside of the mass availability of information is how poorly it is sometimes presented. HTML, et. al. isn't perfect. But even a lot of printed items are just attrocious. A coworker (a former Adobe instructor and graphic artist) and I often just cry when we see some of the garbage that we are printing.Dig. :snap: And terminology, yay! :)

I believe most know about it. But if not, I recommend watching Helvetica, a documentary about, well, the history and use of the Helvetica font. (It is available for instant viewing on Netflix, which is how I watched it.)I've been putting off seeing this - thanks for the reminder. GD gets to blame you when he is forced to watch this.

I use Comic Sans in comic contexts. I resisted using comic/anime inspired fonts in my Teen Zone signage. So. Over. It. Using Comic Sans for communique? Bwahaha. The background users suck, too.

I've been partial to Book Antiqua forever but am now finally over it. I think I need a new basic font. I do like Palatino. Helvetica is a bit too harsh for my taste. Garamond is still cool (The font of Harry Potter, if I'm not mistaken).

Anyone know any geeky font sites? I'll post some later...

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

http://ilovetypography.com/
http://www.seblester.co.uk/core/assets/gallery/illustrations/photos/Mightier_LoRes.jpg

http://abc.planet-typography.com/index.html

http://www.flickr.com/groups/folktype/pool/

http://www.smileycat.com/miaow/archives/typography-for-headlines.php

http://www.houseind.com/

http://www.craigoldham.co.uk/ (http://www.craigoldham.co.uk/ongoing/ampersands/)

[Ghoulish Delight]

I've been putting off seeing this - thanks for the reminder. GD gets to blame you when he is forced to watch this.
Uh, I AM the one who recommended a book about typeface...

[JWBear]

Call me old fashioned, but I routinely use Times New Roman.

[Alex]

For regular writing/reading of large text I don't like serifs so the first thing I do when getting a new work computer is kill Times New Roman as the default font.

So long as it is relatively unadorned and sans serif I am fine. Which usually means Arial. Not out of any strong preference though, just better than the generally used alternatives.

[Betty]

As a plain font, I had a thing with calibri for awhile.

Maiandra is a nice happy simply font that has a little personality but isn't overly floofy.

Berlin Sans too.

I don't use those fonts to print up letters or documents though. More with signage, website headlines etc.

[innerSpaceman]

I use Arial as my default, but I hate the "unisex" quotation marks, like the ones I just used.

If I need quotation marks, I want proper ones and I'll switch to Times Roman as default.

[Gemini Cricket]

I like the way Courier New looks. It looks like a typewriter font.

Oh and Kevy? Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype! Linotype Linotype Linotype Linotype Linotype!

[alphabassettgrrl]

I like Arial or Century Gothic. Not fond of serifs.

[Kevy Baby]

I like the way Courier New looks. It looks like a typewriter font.

Oh and Kevy? Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype Palatino Linotype! Linotype Linotype Linotype Linotype Linotype!Adobe Palatino

[Cadaverous Pallor]

As a plain font, I had a thing with calibri for awhile.

Maiandra is a nice happy simply font that has a little personality but isn't overly floofy.We recently got the Office 07 upgrade at work and I dig Calibri as a default. I never liked Times at all.

I <3 EH! :D Awesome linkage.

[bewitched]

I've always liked Georgia.

Boring...but there it is.


I really like its name origin :D :

The typeface is named after a tabloid headline titled "Alien heads found in Georgia."



I also quite like Verdana.

I could really get into the name origin aspect of fonts:

The name "Verdana" is based on a mix of verdant (something green, as in the Seattle area and the Evergreen state, Washington), and Ana (the name of Howlett's eldest daughter).

[Betty]

Oh don't even get me started on font names. They can get so creative. Snipple, Girls are Wierd, Blackadder, Chicken Basket. They come up with great names.

I never thought to look up why they were called that way though. I'll have to check that out.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Lovely. (http://rampcreative.com/site/portfolio/annuals/cws2006/index.html)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Obamabats (http://jeffdomke.com/?p=374)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hahahahah:

Hair Care or Digital Audio Logo Quiz (http://ridiculousfish.com/blog/archives/2006/12/11/logos/)

[Tenigma]

Yep, I'm a huge font fan. I think it comes from doing old wax-roller layouts for newsletters and pamphlets back when Alex was still in diapers. OK not that long ago. But I started in undergraduate school and switched from wax to computer.

