The origin story of the Wingdings font #
Why do we need a font exclusively composed of symbols, such as the Celtic cross, the Zodiac signs, and the star of David? Who came up with that idea? Do people really use it?
Tag: Typography
Helsingin Sanomat's 'Climate Crisis' font weights shrink with the Arctic sea ice
Helsingin Sanomat is Finland’s largest subscription newspaper, based in the nation’s capital, Helsinki. In response to the growing climate crisis, the publication created The Climate Crisis Font, a variable font with weights that change gradually but dramatically:
The font’s design is based on data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (https://nsidc.org) and predictions provided by the IPCC (https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/). The heaviest font weight represents the minimum extent of the Arctic sea ice in the year 1979, when satellite measuring began. The lightest weight represents IPCC’s 2050 forecast, when the Arctic sea ice minimum is expected to have shrunk to only 30 % of the 1979 extent.
10 alternatives to Helvetica
Helvetica has been everywhere for decades. But it’s not free (or original) so you might want a different take on the classic sans serif. Extensis compiled a list of the 10 best Helvetica alternatives.
Most of these I’ve used or otherwise own but a few I’d not seen before, including:
Theinhardt is my #1 from the list. What’s yours? Let me know in the comments.
Where did Ruff & Mews go from Petco's new logo?
Erastus Kingbolt wrote about Petco’s latest logo dissolution in his Systems Theory newsletter. Where once Ruff and Mews once sat, now we are left with a generic blue wordmark:
Cold and lifeless is a fair description, isn’t it? There are absolutely no friendly animals, the font is somehow even more sterile than it was before, and in place of the already watered-down red there is the inanimate blue of Marshalls and USPS. The jokes about the health and wellness part write themselves, but I will say that even the CEO doesn’t seem to think that it’s true. “We’re transitioning from being a company that asks, ‘Can I help you put that big bag of dog food into your cart?’ into a full health and wellness company,” he told Fortune. “Today, Petco is the ONLY complete health and wellness company for pets,” he wrote in the opening letter of the IPO filing. A few more times and he’ll be convinced.
I love a wordmark logo but not as a progression from something that already works. Petco’s original logo with its jellied red text and happy-go-lucky pets was playful, fun, and engaging (you rarely see a cat and dog so chummy together). But now it’s just like any other logo. Before you knew Petco was for pets before you even saw the word—great for non-English speakers—but now you assume it’s for pets, despite the vague tagline underneath.
People showed disdain but I don’t see the new branding causing significant damage to Petco. It’s just a shame that another brand has fallen foul of the dreaded Minimalist Logo Syndrome.
Pet related: when pets wore masks during the 1918 flu pandemic
The history of Times New Roman
Times New Roman— Graphic Design History 101
How did Times New Roman become the default typeface we all use? Born out of anger, selected for its economics, and adopted because of its accessibility. In this video, we dive into the history of the Times New Roman typeface, how it came to be, and why is it such a staple from congress to college.
See also: an ‘Old Style’ font similar to Cooper Black, favourite typefaces of 2020, and the story of Comic Sans
Fraunces is an 'Old Style' font similar to Cooper Black
If you’re thinking Fraunces looks like Cooper Black, then that’s because the latter inspired it.
In the summer of 2018, Google Fonts approached us with the challenge of designing a display typeface. We spent some time perusing the catalog, and we were struck by a pretty big gap in certain typographic styles available—there isn’t a specific name for this genre, but typefaces such as Cooper Black, Windsor, and Souvenir personify it. We call them “wonky” fonts in-house, and that seems as good a name as any. We’ve played a lot with this style in our lettering work, and felt this was a great opportunity to create a display typeface family that celebrates an underappreciated genre.
While there are similarities between Fraunces and Cooper Black, the primary difference is that Fraunces is a variable font. You can alter its appearance to suit your tastes, whether you opt for a more Roman style or that “wonky” look that has permeated pop culture for decades.
What’s more, it’s also a Google Font, meaning it’s free to download or embed into your web designs.
Check out the official Fraunces website for more info.
Font related: almost every typeface seen at Disney theme parks, favourite typefaces of 2020, and the typeface that helps readers with low vision
Almost every typeface seen at Disney theme parks
Mickeyavenue.com is the home to an “incomplete listing of typefaces seen at Walt Disney World, etc.”
