Graphics

Jan

2018

Will bespoke typefaces replace Helvetica?

Bespoke typefaces are on the rise

Definition of Bespoke

More and more big companies commission their own typefaces, rather than relying upon the thousands of fonts readily available for marketing their goods and services.

Recent, notable bespoke typefaces

2018

This month, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) introduced its bespoke Unity font. Depending on who you ask, some designers love it, and others hate it. Coca-Cola has used a script logotype for decades, and a while back introduced a serif font with the word, “Coke.” Unity is a departure; it is a sans-serif typeface family with several weights.

Coca-Cola’s Unity Typeface

2017

In 2017, IBM rolled out its bespoke typeface families, named Plex, and YouTube introduced YouTube Sans.

IBM Plex Typeface Family

YouTube Sans Typeface Family

2016

In 2016, Apple introduced San Francisco typefaces at its Worldwide Developer Conference. These fonts were inspired by Helvetica, and were developed for ease of reading on small screens like the Apple Watch and iPhone, as well as on iPads and Mac computers. The same year, CNN introduced CNN Sans—also modeled on Helvetica.

Apple’s San Francisco Typeface Family

CNN Sans Typeface Family

2015

In 2015, Google rebranded its famous “G” using a proprietary font called Product Sans. Product Sans closely resembles the Futura typeface. Google rolled out Roboto In 2013 for the Android OS. Also in 2013, Mozilla rolled out typefaces for its Firefox OS, called Fira Sans and Fira Mono.

Google Logo, 2015

Roboto Typeface

Mozilla’s Fira Sans Typeface Family

Why use a bespoke typeface?

It’s all about branding. We are bombarded by thousands of advertisements each day on smartphones, tablets and computers. We see an ad for a fraction of a second before engaging with the brand or discarding the ad. According to Envato, having a recognizable logo is not enough. Companies must stand out from the competition using logos, colors, copy and typography. This is where custom typefaces come in.

Branding requires notable logos, colors, copy and typography. “Bespoke fonts offer brands more control over their identity, and in some cases can even save them money in the long run.”
–Envato

Will bespoke typefaces put an end to Helvetica?

Helvetica (Neue Haas Grotesk) was developed in 1957 by Swiss typographer Max Miedinger and became the de facto standard of international typeface design in the mid-20th Century. It remains popular today—Helvetica Neue is the default Mac font—because it is both readable and legible at many different sizes and weights.

Helvetica is not going away anytime soon. It is still the favorite of many designers because of its versatility and simplicity. Just make room for the new, bespoke typefaces to coexist with Helvetica.

Nov

2016

Giving thanks: amateur chef meets graphic designer

Fall is in the air (finally) and we celebrate Thanksgiving this week. I am thankful for friends and family, our adopted dog, great professors, art & design mentors, and more. I will illustrate my dinner menu, as I have done for many years, but this year I have Ninja Illustrator and Photoshop skills. Will it be comic book style, chalkboard style, or vintage style, or a mashup?

The origin of printed menus

The whole printed menu “thing” came from my Mom, who was a Registered Dietitian. She knew how to plan meals for the masses or for our family of six. She was a good cook and baker. Mom would scribble out her menu on a slip of scrap paper and stick it to the refrigerator, just to make sure that she did not forget to cook or serve one of the many dishes she had planned.

Amateur chef meets graphic designer

I love to cook and bake, and have done both since I was a young child. After I had a home of my own, I started to generate menus for various dinners and parties as soon as I could get my hands on a computer. At first, all I had at my disposal was a simple word processor. Later, I became very proficient at MS PowerPoint and Word, and used lots of clip art. Then I started an Art & Design degree program. What I used to do in Microsoft programs was primitive, compared to the capabilities of Adobe Creative Cloud apps, Snagit and online tools, plus a myriad of free resources.

Here is the menu… more for practice than for show, since we are having dinner for two! I used a primary color palette and generated halftone patterns in my custom colors for the stars and the cloud backdrop. I used a comic book font found at dafont.com.