May 12, 2009

Letter Me Tell You Something...

By: Christina Smith

Serif? Sans-serif? Minion? Helvetica? So many fonts! So difficult to choose! How in the world do designers pick the “correct” font? Is there such a thing as the “correct” font? Typography sets the mood for a piece. Fonts subconsciously convey a certain style and feeling to the reader. To most people, fonts are meaningless letters on a page of a book or magazine. To a designer, typography is an art form. David Cabianca, a typographer, who teaches at the Design Department at York University in Toronto, says the key to creating a piece that speaks to the reader is to learn and appreciate the “form and structure” of a typeface. “Typography is a matter of seeing type arranged on the page like an image, a picture arranged in a composition… Type is an abstract art form -- the typeface "Bodoni" doesn't communicate an immediately explicit message. What "Bodoni" does do, is call to mind certain connotative associations that lie at the back of our mind, like "grace," "regalness" and "refinement.” Similarly, Helvetica communicates different connotations that move a reader to feel a sense of simplicity, naturalness, and purity. Different fonts convey different messages.