Since listing all of the typefaces used at Walt Disney World would be impossible, and a huge waste of time, here’s a list of just the few that I’ve noticed, and the locations at which I recall seeing them (yes, still a huge waste of time).
Some of the fonts are well-known—Cooper Black, Helvetica, and Broadway—and some more obscure typefaces like World Bold, designed by Deborah Lord for Epcot’s Future World area.
Disney and typography related: the history of Walt Disney home video, Pizza Typefaces, and favourite typefaces of 2020.
Favourite typefaces of 2020
I Love Typography and PRINT listed their favourite typefaces of 2020. I’m subscribed to a few typography newsletters and catch a glimpse of new fonts as they’re released but I wasn’t familiar with most on these lists.
There was a lot of love for serif and display fonts in I Love Typography’s list while PRINT was more varied, featuring Atkinson Hyperlegible amongst other sans serif typefaces (a lot of which I like).
I think my favourites from these lists would be Atkinson Hyperlegible, Pacaembú, and Futura Now. The serif ones are either too similar or verging on illegible.
Related: Burger King’s cool rebrand, a typography cheatsheet, the story of Comic Sans, and the omnipresence of Cooper Black.
(h/t Typewolf)
Burger King rebrand is simple, nostalgic, and effective
You may have heard about Burger King’s recent rebrand, their first in over 20 years. Older customers may also think the “new” logo looks the same as the logo used between 1994–1999.
Burger King logo, used between 1994–1999 
Burger King logo, used from December 2000
It’s fundamentally similar but there are noticeable differences and I’m sure a designer could explain why they’re significant. But a rebrand is more than a different logo.
But my favourite part? This ingenious monogram.
It’s a B and a K and it looks like a condensed version of the fuller logo, in the style of a burger (or as Jason Kottke called it, “The Slider”).
The Flame brand font family was designed by Colophon Foundry in bold, regular and sans, reminiscent of Cooper Black and Raphael Abreu, global head of design for Burger King’s parent company, told It’s Nice That he “wanted a font that make people want to take a bite out of it.”
“We are also very playful and bold in how we use the new font. There is a variable version where we stretch and compress it and create expressive and impactful illustrations with it.”
Unfortunately, I swore off ever eating from Burger King 20 years ago this year after a bad experience and, well, I’m not going to change that. But I still love The Slider.
The controversial story of Comic Sans
Jon Robinson wrote an article about the history of Comic Sans for UX Planet, arguably the most derided font of all-time.
The short version is that Vincent Connare created the font in the mid-90s, inspired by the handwritten lettering from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
Connare recognized that comic books employed lettering that was hand-drawn to fit each individual box or bubble, providing both flexibility and variety. He drew each letter numerous times until satisfied that every glyph had it’s own unique shape and curve, while still functioning as a family.
Due to its form we classify it as both a sans serif and a casual script font, because the letters mimic handwritten characters that do not connect; but it’s not considered a typeface by most due to the lack of an italic or bold variant. Overall, Comic Sans is composed of rounded letters that would appear to have been drawn carefully in thick black marker by a child learning the alphabet. No sharp points are found in its letterforms. It’s the result of someone attempting to make a font out of alphabet soup.
And now it’s everywhere and polarises everyone who sees it. In fact, I wrote a disparaging article about it years ago (no longer online). But there have been suggestions that Comic Sans is good for dyslexic readers (although this has also been refuted).
If you want to use a font made for low vision readers, I suggest Atkinson Hyperlegible.
Why we keep seeing Cooper Black everywhere
The wonderful Estelle Caswell did a video for Vox about the Cooper Black font and its prevalence in pop culture:
There’s a typeface that has made a resurgence in the last couple of years. It’s appeared on hip hop album covers, food packaging, and advertising. Perhaps you know it from the Garfield comics, Tootsie Roll logo, or the Pet Sounds album cover by the Beach Boys. It’s called Cooper Black, and its popularity and ubiquity has never waned in the hundred years since it was first designed.
I know I’ve seen it everywhere but I never realised just how much and I’d never connected the name (which I knew) to the typeface. I was also unaware of how versatile it was. Cooper Black is suddenly my new favourite font.
Stream the video below.
Why this font is everywhere
Pentagram refresh Fisher-Price's logo and it's lovely
I loved my Fisher-Price tape recorder. They don’t make them like that anymore (mainly because kids don’t use cassettes in 2020). Even though I recorded some of my finest voice work in the 90s, the logo was quintessentially retro.
