Monday, September 14, 2009









Sources and further reading online:
Typeface Inspired by Comics Has Become a Font of Ill-Will
Gaimpietro+Smith on Neuland
Chop Suey Fonts


  1. And as a comment to the "Mandarin" typeface, take a look at this Chinese fake "Tibetan" typeface on the poster to the movie Kekexili.

    The Chinese characters have been modified to look like Tibetan letters.

  2. All of these are cover designs, and while no less valid, what strikes me are the uses of unusual fonts and font sizes inside of picture books. With some books the font used on the text cheapens the overall effect of the book, or makes it difficult for younger readers to "track" what they are reading because they are still learning how to read letterforms, much less understand the difference between bold or growing texts.

    Gosh, I wish I had some ready examples. I'll see if I can track a few down, but they have mostly been books I wouldn't recommend to anyone and thus have tried to push out of my memory.

  3. Whoa--that poster is interesting, Chen. At least the lettering maintains a certain beauty even after modification. Some of those chop suey fonts are pretty inelegant, losing the beauty of the Chinese calligraphy it was meant to suggest.
    David--I remember struggling with things like that when I was a new reader, like what italics was for. I was especially confused by parentheses.

  4. David - the classic example of an inappropriate font used inside a kids book is BABAR, where the font is cursive. I'd like to have been at the table when that decision was made. Has anyone ever heard an explanation for why they would leave new readers (or even slightly more sophisticated readers - 1st & 2nd graders, for sure) out of the loop like that?

    For anyone who wants to explore this issue of typeface being a somewhat political tool, watch the movie (out on DVD now) called HELVETICA. Who knew typeface could cause that kind of agitation or be used in such authoritarian ways! It's a fascinating look at an icon of global visual culture. There are clips at this link: