Design Observer :: Join the Discussion http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/ en-us Design Observer Group 2012-07-30T00:21:27-05:00 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0 http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-30T00:21:27-05:00
And I have to wonder: What if—and stick with me here, because it's quite a leap—the Green Party ever got it together to hire an actual graphic designer? Would it be the making of their party? Would they find greater resonance with the American populace if they abandoned their own flavor of nostalgia (something akin to 1970s macrobiotic cuisine) in favor of a wink-wink, in-the-know, under-40 aesthetic with just the right touch of Americana? Or would the mainstreaming of the Green Party simply dilute it until it is as underwhelming and disappointing as the Obama administration? It is all in the kerning?]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-30T00:18:57-05:00 http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-28T10:15:33-05:00 http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/jawfonts/fenway-park-jf/
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/mti/gill-sans/gill-sans-std-ultra-bold-116368/
http://idsgn.org/posts/know-your-type-gill-sans/
]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-25T00:27:14-05:00 What are Obama’s Birthday Fonts?

The subhead to the fundraiser reads: “Wish Barack a happy birthday, face to face.” . . . and they are not talking about typefaces.
The campaign will fly two winners to Chicago and put them up in a hotel for one night as part of the prize package, which has an assigned retail value of $1,600, taxable to each winner. The contest closes on July 26th at midnight. The birthday party fundraiser will be on August 12 at his Chicago home.

]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-24T23:05:16-05:00
@NM Design I don't think using the word bet here is a negative, because the previous winner is using the term bet. Here it would seem more of a positive use because you would be betting on the person who won last time. Also betting isn't illegal everywhere, we have things like Casinos, the stock market. Betting is something everyone can relate to, it's also more tangible than hope/change.

It's like opening a carton of florida orange juice, you know what you are getting and you know it's going to taste good. Look at the back lash tropicana had when they changed there branding from l ol' fashion to contemporary. In this case they are going for being contemporary to being more palatable by many. ]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-23T11:48:15-05:00 http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-21T16:48:39-05:00
And as for the color palette.: it's gotta show up on tv and God knows they aren't going to use red!]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-20T21:14:58-05:00
While Michelle is off congratulating National Design Awards recipients her hubby appears to be crowd-sourcing his campaign logo.]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-17T19:08:32-05:00
Looks like both stories got the type wrong. It's one thing when Buzzfeed gets the type wrong but sad when Design Observer
does not identify them correctly.
]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-17T17:05:41-05:00
Which, in its layers of meaning, and in particular consideration of what other posters have noted about modernity & drones (see Tom Junod's The Lethal Presidency in the latest Esquire) makes this appeal even stranger - who is the target audience here, why has a cookbook been reduced to a bet, how can we compare a fully engaged war of military & civilian sacrifice of the 1940s with our present wars borne only by military families while we shop and fret over gas prices and kindles, etc.?

It seems like a design approach that would be spun out by IBM's Watson, both a clinical exercise in pattern nostalgia and revelatory about the national condition in ways not pleasant. ]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-17T09:13:39-05:00 http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-15T14:18:09-05:00 http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-14T14:18:15-05:00
I also want to add how much I feel this site has declined in usefulness and ease of use over the last couple years. I recall when you had a single, interesting column with terrific links to really unusual and provocative links. It was a sure-fire thing. I really dislike the site redesign. I have no idea what your esoteric titles mean: 'Observatory'--'Change Observer', etc. (is that where the column is, or whatever...?) usually, these comments only consist of a spammer that you don't pay attention to or care to block. It's like revisiting an old, comfortable neighborhood and seeing trash on the street.

You have way too much information you're trying to offer up to users. I don't know who 'Omnimedia' is, but if they are the reason this change was made, and I know it was a while ago-they've created a mess. You know it, too. Your user comments have gone way down over the years, and I'd imagine it's due to feedback like mine, impossible to focus with the site as it is. Then 'Mr. Spammer' is on every article and it looks like you don't care enough to even block them/clean him out.

-Wish you'd left the format and the simplicity of content alone.]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-14T01:34:13-05:00 And there you have it, graphic design criticism. ]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-13T01:39:23-05:00
I've looked further on some of the many fruit crate label sites, and neongrain is right that 1940s (my date) is probably a little late for this image, and the typographic combination. Most of the sites suggest 1900 to 1920 as the heyday of colorful labels with landscapes like the one I used here as an example.

From BlueSkySearch.com:

"Early labels were designed to appeal to the senses, conveying health, freshness, vitality, and flavor. They also were made to catch a passerby's attention, glued to the short end of the crate in plain view of shoppers hurrying down the street past the neighborhood market. In short, the labels had to be eye-catching if the crate's perishable contents were to sell in time."

Is there a political message in that?]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-12T19:33:18-05:00 its actually late victorian
or early 1900s inspired
typography.
]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-12T18:56:42-05:00 http://www.mvbfonts.com/mvb_mascot/]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-12T17:23:35-05:00
Here's the Script Font ID Guide link: http://bowfinprintworks.com/Script07Pg14.html

And here's Lobster, which has a similar cute lowercase G, but is not as rounded: http://www.dafont.com/lobster.font

I agree with Kellie (and I meant to say this) that gambling metaphors don't sit right in the context of government. But look at how many states' finances are being propped up by gambling! Tri-state area politicians seem desperate for more casinos.]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-12T08:41:12-05:00
The font reminds me a little bit of "Lobster" also. The fact that any of it is related to Cuban materials doesn't bother me a bit. Some of the best art comes out of revolutions, for better or worse.]]> http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-12T08:34:08-05:00 http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/obamas-new-fonts/35148/#comments 2012-07-11T22:48:13-05:00