I started doing desktop publishing using Aldus Pagemaker 2.0. And fell in love with the ability to use different fonts (up until then I was only familiar with machines running DOS).

Quick: What font did the Obama campaign use for its primary signage?

Gotham
It's just too damn bad they want to charge me $200 for the basic set! Argh.

[Tenigma]

I too love fonts. Back in the day of Letraset, before the all-powerful PC changed the design world forever...

Not to nitpick, but let's give credit where credit is due. It wasn't AT ALL the PC. It was the Mac!!!

[Tenigma]

Oh, I actually like Papyrus when the font is small, especially when typing a person's name.

Papyrus has its place.

The problem with most font usage (as Kevy alluded to) is that most people have absolutely no clue how to use the fonts in their library.

It's kind of like someone who can barely boil water, going into a kitchen to cook a meal and discovering an entire cabinetful of spices. They have absolutely no idea what each one is like, how they work together, how some need to be used in very small quantities, how some work well together or don't, etc.

"Ahh, look, let's add white pepper, cardamon, cinammon, thyme, allspice, sea salt, Chinese mustard, brown sugar, and a quarter cup of this pretty saffron stuff."

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

There was this comic company called CrossGen that was pretty big back around 2000 and they had a real nice Ying/Yang logo that was prominently displayed on the top left-hand corner of all their books. It was a good logo. About 6 months or so before they went out of business they changed their logo into one that was, IMHO, pretty unattractive. Once it changed it was very unidentifiable. Makes me think how logo/font changed folks opinion of the "product."


Also, remember when they changed the Disneyland font?

[mousepod]

Hahahahah:

Hair Care or Digital Audio Logo Quiz (http://ridiculousfish.com/blog/archives/2006/12/11/logos/)

13/14 right. Funny quiz.

[Kevy Baby]

Lovely. (http://rampcreative.com/site/portfolio/annuals/cws2006/index.html)Ah, how I miss Annual Reports. This was for a while some of the best creative design and printing to be found. Alas, many companies are shying away from spending the money the used to on these gems.

Hahahahah:

Hair Care or Digital Audio Logo Quiz (http://ridiculousfish.com/blog/archives/2006/12/11/logos/)Sadly (for me) only 12 out of 14. The two that threw me were Pureology and Ashampoo (I should have known that latter one would be a trick!)

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Ah, how I miss Annual Reports. This was for a while some of the best creative design and printing to be found. Alas, many companies are shying away from spending the money the used to on these gems.


I still want to take a day off and field trip to your place o' work fun.

[Not Afraid]

I used to LOVE fonts and spent a lot of time choosing my fonts for the publications I created very carefully. I have great admiration for well placed and well used fonts.

Then came message boards....and sig lines. Sigh.

[Kevy Baby]

I still want to take a day off and field trip to your place o' work fun.I have a couple of press checks coming up in December

[Alex]

People have sig lines?

[CoasterMatt]

What about kicklines?

[Betty]

Yep, I'm a huge font fan. I think it comes from doing old wax-roller layouts for newsletters and pamphlets back when Alex was still in diapers. OK not that long ago. But I started in undergraduate school and switched from wax to computer.

I started doing desktop publishing using Aldus Pagemaker 2.0. And fell in love with the ability to use different fonts (up until then I was only familiar with machines running DOS).

Quick: What font did the Obama campaign use for its primary signage?

Gotham
It's just too damn bad they want to charge me $200 for the basic set! Argh.

Ah Pagemaker. My long lost love. It's been a long time.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I have a couple of press checks coming up in December

Woo! Let me know.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

http://www.fortheloveoftype.blogspot.com/

And

http://gemmaobrien.com/

[innerSpaceman]

Hmmm, I'm thinking of posting exclusively in Comic Sans from now on .... ya know, to annoy Alex. ;)

[Alex]

I spent five years working closely with a woman who emailed exclusively in bold, deep purple comic sans.

Trust me, I've long singe learned to suppress my annoyance until the day I rule the world and can unleash my vengeance. Until then I just use it as a handy indicator of the mildly retarded.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

VAM!

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Hmmm, I'm thinking of posting exclusively in Comic Sans from now on .... ya know, to annoy Alex. ;)

NO.

I will not permit it.

[innerSpaceman]

I don't understand why Comic Sans has such a bad rap. I usally type everything in Arial as a default, because it's the plainest font in existence and thus, i assume, the most legible. I find comic sans just a slightly jazzier version that has a teeny tiny bit of ooomph while losing none of the plain-wrap legibility.


