Discussion I would just like to know....................................

[Gino]

Why are there so many ugly fonts needing to be identified ??

Can't some of you people talk your client into something worthwhile ?? Some of these are absofrickin'lutely horrible...... and then you do it all over again.

Can someone explain the logic or thinking behind this or are most of you that type-faced ignorant...... and I don't mean that in a mean way ??

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

I think for most it's easier to just give the customer what they want then try to persuade them into something better that they don't really want.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I'd like to know how many times someone is going to start a thread like this.

 

[Gino]

So, if it aint' broke, don't fix it............. but it's so frickin' ugly in almost every case.

 

[Brennen]

In my experience a lot of times, the client just doesn't care what we think. They want what they want. A lot of times we are able to convince them to try something else but you will always have those who are persistent.

 

[shoresigns]

We definitely pick our battles sometimes, but over the years it's become a lot easier to tell clients why we're not going to make their logo bigger, or why the font we gave them is better than what they requested.

All it takes is a little practise and a bit of confidence to make clients trust your expertise.

 

[papabud]

in my experience. with fonts... something close and the customer will never notice the difference. i tend to proof with a font. and 98% of the time its accepted. or i ask if they can supply the font if they need an exact one used.

 

[shoresigns]

or i ask if they can supply the font if they need an exact one used.

Font licenses that allow a client to share fonts with their vendors/contractors (i.e. you) are very rare. If a client sends you a font, the correct response is, "We'll check the license terms on this font to be sure, but usually each company that uses the font has to purchase their own separate license."

And obviously you would bill them for it, since you're purchasing the license specifically so you can use it in their project.

 

[rjssigns]

I've had to ask for font help lately. Church picnic season and I need to replicate existing work. Much easier than asking for artwork which no one seems to have.

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

Font licenses that allow a client to share fonts with their vendors/contractors (i.e. you) are very rare. If a client sends you a font, the correct response is, "We'll check the license terms on this font to be sure, but usually each company that uses the font has to purchase their own separate license."

And obviously you would bill them for it, since you're purchasing the license specifically so you can use it in their project.

Yeah, except in most of these 'ugly font' scenarios, it's likely going to be a font that's free for commercial use that they are using. I can't imagine any of our clients, other than the ones who are actually designers, paying for the fonts they use. And while I realize that a lot of commercial fonts are roughly traced, rehashed as 'free' fonts, and distributed widely across the internet, that's an entirely different discussion for another day. The fact that there are so many free fonts available with no licensing terms is mainly the reason why people are using ugly fonts in the first place. With the exception of some, of course. Google fonts are, to some degree, a nice alternative to the usual free font site variety.

 

[equippaint]

People don't like change, even for the better. You can always just change it and then make up some excuse for it, 9/10 times the people will buy it. For some strange reason our machine kept printing that font in windings so I had no other option.
Just change it and dont ask, most people wont even know.

 

[Z SIGNS]

Why are there so many ugly fonts needing to be identified ??
Because most on this forum are replicators."Ugly font" is subjective. Never met a font that couldn't work somewhere. It's today's misunderstanding of image
appropriateness when using typography. I call it ocular pollution.

I think for most it's easier to just give the customer what they want then try to persuade them into something better that they don't really want.

I agree. If you have to replicate and it's ugly and they can't see that ..why waste your time

In my experience a lot of times, the client just doesn't care what we think. They want what they want. A lot of times we are able to convince them to try something else but you will always have those who are persistent.

Your fishing in the wrong pond. You have choices. why work for people who can't be educated. Hone your craft, dig your way out of this cesspool and only work for merchants who seek you for your expertise.

 

[Johnny Best]

Telling someone they have an ugly font in their logo is like telling them their spouse or child is ugly. Better to keep it to yourself. The font may have a quality you do not see like they do.
Now if you are a plastic surgeon and someone comes in with an ugly nose, you fix it.

 

[equippaint]

Telling someone they have an ugly font in their logo is like telling them their spouse or child is ugly. Better to keep it to yourself. The font may have a quality you do not see like they do.
Now if you are a plastic surgeon and someone comes in with an ugly nose, you fix it.

100% true but those people that fix ugly noses also dont b*tch about stuffing lips full of silicon or putting 50lbs of tits on a 100lb frame. Maybe charging more for ugly signs will make it more palatable, seems to work well for them.

 

[Eric Butler]

The only font I have feelings for is the cool one on the bottom of a client's check when they pay their invoice.

"Beauty is in the eye of the checkbook holder."

 

[Sandman]

Telling someone they have an ugly font in their logo is like telling them their spouse or child is ugly. Better to keep it to yourself. The font may have a quality you do not see like they do.
Now if you are a plastic surgeon and someone comes in with an ugly nose, you fix it.

You don’t have to tell them their font is ugly. Does a plastic surgeon tell his patient her nose is ugly? Of course not. There is a little tidbit called tact. Tell them their logo ( or whatever) isn’t bad but we could improve the effectiveness by making a few changes. As I’ve mentioned before, use the squint test. When they can see the problem themselves, they might let you fix it.

If we continue to use ugly fonts people get used to it and ugly signs will become more and more acceptable. This probably all came about with computers in every office and a butt load of free fonts available to all. Most of my customers tell me “I’m the expert, show me what I need”. Love those customers. The other type, the ones that bring or send a layout, I tell them I have many fonts designed specifically for signs and that most computer fonts aren’t designed to be put on signs. I truly believe that and they can tell, so they believe it. Makes my life much easier.

 

[unclebun]

Times when we have to find ugly fonts, it is because of their logo or how they write their name, and they already have all their marketing collateral and other advertising using that image. At that point it's a bit presumptuous to tell them they have to change everything else because you don't like their font or don't feel like searching for it. Unless they've come to you for a complete image makeover, it's not the time or place for it.

This is something I noticed among signpainters/signmakers when I entered the industry over 25 years ago. They tend to want to change the look of a business's signs every time they do another truck or another sign for a client just because they feel artistically inclined or think they can "make it look cooler". That's not how good marketing works.

 

[Sandman]

On the other hand, major brands and companies update their logos to keep up with the times. A fresh look can really help a business especially if their logo is ugly, thus ineffective.

 

[Johnny Best]

Well, some sign people think some fonts look good and I think they look ugly. As far as "tact", I was told a long time ago to never tell someone their sign looks ugly. I would never tell anyone they were ugly and it goes for signs and fonts also.

 

[unclebun]

On the other hand, major brands and companies update their logos to keep up with the times. A fresh look can really help a business especially if their logo is ugly, thus ineffective.

While true, logo changes are made strategically and not often. Certainly not every time they order a new truck or a marketing banner to put at the corner bar.