Week 1: Nicole Buckbinder

My first example of typeface is the T.G.I Friday’s Restaurant word mark. T.G.I. Friday’s is a huge franchise with many competitors. Some of these include, Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, Chili’s, Tully’s, Friendly’s, and more. Therefore the way that T.G.I. Friday’s is advertised and portrayed is really important to make it stand out from the rest of its competitors. The typeface says a lot about the restaurant itself and in my opinion it doesn’t give it a lot of character.

I think that the font being used is the very popular “Helvetica Bold.” It is a sans serif font, which is a very clean and modern typeface. The restaurant and bar “Friday’s” in my opinion isn’t the most clean and modern place ever. It is known for its fried food and bar therefore I think that the typeface should have more of an edge to it. In addition, because the font “Helvetica” is used so often and appears everywhere, I don’t think it is helping the restaurant stand out from its other competitors.

The logo consists of all caps except for the “i” in Friday’s. I think that this was done to make it more unique and show that the restaurant has a little bit more of and edge to it. However, I think it isn’t that successful because in my opinion it looks awkward, it is not centered and makes the boldness of the word “Friday’s” less appealing. The “T.G.I.” is placed right above the word “Friday’s” in the center and is exceptionally smaller then the word “Friday’s.” I believe that this was done because not a lot of people refer to the restaurant with its whole name. The “T.G.I.” stands for “thank God it’s” and then FRiDAY is being emphasized by its larger size. The “T.G.I.” gets really lost in the logo and it could be controversial because of the word “god” in it.

In addition the word Friday is supposed to resemble something fun and relaxing. It is a day that represents a good time, which is what they should be trying to represent that it will offer its customers. The logo has a straight baseline, and the words are very plain and black which shows its simplicity and is very straight forward. Surrounding the words are red and white striped diagonal lines. I think the reason why they made the typeface so clean and simple is so that it isn’t as distracting because of the design around it. However, doesn’t this design remind you of the signs that you see outside old barbershops? I don’t think people have their best, crazy, and enjoyable times at a barbershop do you?

Week One | PICINI

Rocket Dog is my favorite brand of shoes, so I decided to analyze it's logo typeface. According to my research, the brand name was based on an actual dog named Max, who belonged to Stephen Hoyt (a cofounder of the shoe brand) and was unusually fast, as the brand name suggests. The typeface used was clearly intended to imitate motion. For this reason, the left side of the letters are sliced into separate horizontal lines. This not only gives the impression of movement but also separates the typeface from more traditional ones, making it stand out as unique and youthful. I also think it's important to note that the letters are moving in the same direction as the dog pictured above. The unconventional letters could be confusing, but I personally don't think it makes the font hard to read. Still, it's harder to tell what type of font it is without the solid stroke outlining each letter. From the rough outline of the letters though, the font looks like a bold sans serif type. The all caps makes it stand out more the thick letters give the impression of stability and durability. This translates into the shoe sales because it makes the brand seem more trustworthy. The font would probably be considered decorative, because the letters are complex and "floriated", but it's in a strong, solid way. Also the close kerning moves your eyes quickly along the word, which is important because it keeps consumers interested when scanning shoe brands.

I also happen to love Harry Potter so I chose the Title Typeface for a second one. The Harry Potter title is incredibly decorative font which I think serves its purpose very well. The first thing that is noticed is the lightening bolt that is a part of the P which is Harry's defining physical quality. Without even reading the words, the lightening bolt triggers a connection in readers' minds to Harry Potter. Also in making complicated serifs, and and unique letter shapes for every letter, J.K. Rowling ensured that the font would not be duplicated. If you look closely, even the repeating letters are very different from each other, which is smart because three r's in a title could get repetitive otherwise. The title has no base line which gives the letters the impression of floating. This is a major theme of the Rowling's wizarding world because flying is such an important part of the books/Hogwarts. Other Harry Potter fans might know also that Wingardium Leviosa, the levitation spell was the first spell the main characters of the book were taught. Intentional or not, I think the lack of baseline ties the typeface nicely into the story line of the book series. The fact also that the H and P are subtly connected to the second letter of each word draws the words together and helps your eyes flow smoother between the capital and lower case letters. Finally, the color of the type makes it more mysterious, and the subtle etchings in the letters give the impression that everything is not as it seems. At least for me looking at the letters intrigues me and makes me want to zoom in to figure out the patterns on the letters.

Then again, I'm a dork.

