We certainly think so…

I recently discovered an interesting article the BBC wrote as an introduction to typographic culture. Having both a professional & personal interest in typography I was intrigued to read what they had to say about it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10689931

“ The typeface matters because of its power to create a sense of recognition and trust, “Everyone recognises the BBC just from three characters in Gill Sans. It’s an icon. If you wrote BBC in a flowery font people wouldn’t recognise it.”

Julie Strawson, director of Monotype Imaging

The typographic communities reaction was equally revealing

http://typophile.com/node/72486

“ To be successful with type you have to first choose the right one, and then use it well. There is no foolproof recipe for selecting the right type for each and every purpose. Choosing the right type requires experience, intuition, and creativity. “

Robert Trogman – Graphic Designer quoting Stefan Rógener

I personally believe that good typeface selection is crucial to the success of any brand or piece of written communication, of course legibility is a primary concern when selecting the right typeface, but typefaces still have to feel right. That may sound strange but It’s easier to understand if you imagine typefaces almost like people each with their own history and personality, would the identity of a theme park look right if it were in a rather sensible sans serif such as a particularly un-quirky Helvetica or Arial?

Type is an interesting creature because each typeface is emotive and wrapped within it’s own cultural context whether you are aware of it or not, type is a conduit for evoking the traditions of it’s own past and present usage. From a design point of view typeface selection is often based on what the typeface has been used for in the past and how it can be utilised to bring those often-subconscious familiarities to our advantage.

Certain typefaces just look right for certain jobs. Helvetica for example whose name is derived from Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin name for Switzerland was designed to be extremely neutral (oh the irony) with great legibility and no intrinsic meaning in its form. It has become one of the most successful fonts ever designed and was adopted by many corporations who wanted to seem extremely professional, clear, concise and un-biased. This appropriation means that it has a proven pedigree for corporate signage and branding which is impossible to ignore.

Another example of typefaces absorbing cultural context is the extremely versatile and well-designed typeface Times New Roman which can be considered dull and generic simply because it is the default typeface in many word processing programs and email applications. Despite the fact that it is one of the most well recognised and ubiquitous typefaces in history!

Clearly good type selection matters, why else would there be so many different fonts if one were all we required. Do typefaces matter? You better believe it!