But whatever ... sheesh, fontelitists.

[Alex]

Is it true that those short school buses ride smoother than the long ones? I always wondered.

[innerSpaceman]

It's a myth.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Or, yes. Yes, go ahead. Show us all your incredible lack of taste. That's all right. I'll wipe the blood from my eyes.

And yours.

[Not Afraid]

Comic Sans is what people use for signage for tacky craft faires - and spell Fair as Faire.

[innerSpaceman]

Hmm, i don't think it looks Craftish at all. But if you spell it "Faire" without an Olde English type font, you have serious problems.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Wait, could you say that again, iSm.

[innerSpaceman]

WE Don't really HAVE an Olde ENGLISH Font here on THE LoT, BUT if Comic Sans was so lame, why was it offered here until 5 minutes ago?

[LSPoorEeyorick]

OMG, they took it away??

Bless you!

[Not Afraid]

Sheesh! The admins are evil here.







(and it wasn't me - I don't "rule", remember)

[JWBear]

I see nothing evil in that move.

[JWBear]

I use to have a supervisor who wrote all her emails in a cutesy script font (I don't remeber which one) in lavender. It drove us crazy.

Oh... and she is another crazy cat lady. I seem to attract them.

[innerSpaceman]

I heard they also disabled Hot Male Avatars.





I was wondering what happened to them.

[JWBear]

I heard they also disabled Hot Male Avatars.





I was wondering what happened to them.

Never fear! They shall return!

[Not Afraid]

Like THIS Admin would ever allow anything with "hot men" as a descriptor to disappear from LoT.

[Stan4dSteph]

My corporation has its own special font that we are supposed to use on all official documents. You have probably seen it.

[JWBear]

My corporation has its own special font that we are supposed to use on all official documents. You have probably seen it.

Comic Sans?

[Kevy Baby]

(and it wasn't me - I don't "rule", remember)Not that anyone is carrying a grudge or anything :eek:

Like THIS Admin would ever allow anything with "hot men" as a descriptor to disappear from LoT.Okay, how about:

Here is a picture that could be called the opposite of "hot men"

I kind of boggles the mind what I COULD have pasted here :evil:

[bewitched]

I am so disappointed in you, Kevy. ;)

[second class citizen]

One of my favorites fonts is Macintosh named after Scottish architect Charles Rennie Macintosh. It's beautiful in it's own right but because it's so highly stylized, it's not very practical for text. I think it looks best used for signage, titles or labels.

[second class citizen]

There was a fellow architect at the place I used to work who would use his rapidiograph to hand letter ALL of his faxes in Macintosh. It drove the secretaries crazy, because they just wanted to send out a reply to our clients as quickly as possible. Mario refused to let them type the replies for him and insisted on hand lettering each one. He was one of the best draughtsmen we had and the clients LOVED the individual attention they received from him. Every fax he sent out looked like a piece of art, like some old English manuscript. I think he even used the enlarged initials at the beginning of each one.

[Ghoulish Delight]

One of my favorites fonts is Macintosh named after Scottish architect Charles Rennie Macintosh. It's beautiful in it's own right but because it's so highly stylized, it's not very practical for text. I think it looks best used for signage, titles or labels.
Just because it's a good excuse, the exterior of the Macintosh School of Art in Glasgow, the first building designed by Charles (no photos allowed inside, sadly):

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2892851155_dd07213d9a_b.jpg

[JWBear]

Just because it's a good excuse, the exterior of the Macintosh School of Art in Glasgow, the first building designed by Charles (no photos allowed inside, sadly):

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2892851155_dd07213d9a_b.jpg

Yes, we know you've been there... Rub it in some more, whydontcha... :(

[Ghoulish Delight]

Excellent, I finally found the original logo file. The fonts used in the LoT logo are "Indubitably" (Lounge), "QuigleyWiggly" (of), "Concielian" (Tomorrow), and "DymaxionScript" (adventure through inner swank).

[Kevy Baby]

A fine job y'all did on the logo!

[Ghoulish Delight]

SMeltery (http://www.smeltery.net/fonts/?c=free). Free fonts.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Typography! Libraries! Trees!

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/a-library-full-of-dead-trees/

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/whole-gothic-tree.jpg

[Ghoulish Delight]

Think you know your fonts?
Take Aim (http://www.deep.co.uk/games/font_game/)

[Betty]

First try - 31,100. How about you?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Worse than that.

