Visual Language: the Typography kingdom and its evolution in culture

It’s become second nature to me how some fonts make text taste like poetry, inviting you to take in every word, while others make it feel boxed in. It’s possible, in fact, for a font to be uncomfortable to look at.

As a foreigner to the Typeface kingdom, the earliest decision I made based on this understanding was using the Apple font “SF Pro” on my resumé. Familiarity plays a subtle but powerful role in connecting with people. Human nature is drawn to what it’s familiar with and best of all, “SF Pro” makes my overly crafted (read: long) resumé bullet points pleasant. Sometimes, that’s all it takes for a connection to form.

Watching the Abstract episode with Johnathan Hoefler helped me find a concrete way to explain these emotional reactions. It comes down to overshoot, balance, spacing, ligatures, optical size, and contrast. As audience members to Type, humans feel all the small variations and choices before the brain can even muster the words, yet we still don’t actively notice or name them.

As an art form, Type tells a story over time. The SNL sketch with Ryan Gosling about the usage of Papyrus on the Avatar movie is pure comedic gold. But would the jokes have landed on national television 15 years ago? When it comes to the unsung heroes of human civilization, it’s possible that typographers reign supreme. To be a type maker, you can’t be (too) cocky. Imagine being so patient and humble you spend a life time - or a year, to be precise - to put out 3 sets of 50+ characters filled with angles and details that feel so right but that ultimately, most people will never look at twice. For those who do - graphic designers - fonts become a canvas, a means of creating mood and meaning.

A notable example in the episode was Gotham, a font that has become a staple for political campaigns and a symbolic part of the World Trade Center’s post-9/11 reconstruction. The collection of places in which a font appears can tell a more meaningful story than any single instance. Heritage, as defined by Hoefler. Before watching this episode, I never realised how type is such a defining element in watchmaking, or how it’s actually a New York City cultural artefact. As a budding typeface connoisseur, take a walk around. The collection of typefaces will suddenly tell a classic New York City tale of chaos and harmony of people, tastes and aspirations. Visual Language will be worthy of its name in full volume.

If you shift your attention to the individual fonts, you’ll be able to tell which neighbourhood you’re in and the price of the food you’re about to eat. The font of a magazine cover is more defining than any other element. Fashion houses have stripped their graphic elements right down to a font. Observing the way popular culture has evolved, as a type maker, you’re now entitled to some well-earned pride. Maybe even some cockiness too. A few years down the line, you’ll be a unsung hero of human civilization and the Typography kingdom will return to equilibrium. Until then, I’ll keep quietly fawning over type.

Final note

To be a type designer is to plan for all the scenarios — lowercase, accents, different sizes, different visual compositions that breathe life to branding materials. Aim for a feeling you want readers to experience when they see your work. The Guggenheim example says that the biggest success marker of a font is that it conveys the same impression whether it’s on a website, guest passes, or glass signage.

Behind the scenes

Fonts Pairings used

Top Left: Pilowlava by velvetyne + ABCMonumentGrotesk by Dinamo

Top Right: Bowlby One by Vernon Adams + Inter by Rasmus Andersson

Bottom Left: BianZhiDai Ring + BianZhiDai Pearl by Xiaoyuan Gao, notyourtypefoundry