Type Specimen - Week 3

"YOU MAKE ME A"

ANALYZE: 

This is a display san serif. The letters are upper case and look handwritten. Though the "A"'s and "E"'s are almost identical, the "M"'s are very different, the first looks proper, but the second looks disproportionately pushed to the right. The x-height is very high on all the letters, the crossbar of the "A"'s and "E"'s and the arm of the "K" all sitting much closer to the cap line than the base line.

CLASSIFY:

Display 

San Serif

Hand Written

Upper Case

DEFINE:

These words are very easy to read, and the littlest details change it from a standard typeface to make it look handwritten while not being distracting. The tiny stroke on the stem of the "E" that comes above the top crossbar, the way the right side of the "U" is a little higher than the left. 

COMMENT:

I love this choice of typeface, it gives the card a very personal feel as if the person giving it might have actually drawn the card themselves. All of the words have a nice vertical lift, reinforcing it's light and friendly nature.

Type Specimen - Week 3

"HAPPY"

ANALYZE: 

This is a script san serif typeface, all lower case that is made to look hand written. The entire word carries a consistent stroke weight, and the descender on the "y" comes way down past the descent line into the word below. All of the letters are connected to look written in cursive, except for the "p"'s. The stem of the "h" also descends much lower than the baseline, while the bowl of the "a" sits above it. The spurs on the first and last letter are exaggerated, almost to swashes.

CLASSIFY:

Display

Script

Handwritten

DEFINE:

The handwritten style of the word plays on the actual word itself, looking playful and fun. It looks like it was handwritten in marker, and while the word sits relatively straight, most of the letters are off the baseline, playing up that feel.

COMMENT:

I really like the feel of this word, but the stem of the "h" really bothers me. It is supposed to look handwritten, but it almost looks like the letter "f". 

Type Specimen - Week 3

"CAMPER"

ANALYZE:
This is a display san serif. The letters are upper case and look handwritten, all carrying a mostly consistent stroke weight, but nothing is uniform. There are embellishments on the ends of the strokes. The cross bars on the "A" and the "E" sit on, very high mean line. The shoulder of the C is nice and round, while the bowl on the "R" is very small. The apex of the "M" is very sharp.

CLASSIFY:
Display
Hand Written
Upper Case

DEFINE:
The word, like the ones at the top of the card, add a personal touch with their handwritten style. There is more emphasis put on this word, instead of looking like a single stroke, it looks like it was gone over multiple times to be made bold.

COMMENT:
This word adds a nice play against the top basic typeface and the middle script one. It adds emphasis but doesn't overpower the fun of "happy". It carries out the handwritten feel well, making the card successful throughout.

Semantic Exercise

Kerning Game

Type Specimen - Week 2

"I" and "YOU"

ANALYZE:
This is a display typeface in mixed case. The letters look handwritten and are outlines. They carry an almost consistent but imperfect stroke weight, especially noticeably descender in the "Y" and  in the letter "I". The letters do not sit on the baseline and the "I" is much taller than the letters in "YOU". The bowls are shoulders are oval.

CLASSIFY:
Display
Upper Case
Hand Written

DEFINE:
The words being handwritten add great contrast to the other words on the card. They are legible but very imperfect,  and add a nice fun personal feeling to the card.

COMMENT:
This typeface is nice on this card. I like the playfulness of the outlines in contrast to the script, and it does look handwritten, and somehow it actually does look like how the dog pictured might write.

Type Specimen - Week 2

"WOOF"

ANALYZE:

This is a display handwritten typeface that is set in cursive. All of the letters are lower case and there are ascenders and descenders on the "F". The shoulders and bowls are oval in shape and the second "O" is slightly smaller than the first, but both have the same line that runs through the counters. The apex of the "F" does not connect back to the stem of the letter. 

CLASSIFY:

Display

Lower Case

Cursive

DEFINE:

These letters have nice contrast to the rest of the ones on the card, but carry the most importance, signified but the red color. The cursive looks handwritten adding a nice personal touch to it as well. 