[Betty]

Yeah - I tried it a few more times and didn't do nearly as good. Maybe I just got lucky with familiar fonts the first time around. Or maybe I'm just a super cool font girl. ;)

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

37,667. But that was the 4th time I played. Heh.

[Disneyphile]

56,297

:blush:

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

70,600. And that's my high score. Now, back to work!

[Disneyphile]

I bow to your font geekness! :snap:

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I did play about 10 times in a row; you start to memorize the ones you missed before. :) Wish I could pass more levels. Wonder if the number of fonts that show increases...

[Ghoulish Delight]

w00t! With some practice, I hit 132,474

There are only about 10 fonts I think, so it's not terribly difficult to memorize them all.

[Betty]

I bow to your fonty-ness.

[Not Afraid]

79,467 - first try.

[Morrigoon]

0. I suck! :)

[Betty]

Do birds have a favorite font? (http://typenesting.tumblr.com/)

[Not Afraid]

I'm not sure if this has been posted here before......Google Maps Fonts:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_k4x5a3c1b_M/SfCRedsa-cI/AAAAAAAAOIw/cqTycOmiN6s/s1600/alpha-map670.jpg

[Ghoulish Delight]

I did post that a while ago...makes me want to find that post because it included a link to a site that would convert any phrase into the font.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Another Font Quiz (http://mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=198). I got 7/10, better than I expected.

[Pirate Bill]

I read this (http://www.pvponline.com/2009/05/11/the-font-snob/) and thought of this thread.

[Kevy Baby]

I read this (http://www.pvponline.com/2009/05/11/the-font-snob/) and thought of this thread.But I LIKE Copperplate!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Another Font Quiz (http://mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=198). I got 7/10, better than I expected.I also got 7/10, w00t.

It bashes Verdana, which is our default posting font. Heh.

[Kevy Baby]

I think we should make Wingdings the default font.

[JWBear]

I think we should make Wingdings the default font.

... But only on the posts about how wonderful the new Star Trek movie is... :evil:

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Very cool. Hope to see a print someday. (http://creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/july1/massive-printer)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Very cool. Hope to see a print someday. (http://creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/july1/massive-printer)Wow!

[alphabassettgrrl]

I second the Wow!

[Stan4dSteph]

Here's a shirt for you font geeks (http://www.glarkware.com/adult/sympathy-for-the-bevel).

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Here's a shirt for you font geeks (http://www.glarkware.com/adult/sympathy-for-the-bevel).I think I figured out why you ended up there (http://www.glarkware.com/adult/boo-urns). :D

ETA - Dude! (http://www.glarkware.com/adult/be-seeing-you)

[mousepod]

I know it's off-topic, but CP's post above reminded me that I really want to buy one of these shirts (http://www.lastexittonowhere.com/).

[Not Afraid]

I think Chris needs the Be Seeing You shirt as well as the "Brazil" shirt.

[Gemini Cricket]

I know it's off-topic, but CP's post above reminded me that I really want to buy one of these shirts (http://www.lastexittonowhere.com/).
What a cool find, J! I love these because on a lot of them you have to be a huge fan of the film to understand the reference. Coolness!!

I want this one:
Where are you going? Swimming!! (http://www.lastexittonowhere.com/shop/product/amity-island/)

and

this one. (http://www.lastexittonowhere.com/shop/product/paper-street-soap-co/)
:)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Cheese or Font (http://cheeseorfont.mogrify.org/)?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Alphabets (http://www.sharesomecandy.com/41-creative-and-unique-alphabe-charts.html)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Helvetica cookie cutters (http://beverlyhsu.com/cookies.html)

[Kevy Baby]

Eh, I would like to see her do Kanji Type





Seriously though, those are cool. Now, if I didn't hate Helvetica so much...

And why the heck does my dictionary not recognize "Helvetica"?

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Ode to typography. (http://designismine.blogspot.com/2010/03/thought-of-day-ode-to-typography.html)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ode to typography. (http://designismine.blogspot.com/2010/03/thought-of-day-ode-to-typography.html)Awesome!

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Kind of awesome and very not safe for work. (http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/durex_type_2?size=_original)

[Kevy Baby]

Kind of awesome and very not safe for work. (http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/durex_type_2?size=_original)Really cool!

[CoasterMatt]

That might chafe. Cool stuff, though :)

[mousepod]

Kind of awesome and very not safe for work. (http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/durex_type_2?size=_original)

Fatal Error? Muscle Tension? Overload?

Poor guy.

