In the first lesson on font type I highlighted how they can be used to make information easier to understand, and how the look of the font accomplishes that. Here I'd like to discuss how fonts can actually affect the meaning of that information. Much of the research this lesson uses came from Eva Brumberger (fellow NMSU grad!) at Virginia Tech.

There is a theory in social anthropology that claims the medium IS the message. In other words, it's not only what is said, but what is used to transmit what is said. Stating something to someone is different than sending them an email. Sending an official letter is different than sending an email also. It affects what the message is: have you ever heard the saying, "can I get that in writing?"

Font type can do a lot to affect what is being communicated. To illustrate, I'd like to use some extreme examples. Read the passage in figure 1.

 
Figure 1. Sonnet written in chiller font type.

How does the passage make you feel? It's kind of creepy isn't it? It certainly doesn't make one feel good. The passage is written in a font type called chiller. It's supposed to pass on that kind of creepy, Nightmare-On-Elm-Street kind of feeling. I think it does quite a good job at that. Now, let's look at another example (figure 2).

Figure 2 is certainly more uplifting isn't it? At least it looks that way. This example is written in a font type called curlz, and it's perhaps the polar opposite of the font type, chiller.

What's interesting in these two passages is that the first one, a passage from a Shakespearean Sonnet (Sonnet 116) is actually kind of upbeat. Shakespeare is telling us that Love doesn't surrender to time, it is in fact immune to the affects of time. Not too bad. But when paired with the font type I selected, it doesn't come across as upbeat, but ominous.

The second passage, figure 2, is a portion of a sonnet (Sonnet 65) written by a Victorian poet named Gerard Manley Hopkins, who was known for his imagery of despair, frustration, and loss. His poems are utterly depressing. And I'm sure you get that from this passage, but the font contrasts with that messge: it wrestles with it. It just doesn't look right, does it?

Thus, it is easy to see that font can actually shape your message. So just as you should select an appropriate font to help readers 1. easily find information and 2. easily read the information, you should also select a font that will 3. help support the information.

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Last update: 27-03-2009 13:45