Week One | Young

Gucci's primary wordmark is extremely effective in portraying the compnay's image as a timeless and sophisticated brand that produces expensive products. These feelings are achieved by utilizing an airy, all-capitalized font with serifs and generous spacing in between each letter. This font is perfect for a fashion-forward clothing company because in addition to the wordmark exuding sophistication, the lightness of the letters and the lack of descenders in the word "Gucci" give off a distinct modernity as well- again, perfect for a fashion-forward company.

It's also interesting to note that the Gucci wordmark above is not the company's only one, in fact, because the above wordmark is meant to feel sophisticated etc., the Gucci company created an additional, more youthful wordmark used to market their trendier/cheaper/younger products. And similar to it's more elegant parent wordmark, this hipper version is also extremely effective in appealing to the younger generation through it's use of fun, bold, script.

Google~ McFarland

A font that has made a reoccurring appearance throughout the past decade of my life has been the 'Catul' font. This is the type that Google uses for their logo. It is a serif font, but subtle enough that it is modern, clean and edgy at the same time.

As Public Relations Director for "What The Health" magazine, a student-run publication, I regularly meet with my editor and graphic designer to go over flier ideas, upcoming events and how to effectively spread the word about these events. When sitting down with the team one day, we were looking at typefaces that would appeal to our readers and to different students on campus. This font is one of the first that jumped into my mind, because so many students see this logo numerous times a day and many even have it as a default window on their computer.
It was important to look at this, since using the font would allow our fliers and advertisements for events appeal to a broad audience, who might associate our magazine with positivity, intelligence and modernism.

This relates to the first reading in Lupton's "Thinking With Type," as she often discusses different fonts and their relation to a specific time period and demographic of people. On page 27, Lupton tells that "Zuzana Licko" began designing typefaces in the 1980's that were associated with the 'new technology' era. This is similar to what the editor, graphic designer and myself were doing with the magazine, as we felt association through type would be an optimum way to grab the attention of both veteran readers and potential readers.

I really enjoyed this reading and thought all of the examples of the various texts and their meanings were really thought-provoking! :)

~Claire

Week One Lupton "Letter" | Pruitt

One typeface that I always thought was executed very well was that of the magazine TeenVogue. I always felt that the combination of fonts was very effective in portraying the theme and vibe of the magazine. They keep the word "Vogue" in the same font as the parent magazine, but they put the word "Teen" in a different font. "Vogue" is in a serif font that is thin and very sophisticated, however, "Teen" is in a thicker sans serif font that seems more casual and hip, which helps the magazine speak to the younger audience it is looking for. The magazine is known for being young and classy, I really think that the wordmark does a good job of portraying that. By combining the two fonts, TeenVogue stays associated with the parent magazine, maintains a sophisticated look, and gives itself a younger quality.

Week 1: Lupton "Letter" | Wong

I am absolutely addicted to the online publication - Her Campus magazine. There's a new Syracuse chapter so if anybody's interested in writing for it, contact Elora Tocci (who's in our class!) Anyways, I love the typeface that the magazine uses for its wordmark.

It's a customized typeface, since I have never seen any other company or magazine use even a similar typeface. It's sans serif, which makes it a bit modern, and some of the curling that they did to the letters make the wordmark seem a bit more feminine. The total effect seems to emphasize that the magazine was created for the modern female college student. I also like the fact that they added a little crown and a graduation cap to the wordmark - I think it adds more emphasis that the magazine was specifically made and targets "collegiettes."

The counters are filled in, but I don't really see why they needed to be - it doesn't seem to add or diminish any effect the wordmark was trying to create. Also, the letters are all in caps, which gives the wordmark a nice and clean finish, and also allows all the letters to have the same x-height. Overall, I think that the typeface used for the wordmark was a very successful and smart one, and the wanted effect was achieved.

Week One | Wettje

The ESPN logo is one that most of us see every day. The type involved in the logo is a very unique one that perfectly reflects what ESPN is all about. First is that it is in all caps. As a sports network, it shows bold and aggressive footage that the typeface displays beautifully. Second, the typeface is connected at the top and looks to be streamlined. Much of what ESPN does is to stream videos together and the combine and bring together different sports into one successful company. What I love most about the typeface is the italics that brings your eyes across the logo from left to right. That plays into the connected, sleek look and it brings a unique look to a unique company.

The other logo is an unfortunate example of what kerning can do if you aren't paying attention to what letters end up near each other. The logo, which should read "Kids Exchange" and is put in a very nice, colorful, playful typeface, instead has the potential to read "Kid Sex Change." This is a definite downer for a company that relies on the business of mothers and families to survive.

Week One: Lupton "Letter" | Robinson

“GAP” is an international brand which caters to men and women of all ages and races. Although their clientele has narrowed in recent years to include primarily upper-middle class, GAP is an iconic American name. It started as a retailer of blue jeans, for Pete’s sake. What’s more red-blooded than that?

A quick Google search told me GAP uses Spire typeface, Regular. I believe it’s a Modern font because of its straight serifs, vertical axis and “sharp contrast from thick to thin strokes” (Lupton 42). I had never noticed until now that the serifs vary from being straight and wispy, however. It creates a fresh image which appears both casual and classy.

There is definitely some tracking in the logo, otherwise the cap height and narrowness of the letters would be overwhelming. GAP can afford to use such a tall font because its name is so short.

I would generally assume the Spire typeface belonged to a fancy establishment, as the all-caps serif font reminds me of Gucci or Tiffany & Co. But the white on blue color and shortness of the image instills an energetic, family-appropriate vibe. I believe this use of type is extremely successful because you could play Alphabet soup with the name- change the letters to any other three- and still instinctively recognize it as the GAP logo.

Week 1: Lupton "letter" | Lang

One typeface that has always stood out to me is the one for Home Depot. What really stands out about this logo is not just the bright orange color but also the font it uses. The name Home Depot is written in all caps in a font that reminds me of a stencil and also a font that could be seen on crates. I find that very appropriate for a home improvement store and that it would really appeal to people. Also, if people had no idea what Home Depot sold, they could probably get an idea that it sells hardware and items to fix up your house just by looking at the logo. The logo for Home Depot is also very unique in that the text is on an angle which makes it look like it's on a crate but also the word Home is a lot bigger than the words The and Depot which emphasizes that they sell home improvement items. Overall, I find the font and logo to be very successful and visual.