[blueerica]

Ugh - I need to read this thread - how did I miss out on reading it?

I'm working to find a font - preferably for cheap/free and it reminded me that this existed. Little did I know it had so much to satisfy my geekery!

Back to one of the earliest posts from CP - yes, it was Michael and I that worked on the logo. I have my doubts that the original files are in my possession (reasons many will understand)--- but perhaps somewhere in the archives of L & C? Or I could go begging...

I may have the fonts somewhere.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Matchbook and Matchbook Serif - free (http://www.onebyfourstudio.com/blog/matchbook-typefaces/)

http://www.onebyfourstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Matchbook-type-full1.gif

[Ghoulish Delight]

HYPERACTIVITYPOGRAPHY (http://www.hyperactivitypography.com/preview/index.html) - It's a typography activity/workbook.

[Kevy Baby]

From an industry newsletter:

Jessica Meyers, PIA Digital Imaging Specialist, wonders whether you share her obsession with cool fonts? Or dream of being a type designer one day? You will absolutely love this site. Find free downloadable fonts of your favorite movies, bands, games, etc. at www.typenow.net/themed.htm. Free fonts include many popular popculture- themed fonts—along with thousands of other free fonts. Search the entire site at www.typenow.net/sitemap.htm. If you are interested in learning how to create your own fonts, this site also lists the most professional software for the job and links to where to buy it. Much of the software is discounted for educational use as well.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

OooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo! :D

[Kevy Baby]

OooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo! :DHee hee: you were the first person I thought of when I saw this. Enjoy!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

This is technically out of the scope of "art", but I thought readers of this thread would appreciate this kind of humor (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/monologues/15comicsans.html). NSFW due to language only.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

This is technically out of the scope of "art", but I thought readers of this thread would appreciate this kind of humor (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/monologues/15comicsans.html). NSFW due to language only.Heh, digging around at the site brought me this (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/monologues/17spade.html), which reminds me of GC. :)

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

NSFW.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_l6v6hqeqsR1qzlro6o1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId =0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1282282214&Signature=FRwgU5CdNAK3DsSIDBjdUecGSEY%3D

[Not Afraid]

If fonts were dogs. (http://finelinedesign.tumblr.com/post/423883979)

[Snowflake]

If fonts were dogs. (http://finelinedesign.tumblr.com/post/423883979)

No pugs?!

[Snowflake]

From an industry newsletter:

Chernabog needs to see there is Bjork font!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

If fonts were dogs. (http://finelinedesign.tumblr.com/post/423883979)Weird, I disagree with most of their choices. Cute idea though.

[Not Afraid]

The pug is Times. He is just a black pug.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Need a font? Try this "handy" flowchart (http://inspirationlab.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/infographiclarge_v2.png)

[Betty]

My daughter's wall (it's lyrics to a Jonas Brothers song. Nick is still her favorite musician of all time. She's been a little obsessed for 4 or 5 years.)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5129/5335362725_f578458e0b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57656220@N02/5335362725/)
A little bit longer and I'll be fine wall (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57656220@N02/5335362725/) by bettycancook (http://www.flickr.com/people/57656220@N02/), on Flickr

[Betty]

Need a font? Try this "handy" flowchart (http://inspirationlab.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/infographiclarge_v2.png)

I missed this before. I enjoyed it - especially the path for comic sans (which seems to be hated by 100% of anyone in graphic design - which makes it pretty funny to ask "Are you alone?". :D

[Cadaverous Pallor]

My daughter's wall (it's lyrics to a Jonas Brothers song. Nick is still her favorite musician of all time. She's been a little obsessed for 4 or 5 years.)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5129/5335362725_f578458e0b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57656220@N02/5335362725/)
A little bit longer and I'll be fine wall (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57656220@N02/5335362725/) by bettycancook (http://www.flickr.com/people/57656220@N02/), on FlickrShe made that? Awesome work!

[Betty]

She made that? Awesome work!

It's cut from magazine pages. I like it - and I love that it's not all left justified. She's trying to think of something to do for her other wall.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I'm font twitterpated today.

http://blog.imaginaryfoundation.com/blog/06-17-2011/Liz+Collini%27s+Typographical+Art

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Love it!

[3894]

Pardon my font if this is a repeat but you've played around with llama font (http://llamafont.com/)? It's SFW.

[JWBear]

Very architectural. Cool.

[Betty]

Damn. It's down now.

[Moonliner]

Damn. It's down now.

It's back up.