Week 1/ Staponkute

This Victoria's Secret typeface brings some classical view to its brand. In this serif font letters are not close to each other, so, as discussed also in class, you might think of a shop with enough space, products of a good quality. This font also looks feminine, look at letters R and S- I love their curves! Name is even more feminine with a pink background. The color is bright in order not to annoy an eye. It also looks that this name is directed towards more mature audience, that is why hard pink would not work in this case.

The typeface for "Pink" collection of Victoria's Secret can easily reveal that its audience is directed to teenagers. Sans Serif font and the modern letters in pink can suggest that the clothes are cheaper, less classy, just like school girls wear daily. The goods might look comfortable and cute.

Week One NADELL

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor is one of my favorite albums, however the typeface in the bottom right corner has a lot of flaws to it in my opinion. First, I think that the font choice is very difficult to read. Although I understand that the type is supposed to resemble arabic and emphasize Fiasco's muslim roots, a viewer has to look very carefully to interpret the text as "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor". Simply making the text bigger could've made it much easier to read. Also, I think that the color of the text adds to its difficulty to read. The color isn't simply white. There seems to be some type of glow to the white text that makes the individual letters blend together. What I do like about this typeface are the unique capital letters at the beginning of each word. The L's and the F's are really cool and are easy to read but its the lower case letters that are challenging to decipher. I think that since this was Fiasco's debut album it would have been in his best interest to pick a more legible typeface so that people could easily recognize whose album this was.

Week 1: PALERMO

One of the most recognizable names and logos in music, Fender has been around since the late 40s and and became popular in the 50s and 60s with the rise of rock and roll. The typeface Fender uses seems to reference that era as it looks like this typeface would be found on the sign of a 50s diner. I think that aspect works in Fender's favor, because Fender as a company is all about achieving the traditional fender sound from its guitars and amplifiers. The smooth, cursive letters seem to emphasize smooth tone and style. It's not the most readable font, but with the logo a company is going more for recognition. The enlarged and bold "F" is what clues the viewer that it's fender. The rest of the word appears to be tucked under the F's crossbar. The word ascending to the right is how it looks on the headstock of their guitars. The ascending "Fender" reminds those who see the logo of what the company produces. One of the amazing aspects of this logo is that its as fashionable now as it was 50 years ago. Many people wear t-shirts with the logo on it. Going for a nostalgia looking typeface can sometimes work, but when the typeface survives the test of time and is still cool, that's the sign of it being well chosen.

Week One Maxwell

I was walking through Macy's and noticed the typeface on armani cologne. I really like the type, I think the all lower case name makes the product classier than just any other cologne. I feel like lower case was definitely a good path to take because upper case letters are louder and more bold and I believe it's the quiet, sleek, stylish yet hip image that the product is trying to convey to the consumer; and big clumsy letters just don't do the job. I imagine the target consumer for this product to be portrayed in a magazine by a shirtless semi-rugged looking guy who could possibly be between the ages of 29 and 39 (clearly he has a very versatile look) and has unbottoned pants for some reason unknown to the reader. He has a very muscular build and is probably staring off into space (not looking directly at the camera in the photo) while some very attractive woman clearly much younger than him and completely unrelated to the product, gives a subtle "come hither" look somewhere in the general vicinity of where he is.

Like I was saying, the typeface does a great job at conveying the image it intends to adopt in order to successfully connect to its target audience.

Week 1: Irina Dvalidze

I have long been a self declared Futura junkie and recent cultural trends have only contributed to this fixation. Futura got its start in mid 1920s and is known for its extreme geometric influences. This Sans Serif typeface, designed by Paul Renner has been making continuous appearances in mainstream culture.

First and most expected example would be the Futura use by director Wes Anderson. Anderson has used Futura in title cards for all of his 9 films. The typeface is also used in most of the props and sets within the film. Futura ideally reflects the overarching theme and style used within the films. As a story teller Anderson is known for his

intricate simplicity. Futura, while visually extremely simple, is geometrically perfect.It uses nearly flawless triangles and circles as part of the design. This concept goes precisely along the idea that Anderson aims to convey. Each of his characters, while very simple people, are extremely complex. Overall his particular use of the font is very successful, so successful in fact that his name has become as identified with it as Renner's himself.

Second example of Futura use comes from the "Upper West Side Soweto" band Vampire Weekend, who have themed all of their releases around combining Futura typeface with polaroidesque photos. The band was aiming for a vintage 50s feel, with simple, clean cut and symmetrical layout. This worked especially well for them, considering the revitalized interest with everything vintage.