Well, Pentagram did what they do best and freshened things up. The result is really good, in my opinion.
The new branding by Pentagram refines the visual identity and expands it to a customized kit of parts that gives Fisher-Price the flexibility to function consistently in a variety of environments. The exuberant use of colorful graphics and unconventional typography captures the brand attributes of fun, action, play, celebration, silliness and joy.
Pentagram
As you can see from the logos below, the changes are very subtle. The new “f” is lower case and fused with the “i” to make a ligature. The “p” is lower case too but the “h” remains intact from the original.
The cosmetic changes are small on their own but grouped together, along with the new “FP” wordmark, it’s a brilliant brand refresh.
Atkinson Hyperlegible is a typeface that helps readers with low vision
Over the last few years, I’ve taken more of a keen interest in accessibility.
I forget myself sometimes but when I remember, I add alt text to images on Twitter, reduce my use of emojis, and avoid ASCII memes like that 2020 meme from last week. Another element of improving accessibility is readable typography and Atkinson Hyperlegible is a step in the right direction.
What is Atkinson Hyperlegible?
Atkinson Hyperlegible is a typeface created by Applied Design Works, in partnership with The Braille Institute. Its purpose is to:
- Increase legibility for readers with low vision
- Improve comprehension
- Help develop better character recognition
The name comes from J. Robert Atkinson, a blinded cowboy from Southern California who founded the Universal Braille Press, later known as the Braille Institute of America.
Did you know: J. Robert Atkinson published the first Braille edition of the King James Version of the Bible.
“Hidden in plain sight” is a bad cliché to use but it works
Atkinson Hyperlegible doesn’t seem that different from other geometric typefaces out there. But that comes from my perspective; I don’t have any vision problems. The beauty of Atkinson Hyperlegible is the distinctive characters that make it stand out.
The key elements of this font are:
Recognisable footprints
The letter boundaries are clearly defined so they’re legible when blurry.
Differentiated letterforms
1, I, i, and l could all be mistaken for each other in many typefaces. Same for 0, O, and Q. They’re all lines and circles with little variation. But with Atkinson Hyperlegible, each character has a unique look.
How many letters are there?
With 248 glyphs, this font has everything you’ll need for most Roman-lettered languages. I particularly like the inclusion of mathematical symbols.
Where can I get the font?
Unfortunately, this font isn’t available yet. Applied Design Works is still working on it although they have approached Microsoft and Apple with a request for them to include Atkinson Hyperlegible in their OS’s.
If/when it comes available, I’ll update this post.
A common misconception is all people with some form of vision impairment needs Braille. That’s not the case. With Atkinson Hyperlegible, the spectrum is covered with clearer typography and improved legibility. This ingenuity was rewarded last year when Applied Design Works won the 2019 Fast Company Innovation by Design Award in the Graphic Design category.
Grab a slice of typography with Pizza Typefaces
I like pizza and I like typefaces. The good news is there are lots of cool fonts on Pizza Typefaces. The bad news is there isn’t any pizza. But you can’t have everything in this world. According to the pair, a friend told them making pizza was the most profitable business and it became an inside joke that they’d swap graphic design for pizza and they put it all together into one foundry.
But while there isn’t a whiff of mozzarella or tomato sauce to speak of, you can have are unique sans-serif fonts from a place of expertise. Adrien Midzic and Luc Borho are the duo in charge of Pizza Typefaces and they established the site in 2018. They’re both art directors and type designers by trade so they know their stuff.
Their current selection is as minimal as their designs but in the words of the great Mies van der Rohe: “less is more”. My personal favourite is Metal.
Head over to the Pizza Typefaces website and see if any of their 11 fonts take your fancy.
A Cheatsheet of Typographic Characters and How To Use Them
Do you know the difference between a hyphen, an en dash, and an em dash? Or when to use single or double quotation marks? If the answer is no, then you’re not alone. Fortunately, Jeremiah Shoaf of Typewolf is at hand to help with this brilliant “cheatsheet” dedicated to those little known typographic characters. The guide features a variety of characters and their respective keyboard shortcuts for Mac and Windows as well as a mini-FAQ for each category.
You can read the full typographic list on the Typewolf website or download the condensed 1-page printable PDF.
(Fact: Did you know the @ symbol is known as an arroba in Spanish and an arobase in French?)