[Cynthia]

Pardon my font if this is a repeat but you've played around with llama font (http://llamafont.com/)? It's SFW.

I had not seen it before, wonderful wonderful!

[alphabassettgrrl]

Ok, that's awesome. :)

[Moonliner]

Try this page (http://www.renaesroom.com/Fonts/Available/FunFonts/Kitchen/KitchenFonts.html).

Fourth one down. The Bacon Font.

How have we lived without that.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The Kerning Game (http://type.method.ac/#)

[Betty]

87/100. I was off on the first 2 but hit 100 on several too.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I was somewhere around 87 as well. It was fairly forgiving. Among other things I think it gave more credit to how the movable letters were placed in relation to each other than it gave to how they were placed in relation to the fixed letters (i.e., if ALL 4 letters that you could move were off by 6 pixels to the left, then it considered that 100%).

[Kevy Baby]

I have a Bachelor's degree in printing ("Graphic Communication") and one of the classes I took was called "Design with Type." I learned all sorts of fascinating minutia about fonts. One of our assignments was creating a one sheet with a poem or some other text along with an image behind it. Besides the layout challenge, we had to use a system where the kerning was turned off and we had to manually code ALL of the kerning.

So far, I haven't had the patience to take the test GD linked to to see if I retained any of those skills.

Another mostly useless factoid I learnt was that in Postscript (and most proper vector-based typesetting protocols), the details of each character vary ever so slightly depending on the point size; this was demonstrated by outputting the same character (same font obviously) in a 6 point and a 72 point size, then blowing up the 6 point character to the same visual size as the 72 point character to display them side-by-side. When comparing, you would see where the stroke might vary, the transition of a crossbar was more filled in on one, etc.

Another assignment was programming in raw Postscript coding. While searching for a visual illustration of the font size difference, I ran across the image below. I remember creating an image exactly like the one on the left side of this image. EXACTLY!

http://books.sorodesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/poems-layout2.gif

[Alex]

89. If that's all that kerning involves and it can be done that well with about 8 seconds of effort on each one (I assume that's not actually the case) then typesetters need to stop proclaiming they've accomplished anything all that noteworthy.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

93. I completely blew one of them.

[CoasterMatt]

The Type Fight! (http://thetypefight.com/)

[Gemini Cricket]

80%

[Alex]

The Type Fight sight isn't loading correctly for me so I'm not sure I am correct about what it is doing, but how does one decide which font is better without the context of a specific use?

Most fonts are good fonts for something (except comic sans).

[Ghoulish Delight]

Shape Type (http://shape.method.ac/), way harder than the Kerning Game. I only got 71%.

[Betty]

I got 71% too!

[Kevy Baby]

The 8 Worst Fonts In The World (http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665318/the-8-worst-fonts-in-the-world)

[Kevy Baby]

http://www.swiss-miss.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/88848187d1468e94dbd714fcb111dcbc66c2f953_mjpg.jpeg

[lashbear]

From an industry newsletter:Jessica Meyers, PIA Digital Imaging Specialist, wonders whether you share her obsession with cool fonts? Or dream of being a type designer one day? You will absolutely love this site. Find free downloadable fonts of your favorite movies, bands, games, etc. at www.typenow.net/themed.htm. Free fonts include many popular popculture- themed fonts—along with thousands of other free fonts. Search the entire site at www.typenow.net/sitemap.htm. If you are interested in learning how to create your own fonts, this site also lists the most professional software for the job and links to where to buy it. Much of the software is discounted for educational use as well.
Please "Like" Typenow on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/typenow) - they've gone away for a little while and we want them to know we love them !!!

[Kevy Baby]

The link isn't working at the moment (I think it is making the rounds on Facebook, so their server may be a bit overwhelmed), but Comicraft Presents The World's Greatest Comic Book Fonts (http://www.comicbookfonts.com/)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Nice find! Such cool fonts, I want them all.

[Stan4dSteph]

Cats as fonts (http://www.buzzfeed.com/animals/cats-as-fonts)

http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web05/2012/2/13/16/enhanced-buzz-9772-1329169069-10.jpg

[Ghoulish Delight]

heh

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/epic-fail-photos-school-of-fail-word-of-the-day-kerning.jpg

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Free. Kin. Awesome!
It bugs the crap out of me when rn looks like an m. So glad to have a word for this phenomenon.

