Typefaces and their personalities can be like spices and sauces in cuisine — they can be very specific to a genre or area and give off very specific feeling. But, if you’re not familiar with the nuances and subtleties of them, you might miss quite a bit along the way.
For instance, if you’re not familiar with the varied cuisine of China you might think of Panda Express as great Chinese food… and you’d be missing the point (and minimizing a great culinary legacy by way of a mediocre chain restaurant). In a similar way, someone not familiar with Roman typography might look at sans-serif faces and consider them all basically the same.
However, a typeface like Gill Sans has a legacy in Great Britain that is tied to pride during wartime. This sentiment is not shared by their American counterparts — and late 20th century allegations into Eric Gill's personal life questions whether we can separate the art from the artist (For the record, I'm not a fan). They would have feelings towards different faces — also based on where they might have historically encountered them. For instance, faces like Franklin Gothic would make many Americans think of early educational materials like flashcards and children’s books. However, to someone with only a vague familiarity of the nuances of the two typefaces, Gill Sans and Franklin Gothic might seem pretty much the same — they’re both “Orange Chicken”.
“Keep Calm” was one of three posters created by the British Ministry of Information in 1939 in response to public concerns over Hitler’s invasions into Europe.
Get Good with Type
How can you get good with type? In the same way you’d get good with regional cuisines if you were studying in culinary school… get out and sample some. Get a taste and critically analyze them. Talk to people about them. Get their point-of-view on it all. You won’t discover much by Googling it, that’s for sure.
If I were an American studying Chinese culinary arts at a school in Shanghai and I wasn’t familiar with the regional culinary flair, I’d have to get out and become acquainted with regional cuisine quickly.
Likewise, If I were a Chinese student studying American culinary arts at a school in San Francisco, I’d have to get out and become acquainted with regional cuisine quickly.
If I were an American student studying communication design in Shanghai from a Chinese perspective, I’m going to have to get out and learn about communication: the language, the alphabet, the people, the history, and the culture.
… and If I were a Chinese student studying communication design in San Francisco from an American perspective, I’m going to have to get out and learn about communication: the language, the alphabet, the people, the history, and the culture… I’ll learn some in the classroom, but I’ll need to do a good bit — if not more — more on my own. It's like trying to get fit. I can't just go to the gym.
A Personal Insight
A few years ago it dawned on me how truly foreign can be to look at an alphabet that is not your own — and then be asked to intuit tone, attitude, and provenance through letter forms... and just 26 of them.
One of our students from Taiwan was having a hard time and came to meet me during Spring Break to discuss it. Our meeting was at noon-time and when he showed up, I asked, "Are you hungry?"
He said, "Well, yeah... kinda."
I said, "Tell you what: I've not had lunch yet. I'll buy you lunch in Chinatown if you can pick a restaurant that is killer — but one that I'd never go to... that I might be scared to go to... and on the way, we'll talk about type."
A sly grin emerged as he said, "I know the place." ... and we headed out.
We walked up Kearny Street and talked about his experiences at school and some of the difficulties he was having. We talked about sneakers, cars, and music. We also talked about my love for Chinese food. He didn't know it, but since I was a kid, I've loved the stuff*. But as an American, my tastes have been... limited. I'd never had the opportunity to go to China (or Taiwan) and even though I'd been to some very high-end (and low-end... but good) Chinese restaurants in San Francisco, I knew there was still a lot of ground to cover. Likewise, he'd not had the opportunity to travel much outside of Taiwan (he was from Taipei) and his studies in English up until that point were academic more than cultural in nature.
As we walked, I pointed out signs and typography and would ask: "What feeling do you get when you see that sign in English? Does it feel corporate? Cheap? Rushed? Elegant?" ... Sadly, more often than not, he got it wrong. And when we approached Chinatown, we turned it around to me: "Does this Chinese sign seem formal? Expensive? Official? Generic?"... And more often than not, I got it wrong, too.
We made our way to the restaurant... in the basement of a building on a side street. I'm not sure if I could find it again. I told him my general preferences and had him order for the both of us. The meal wasn't scary at all and — as far as I recall — good enough (it was no Shanghai-1930). The company was much better, though. We continued to talk about his experiences in school, in San Francisco, and what he hoped to do when he finished school.
At the end of it all, we both came to the conclusion that there's really no shortcut. You simply have to keep your eyes open, take notes, and really (really, really) pay attention. There's no substitute for the [absorb+synthesize] part of the equation.
So, as Woody Allen says, "80% of success is showing up."
I'll add: "The other 20% is paying attention..."
So, keep your eyes open, kids. More importantly, keep your eyes and mind open.
Absorb > Synthesize > Apply ...
[* ... I have an almost equal love for Indian food... and kept a jar of hing in the house until it stunk up everything.]
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