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I am a Font

S

SirSlarty

New Member
Let's get something else going on here besides "Font ID HELP PLZX!" (Yeah OK I asked for help a few times but I can still poke some fun).

Inspired by a thread I saw on another forum: Personify/Advertise Your favorite (or least favorite) fonts.

brushscript.gif


helvetica.gif

subtitle: things are about to get Grotesk
 
Geary

Geary

New Member
Well....I LIKE 'em!

I beg to differ.

Brush Script and Helvetica have been used and can STILL be used in great designs. I've never found them ugly or boring at all when put together properly.

Let me illustrate. I've just taken 10 minutes and created a magazine cover design using the afore mentioned fonts and see nothing wrong with using them as Headers. Let's call the magazine "Boat Fishing Monthly" for argument's sake.

However, I do know of some very ugly fonts that I would NEVER use like "Sand" .....eew!

~Gear
 

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iSign

iSign

New Member
Geary said:
Brush Script and Helvetica have been used and can STILL be used in great designs. I've never found them ugly or boring at all when put together properly.

Let me illustrate. I've just taken 10 minutes and created a magazine cover design using the afore mentioned fonts and see nothing wrong with using them as Headers.
Click to expand...
sure, I'll believe it can be done,
so yeah... go ahead & show us what ya got?
 
Jillbeans

Jillbeans

New Member
I love that! Gonna print it and frame it!
I remember last year on Letterville I created a Hellvetica challenge..the premise was to design a sign using only that font.
And yes, there were some real beauties.
Love....Jill
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
I agree with Geary... 100%

I guess since some font styles from the computers today still resemble some of our old ‘Real Brush’ styles, it boils down to using certain fonts correctly or not. If you depend on the computer to do all of your kerning, weight stroke and coloring… just about any font will look rather stupid. It’s when you go in and fine tune everything the way it would visually look good to the viewer. Adding shadows, bevels, crazy angles, outlines… aren’t the approved method of making type attractive. Tricks aren’t always the answer. Sometimes it’s just good sound building mechanics and understanding the mechanics of the font itself. So, knowing something about the general character or appearance of printed matter would surely help. Typography is something most computer nerds know nothing about. It can be learned, but if you don’t know about something…. how can you go about fixing something ??

Purposely [or unknowingly] misusing any fonts will bring smiles to your face, but also no business eventually, so some people shy away from fonts they don’t understand.

Some of the traditional fonts from back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s are some of the best known fonts…. and they are for the most part very simplistic type faces.

Probably, one of my favorites is a style called 'Tanner'.
 
Geary

Geary

New Member
Thanks Gino,

In addition, the whole idea is knowing that there's beauty in contrasts. With headers you can get away with just about any typestyle as long as you imbolden them enough with smart elements as listed above.

Subordinate copy should always be easy to read no matter what. With layouts, the whole idea is to choose fonts that work well together in groups....or "silhouettes". In other words, the fonts should be easy to read and the groupings should have rythym and balance.

~Gear
 
Replicator

Replicator

New Member
Got Mike Stevens already . . . Still trying to swallow all I've learned form that

before advancing to the next teacher !
 
MobileImpact

MobileImpact

New Member
I agree with all of you to a certain extent. Yes we are in the "graphic business" and yes most of us are experienced to some extent in layout and design, either by formal education, reading layout books or just plain old trial and error. But are we not in the business to give a customer what he wants? (or thinks he wants). Whenever we have a chowder head who comes in wanting the "Comic Sans" and "Brush Script" combo we deal with him and take his ms word document and lay it out just as he asks. We than do a little bit more to using his fonts of choice, and give him a second option with the same feel to it. Lastly we take his concept and try to give him a correct layout. In any case we option 1 for $1, option 2 for $2 or option 3 for $3. If he still chooses the ugly option 1, ok. It still makes my eqipment payments. If he chooses option 2 or 3, I can make my equpment payment and by a box of hamburger helper to feed the family.

Sorry for the rant, just my 2 cents.

Kevin
 
S

SirSlarty

New Member
I guess this place is too serious to not poke fun at fonts. Heh.

I can't believe my originals were taken THAT serisously.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
No, no…. don’t take it personally. What you have there is true and on the mark.

When you get those people coming in and asking for… God knows what, and you feel like punching them in the face because of some bastardization they or their relatives have created… one must learn how to educate them and turn their lemons into lemonade.

My point [I can’t speak for Geary] is simply, most people [in the industry] on this site, other sites, other computer software just aren’t aware of how crummy some of these things are until pointed out, so in that respect…. this is a good exercise.

Everyone must start somewhere, but when one comes up through the ranks and learns ALL the ‘Ins & Outs’ about building type, layout, color choice, spacing, tension, gingerbread, keeping a theme throughout, and conflicting ideas… it is far easier to layout, and also design signs, trucks, logos and so forth.

The font one chooses just happens to be the choice of communicating those thoughts.

So, even though you might poke fun at a particular font and the whole crowd agrees with you or not… it’s still a personal opinion.

This place is not a popularity contest. I’ll go heads to heads with anyone when principles or fundamentals are crossed, but when opinions enter in… I’ll give mine and strive to make my points heard. Remember the old saying… ‘Opinions…. everyone has one, just like they have………… LOL
 
bob

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
MobileImpact said:
I agree with all of you to a certain extent. Yes we are in the "graphic business" and yes most of us are experienced to some extent in layout and design, either by formal education, reading layout books or just plain old trial and error. But are we not in the business to give a customer what he wants? (or thinks he wants).
Click to expand...

That's a notion the incompetent often use to rationalize their own mediocrity.

One should strive to give the client what it needs, not what it might think that it wants. These are two very different things and if there is a correlation, it's only coincidental. Vis-a-vis this business, to give someone what it needs requires some small level of skill, to give it what it wants only requires a computer.
 
MobileImpact

MobileImpact

New Member
bob said:
That's a notion the incompetent often use to rationalize their own mediocrity.

One should strive to give the client what it needs, not what it might think that it wants. These are two very different things and if there is a correlation, it's only coincidental. Vis-a-vis this business, to give someone what it needs requires some small level of skill, to give it what it wants only requires a computer.
Click to expand...

That's my point exactly. You can point it out, correct it and "sell" the changes. The customer needs a sign, good or bad, layout is totally on them. You present your recommendations and "sell" the upgrade.If they take it great!, if not, do you walk away from the job? Personally I would rather have a million $$$ in my account doing signs with brush script lettering on them by the truck load, than to have no $$$$ in my account and the best designs or layouts in the world. (would ideally like to find the middle ground).

So I guess I'm saying if Suzy Customer wants the brush script lettering, explain to her why she shouldn't, offer her your recommendations. If she insists on it, either make the sign or send them to me. (Just kidding).

Back on topic. There are a bizzilion fonts out there to use. Like Geary said earlier, take it and own it, make it your own, and work with it. It is a matter of choice, either you like a typestyle or not. With so many choices at your finger tips, be it by brush stroke or keystroke, sometimes it good to get back to basics.

Not trying to rationilize anything. Let alone slip into mediocrity. Just calling it like it is.
 
Jillbeans

Jillbeans

New Member
I make ugly signs all the time, and charge a good price for them.
I have used Brush Script, Old English, Comic Sans, Crayon, pretty much whatever the customer asks for.
Do I try to steer them in the proper direction? Of course, if they seem open to suggestion.
Otherwise I just don't put the pictures in my portfolio.
Love....Jill
 
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