[€uroMeinke]

heh

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/epic-fail-photos-school-of-fail-word-of-the-day-kerning.jpg

I was thinking about this yesterday when I was surprised to find a "Homo Hill" in Camp Pendleton

[Ghoulish Delight]

Not that "Horno Hill" is much better.

[JWBear]

Harry Potter, Seuss, Simpsons And Pixar Alphabets (http://www.geekologie.com/2012/03/harry-potter-tmnt-simpsons-and-pixar-alp.php)

[Gn2Dlnd]

Every time I see this storefront in DTD, I think, "Bunk? Who would name a store Bunk?"

http://ocresort.ocregister.com/files/2011/04/Blink-edited.jpg

Not "keming," just a bad font.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Had the exact same reaction when I saw it.

[Kevy Baby]

Reminds me of the famous Megaflicks sign (http://www.boreme.com/posting.php?id=47&page=1) (NSFW)

[lashbear]

Reminds me of the famous Megaflicks sign (http://www.boreme.com/posting.php?id=47&page=1) (NSFW)

OMG! You went there.

[Morrigoon]

http://xkcd.com/1015/ Kerning

[Kevy Baby]

Unfortunate Text Placement (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/07/unfortunate-text-placement-bikini-picture_n_1495531.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false) (NSFW)

[SzczerbiakManiac]

That's either pathetic (for missing it) or laudable (for sneaking it in).

[alphabassettgrrl]

Yeah, I can't decide if it's sad or brilliant. Either way, I laughed.

[lashbear]

From a friends Facebook post, I just had to share it here.....

[SzczerbiakManiac]

VLBM because that was fraking hilarious and I need to spread more before giving you actual mojo

[Kevy Baby]

Posting this in case you missed it in George Takei's FB feed. Linking to his FB post cuz I'm too lazy to go to my computer to post the picture. (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=485601504802641&set=a.223098324386295.105971.205344452828349&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf)

[Kevy Baby]

Never noticed this before, but now it shall bug me forever

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Wow, I've seen that logo for 40+ years and never noticed that before.

[JWBear]

Well... The V could be either.

[Alex]

The fact that you didn't notice it is a good argument for doing it. It maintains a visual consistency that we naturally accept.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I googled it and that's the basic answer the company gave. It was a suggestion from one of the graphic designers working on the logo, thought it looked better. Nothing more than that.

[lashbear]

Mea Oblivious Culpa.

[Ghoulish Delight]

For the Benefit of Mr. Kite (http://boingboing.net/2012/10/09/replicating-john-lennons-m.html)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

For the Benefit of Mr. Kite (http://boingboing.net/2012/10/09/replicating-john-lennons-m.html)Anyone have a few hundred quid I can borrow?

[lashbear]

You can always use this one: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/011/9/0/for_the_benefit_of_mr__kite_by_reveriescanter-d36x4ur.png

[Cadaverous Pallor]

That circus is well down on my time travel list, but it's on there.

[Frikitiki]

Font Conference (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3k5oY9AHHM)

and Font Fight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6djQHeqMwQ)

[Kevy Baby]

Macula (http://www.boldmonday.com/en/macula), the impossible font.

http://www.boldmonday.com/sitedata/2/Image/retail_fonts/macula/macula_home.png

[SzczerbiakManiac]

I freakin' love that!

[Frikitiki]

Typography chess set (http://www.shapeways.com/model/195224/typographical-chess-set.html)

[alphabassettgrrl]

Cool!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

http://24.media.tumblr.com/2ac841b513d52eb7952393c5f38d3673/tumblr_meo7z7jwE11r1vfbso1_500.jpg

[Cadaverous Pallor]

History of Typography (http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&gl=US&client=mv-google&v=wOgIkxAfJsk&nomobile=1)

[SzczerbiakManiac]

That was fascinating! It also explained where a lot of these font names and terms I've heard used for many years come from.
Thank you for posting that CP!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Handmade Type (http://www.behance.net/gallery/Handmade-Type/3235741)
a typographic experiment by Tien-Min Liao
This is a self-initiated typographic experiment that explores the relationships between upper-case letters and lower-case letters, and also records the transformation between them.

In this experiment, I drew shapes with ink on one or both of my hands, manipulating my gestures into the corresponding shape to signify an upper-case letter. Then, using the same shape on my hands, I manipulated my gesture or changed the perspective through which the shape is viewed in orderto transform the upper-case letter to a lower-case of the same letter. Removing or redrawing the darkened shape on my hands is not allowed in the experiment. The only way to make the model transform from an upper-case to a lower-case (or vice versa) is changing the gestures or the perspectives.

