Type

Type can really tell a story. Those who aren’t typography geeks probably don’t notice the bazillion typefaces they are confronted with on a daily basis. Indeed, a specific typeface/font can tell a lot about you.  BOLD and BIG? You probably want to be noticed, now.  A sketchy, hand-drawn looking typeface? You may be going for a casual, playful look. (Just avoid Comic Sans, dear lord….)

Obama is well known for having used Gotham, a relatively new and often-cherished typeface for his campaign materials. It was both clean and friendly, and was widely copied in all sorts of mediums.

And typefaces can speak to a certain era of history. Sci-fi films often use blocky, serifed type, trying to convey a techno-savvy look. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not.

I used a typeface called Billhead for this Tonic advert, which clearly harkens back to the early 1900s.