What The Font

Stems and tails of inspiration.

In design school, my ears would always bleed from my teachers drilling into us “make it your own,” every time we started a project. You have to, your work is a reflection of who you are — so be bold, stand out and become recognized by your design thumbprint. The same should go for beautiful fonts. Why not, make it your own?

In general, a great font can make or break a design. The power of type is essential in the magic and beauty of a finished static design, or the potency of an energetic animation. Fonts are like glue in that they truly are the adhesive of great design.

The strength of an opening in some of the greatest cinematic moments have been kicked off by letters dressed in font. No matter if the title is animated or not — these finely dressed critters helped to establish an opening by pulling themselves together and helping to set the mood.

Some of the greatest movies didn’t open with a title, true — but they closed with one. Even in that situation, the beat at the end and the formation of the title, helped to gather closure and simply cap that two hour moment. When they say “clothes make the man,” well, the font of a character “makes the title.”

As with anything in design — dissecting the beauty of something to discover the details of what makes it great is important. By doing so — you appreciate the whole, and learn about what makes something so great to begin with.

The parts of a font, and really all elements of a great design, should truly be appreciated to understand it’s emotional context. To appreciate is to discover and understand. From their “stems’ to their “ears,” from their “beaks” to their “chins,” understanding the parts that make up the whole can help one realize the details when someone says “awesome” while embracing a font. Now, it’s just taking those elements, and making them, your own. I might call my new font — Nandor