#typographyfouls

This summer I decided to join a kickball team. Our team name: Sons of Pitches. We decided on Liberty Chapter based on playing at Liberty Park. For those who are Sons of Anarchy fans, you’ll understand the logo. I was not aware of the final design before it was sent in for printing. So yesterday before our game, we were given these shirts. Not paying much attention to the shirt until during the fifth inning while staring at my fabulously type ignorant boyfriend, Joe, sporting our team jersey, I noticed the typography fouls. Great fonts, but not together. They are too similar. I noticed the font difference when staring at the letters E, H, P, and T. Also, the top phrase appears to be stretched slightly. This shirt has a cool idea behind it, but awful use of type. Being the type Nazi I am, I would never imagine wearing a shirt with error unless it was intentional. Looks like I’ll have to take one for the team.

Here’s another great website my professor introduced me to! My type face is Architype Van Doesburg which is a font for the emotional, assertive, progressive, and disciplined. It is an uppercase typeface where every letter occupies the same amount of face...which drives me crazy. Click on the link, type in your name, and see which type face you are! 

Here’s another great article about typography do’s and don’ts! This one covers bad color combos, centered alignment, justified alignment, the use of too many fonts, distorting fonts, and the dashes. For the record, typography did not teach me about the difference between a hyphen, an em dash, and an en dash. I had no idea of the different functions. I guess its true when they say you learn something new everyday.

I came across this article awhile back while I was taking my first typography class. It not only covers the basic do’s and don’ts of type, but it gives viewers a visual as well. Perfect for beginners, or those who are typographically challenged.

This video talks about when Comic Sans was born, inappropriate use of the font, and a new idea of reinventing the font to make it more tolerable. Also, see if you can find the error in this video. It drove me nuts.

Proper grammar goes along with proper use of typography. Bad grammar = bad ads. Check out this amusing video by “Weird Al” Yankovic!

Kerning never killed anybody. So why is everyone afraid to use it? Yes, the font itself is very important, but so are the tools that make it functional. Without the proper kerning, sometimes certain messages are transformed into others. Click the link above and check out these typography fouls. Maybe you’ll notice how kerning could have saved the day.

Here’s an article talking about Comic Sans and it’s correct and intended use. Every font has a personality and purpose. So choose your type wisely!