COMMENT:

I like the use of color and contrast this word has, but I wish the typeface were a little different. I would like to see swashes or something a little more fun used here. 

Type Specimen - Week 2

"CONGRATULATIONS"

ANALYZE:

This is a body copy typeface that is being used a display. The letters have serifs and are all upper case. They are humanist, with a drastic change in stroke weight. All the letters hit at exactly the same height, sit on the base line and there are no ascenders or descenders. The bowls and shoulders are round and the non serifed apexes on the "A" and "N"s are sharp. 

CLASSIFY:

Body Copy

Serif

Humanist

Upper Case

DEFINE:

The letters look proper and aged, fitting the feeling of the card. They are legible and straight forward, almost as if typed on a type writer. 

COMMENT:

This is a great choice of typeface for this card given the feeling it already evokes with the silhouettes and black and white classic feel.  It looks classy and nice, but not boring. 

Type Specimen - Week 1

"KISS"

ANALYZE:
These decorative ornate letters have wide exaggerated strokes and serifs. Every letter is uppercase and carries a consistent stroke weight. It is obviously display type and works well on this card as it would a sign or banner. Even though the typeface is exotic, the layout and spacing are conventional.

CLASSIFY:
Display
Serif
Decorative Ornate

DEFINE:
The decorative nature of this font, similar to a Circus font, challenges legibility but since it is such a short word and the layout and set width leave room for each letter to breathe, it does not seem crowded or confusing. It is obviously only meant to be read at large sizes. The playfulness of the typeface adds interest and evokes romanticism and fun.

COMMENT:
I love the use of this typeface on this card. I appreciate the feelings the letters evoke and how they play on the words written. I think the size and scale of this word in particular are very well done in this layout. You know immediately that "kiss" is the most important word on the card, and using this typeface, on this word only, was a good use of restraint.

Type Specimen - Week 1

"BIG HUG"

ANALYZE:
The words "Big Hug" on this card are a slab serif and would fall in the display type category. It has a nice heavy stroke and a equally heavy crossbar on the "H". None of the letters have ascenders or descenders, and the "G"'s have very tiny aperatures. There is very little contrast in the stroke weight and the x-height is relatively small, making it humanist.

CLASSIFY:
Display
Slab Serif
Humanist

DEFINE:
The change in font size adds a nice layer of interest to this otherwise basic text. It adds emphasis to the word "HUG" just by playing with the scale and making it slightly larger. The fact that all of the letters are upper case convey a sense of urgency and excitement, while still remaining classy by using a simple  slab serif typeface and a set width that lets the letters breathe a little.

COMMENT:
I really like that even though these words are very simple, the play on the proportion and scale adds interest to them. The heavy stroke of the slab serif and the fact that all the letters are upper case convey the sense that even though the words are not the flashiest on the card, they are still just as important.

Type Specimen - Week 1

"is good for a" - "and a" - "to go with it"

ANALYZE:
The sans serif script lettering found in the card is all cursive and lower case. It has long calligraphic style swashes, with sweeping spurs coming off of the "g", "f", "d" and "h" letters. All of the letters are connected like you would generally find in handwritten cursive, except for the "f" in "for". Every letter carries the same consistent stroke, but because the swashes add such drama to the typefae, the x height looks very small in scale.

CLASSIFY:
Display
Script
Sans Serif

DEFINE:
The whispy swashes accomplish the sense of romanticism and whimsy that the card is trying to convey. The type is playful and fun, which matches the message the card is giving. While the words in this typeface are not the most impactful ones, they do the best job setting the tone of the card.

COMMENT:
The exaggeration of these letters and the hand drawn qualities of them make them my favorite from the whole card. I really like how the words are laid out and play against the larger more bold words. I also like how they add feeling of the card itself. Even though the swashes are extremely exaggerated, I feel like they manage to add interest to the card instead of distract or clutter the message, which I often see done.