Chiquita Caps - A font designed by Paige Snader, a current student enrolled at Eastern Caroline University, with a Communication Arts major and minor in Printmaking.
At a first I thought it looked awesome and it drew in my interest instantly, but then at second thought i started to wonder if it would actually be successful in a word/title. Each letter is in upper case and is quite detailed. So I tried out the word 'typography' and it turned out effective and readable.
I thought this was a very successful typeface as it would present an idea well, but it's a subject specific font.
Another font i found that followed the same idea from the same book is this one:
Fireplug Gothic - A font designed by Craig Vosler, a current student enrolled at Eastern Caroline University, with a Communication Arts major and minor in Printmaking:
At first i thought the two images looked a bit disconnected, where the extinguisher is and the hose with nozzle, but i actually quite like this type. I think it has mastered both easy to read and visually interesting which is effective. The curve in the letterforms is quite formal but unique and flows nicely to read from.
I would be interesting to find more typefaces like these where the letterform does hugely reply on its subject/purpose. I did read, however, somewhere that type that gets too creative and further away from the norm is more unsuccessful as it becomes harder for the view to read.
Sources-
Title: U&LC Influencing Design and Typography
Author: John D.Berry
Date Published: 2005
Posted by Tess Pyke
I think typefaces with a lot of characteristics or pictures worked into each letter are hard to work with seriously as a designer. I think the creation process itself would be fun and a challenge but I think simplicity is key. These types of fonts tend to remind me of those default ones in Microsoft Word 97 that you would use as a kid, and they'd have little gnomes or elves (or something) sitting on the letters.
ReplyDeleteI find that the effect is lost when you see a lot of the same thing. You appreciate the first couple of letters and then you start to think "Oh, they're just all fire hoses". Creative fonts, but I think the letters would be most successful used singularly in conjunction with another simple font that has the same formal qualities (ie. helvetica, arial, etc.).
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Jase, fonts like these are only appreciated in small doses. I admire the creativity and the amount of effort that has been put into typefaces such as the above, but I view them more as an artwork then a successful form of typography.
ReplyDeleteFonts such as Helvetica and Times New Roman are popular due to the simplicity of the lettering, and how they do not over power what the text is trying to convey. Just imagine the struggle your brain would have to go through reading a novel in a font like the above- Thats where architect Ludwig Van Der Rohe's aphorism "less is more" is appropriate.
While doing my own research into typography I came across a website called "The Design Cubicle" (http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/) I found an article called "What makes a quality font" which gives you some pointers on how to separate the good fonts from the bad.
As stated in the blog: Consistancy, Readability, Font Families and Versatility are the important factors to consider when analyzing a specific typeface. I suggest you also read the discussions and comments posted on this blog as other graphic designers give their input into what makes a successful typeface.
I think these example of typefaces are ones that are exciting when we first look at them; we immediately consider all these amazing possiblities that could be created with these fun, quirky letters, but then when it comes to using the typeface within a design, it doesn't seem like such a good idea after all. (And then we wish that we had just stuck to good old Helvetica...)
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me of an article I came across by Gerard Unger entitled 'Legible.'
He talks about the 'rules of legibility' and how they no longer apply, instead, new interpretations of legibility are being considered.
He quotes Wim Crouwel, who says,
"everything we knew about legibility twenty years ago is now invalid because the notion of legibility has been stretched so much since that time. We are inundated with so many different texts in such varied manifestations that we have become used to everything and can read everything without difficulty."
Article by Gerard Unger can be found here:
http://www.logoorange.com/legibility-graphic-design.php
Comment by Laura Barge
Oh boy, I really must have entered a time warp! I happen to be the designer of this fruity typeface under inspection here and am getting a big kick out of the scrutiny. I'd like to add some clarity the origin of this edible font: in 1978 (long before the advent of personal computers or the wide world web) art and design students at East Carolina University (Greenville, NC) were required to complete a final project, whereby they had to create a font, hand drawn of course, comprised of an inanimate object, using only 3 or 4 images of the object (can't remember the exact specifications, now). The main goal of the assignment was to compete in a prestigious national contest of student created fonts, winners selected from art colleges and institutions across the U.S., and published by a graphics magazine called U&LC. this was a very big deal back in the 70's. As it happened in 1978, my bananas font turned out to be the lucky winner that year. Now, I'm wondering how on earth you found a digital copy of my bananas font, since the hard copy version of U&LC that would have featured my font seems to have faded away long ago? -Paige Snader Anderson
ReplyDeletePaige - your font is featured in the hardcover version of the U&lc book! I received it for Christmas (I loved the magazine as a child) and went hunting on the web for both you and Craig (to see where you'd gotten to, now that you were "all grown up." Imagine my surprise when I found your comment on this page!
ReplyDeleteWow! I had no idea. I will have to find a copy of the U&LC book. Thanks to your blog, my banana font is the first thing that comes up in a "Google" search of my maiden name. I love it!
ReplyDelete