A Visual Analogy of Three Fonts and Their First Impression

A visual message is composed with purpose: to tell, express, explain, direct, inspire, and affect. Meaning lies as much in the eye of the beholder as in the talents of the creator, and in a world were engineers, accountants, and government departments have created the most pervasive typographical messages, it becomes increasingly difficult for designers to deliver unique visual messages. To add to this dilemma, in the words of Eric Spiekermann , “ on average viewer makes a first impression within a split second of physically seeing a typographical arrangement (Spiekmann 17) . Creativity, originality, product and client knowledge become integral components in order to achieve the correct interpretation from the target audience. The wrong typeface can lead to the wrong impression.

In this paper I want to cover what I feel are three important typefaces that can be used for advertising, the first being Curtz MT, a relatively young font created by American designers Steve Matteson and Carl Crossman in 1995. Upon further study, the typeface bears some relative comparison with the Emigre foundry’s typeface, Remedy, created by Frank Heine . Young, fresh, and irregular, the decorative typeface reflects both the fashion forward accessories it sells and the female clientele it targets (the female youth want to own unique jewelry pieces, and the middle age female clientele who lean more towards the classes that are offered) (Arlene Pereles). The exaggeration of the curved look of the typeface, taken out of a youthful context and placed in a more serious local, for example, a bank or law firm would be ridiculed and the viewer would not respond well to its’ light hearted nature. The use of Curtz MT in a book is difficult to read, again due to its curvilinear nature and would also prove to be ineffective in relaying long typographical messages.

Bodoni, created by Giambattista Bodoni (1740 -1813) who is known as the founder of modern roman typeface. Born into the advent of the French Revolution, Bodoni would have witnessed the shift in the typographical industries during this period. The once popular Rococo style, known for its celebration of decorative arts and opulence, quickly vanished and a greater influence on the simplicity of form, and life in general became the new focus of art and design.

Following the ideas of John Baskerville and his influence of the lettering of stonemasons, Bodoni strove to create a font that had clean lines and geometric shapes, and would go on to achieve this ideal during the greater part of his adult life by creating an outstanding collection of over 400 fonts. His personal style leaned more towards simplicity and austerity, shifting away from the ideals previously seen before this period of political change. His constant evolving creativity inevitably led him to the creation of the modern face we see today.

Bodoni can also be credited for the use of various increments in size with roman