I created 26 sets of these inked shapes and drew them on my hands. Each set is made to create both an upper-case and a lower-case letter, such as A and a. I also created some italic letters, hand-writing letters and some new typefaces with the same shapes.Please check out the page, but here is just one example:
http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles20/431421/projects/3235741/674d2dd6d94824ecfa9d63e0bc512e16.gif

[Alex]

The part that showed real dedication was waiting for 30 days between each letter for the sharpie marker to finally slough off completely.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Handmade Type (http://www.behance.net/gallery/Handmade-Type/3235741)
a typographic experiment by Tien-Min Liao
Please check out the page, but here is just one example:
http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles20/431421/projects/3235741/674d2dd6d94824ecfa9d63e0bc512e16.gifThis is great. The serifs and thicknesses of the strokes make this worth checking out.

[Frikitiki]

Typography Cake! (http://asubtlerevelry.com/typography-cake)

[alphabassettgrrl]

Hey, that's cool!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Hah, cool idea!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Cool idea, but how do you know exactly where to make the cuts?

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Three-Dimensional Font Sculptures (http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/brian-banton-heterosis-kinetic-typeface)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Three-Dimensional Font Sculptures (http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/brian-banton-heterosis-kinetic-typeface)Rad!

[Kevy Baby]

10 inspired alternatives to Helvetica (http://www.creativebloq.com/typography/alternatives-helvetica-7133649)

[€uroMeinke]

Beard Font correlations:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/eac83a8a55600260277c4c2918a1dc4e/tumblr_mrbv8um4eG1qz6f9yo1_500.jpg

[Cadaverous Pallor]

http://typehunting.com/

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Yahoo's new logo. (http://arstechnica.com/staff/2013/09/yahoos-new-logo-and-the-30-day-punchline/) What a joke! It looks just about as bad as any logo I've tried to make.

[Alex]

My view on logos has always been that a good logo is:

80% Corporate success - If Google had used the exact same design for their logo in 1997 it would now be viewed as a work of classic marketing genius.

15% Longevity - Builds to a degree on the 80% since it is hard to have longevity without success but regardless of how "bad" a logo is, if you have it for 40 years people will think it is perfect representation of your company.

5% Design - This is the part that people get paid for, so they try to make it sound much more important than it is to the success of a logo.

[alphabassettgrrl]

I never look at the logo and hadn't actually noticed they changed it, until people started talking about it. But now that I do look... meh. They could have done so much better.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Yahoo's new logo is totally meh. But I did like the little animation they did with the exclamation point swooping through the O.
_______________________________________

On a totally different note, I thought this CAPTCHA-like typeface (http://visuall.net/2013/09/04/zxx-captcha-like-typeface-by-sang-mun/) was interesting.

[Alex]

Could they have done better? I'm curious because I can't remember a single example (seriously, examples would be most welcome) of a well-known established company introducing a new logo to wide acclaim. The best I ever seem to see is "Yeah, ok."

FedEx is one I can think of where improvement was strong and clear and while at this point we probably can't imagine going back to 1993 and the old logo, I don't recall it getting much talk in those nascent Internet days.

(And I'm definitely not saying a logo can be improved from a pure aesthetic point of view, just that I don't think aesthetics have much to do with the success of a logo.)

[RStar]

Yahoo's new logo. (http://arstechnica.com/staff/2013/09/yahoos-new-logo-and-the-30-day-punchline/) What a joke! It looks just about as bad as any logo I've tried to make.

I agree. Yahoo is my home page, and I noticed it right off. I think the old logo had a lot more character, and the new one is pretty plain and boring.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I think when it's done well, people don't stand up and cheer, they think it's a natural extension of the brand, and don't really notice it in a major way.

There are some good ones here (http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/look-30-other-corporate-logo-redesigns-12115). UPS, Starbucks, Sprint, Google, BP, all good.

[Alex]

Never mind. I feel like I'm being bitchy and argumentative lately. So I'll just delete that and move on with life.

[RStar]

We wouldn't have you any other way, Alex.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

VAM for self-awareness and editing and moving on and another VAM for being wonderfully argumentative. Because sometimes I just crave confrontation on subjective concepts.

Does it really count as two Visible Mojos when I put them in one post?

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Fried Egg Font (http://www.handmadefont.com/product/eggs-font/) made with actual fried eggs

[Cadaverous Pallor]

New favorite blog http://typesetinthefuture.com/