First created in 1957 by Max Miedinger, a swiss typeface designer, Helvetica means ‘Swiss’ in Latin and is a sans-serif typeface that was originally named ‘Neue Hass Grotesk’; an homage to the typeface’s neo-grotesque qualities. However the name was changed to Helvetica in 1960 in order to make the typeface more internationally marketable.
If you’re a video game fanatic then no doubt you’ll have heard of the masterpiece that is Undertale. Undertale is a video game created by Toby Fox in 2015 where a human falls down a hole into an underground universe full of monsters and must make it back to the ‘surface’. The game quickly became iconic due to its mesmerising soundtrack and nostalgic retro RPG style, but mainly it’s overwhelming success can be accredited to its charming and humorous characters.
There are two daunting words that will send a shiver down any designer’s spine; that will make anyone shudder and cringe with physical pain. Those two words are (prepare yourself):
The majority of you are most likely aware of this game but for those who aren’t Minecraft is a world full of ‘blocks’ where players must try and survive by building with nothing but raw materials. Players can craft more complex items such as weapons with these materials in order to fend off monsters who come out at night. Alternatively, players can enter ‘creative mode’ which has no monsters, infinite blocks available and allows players to fly around freely in order to build whatever they desire. The game was released in 2009 and is currently the most sold video game in history, having sold over 200 million units.
Approaching its eleventh season, The Walking Dead has been an internationally adored TV series since its debut in 2010 and consequently its title has become iconic among horror fans. The word ‘The’ within the logo is a light-weight, condensed sans-serif font and is significantly smaller than the rest of the logo due to the trivial nature of the word. The ‘Walking Dead’ is a low-contrast, compact and heavy sans-serif font. All of these features add to the boldness of the text which emphasises the importance of the words as ‘Walking Dead’ reveals exactly what the series is about. This is further reinforced by its colossal size compared to ‘The’.
The Didot typefaces were first created in 1784 by the Didot family; a family of french printers and publishers. Despite being interjected into the world of typography almost 250 years ago; Didot remains a significant icon in high fashion companies. Didot is implemented by many substantial brands such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Giorgio Armani, Zara, Louis Vuitton - and lest we forget one of the largest names in the world of fashion; Vogue Magazine. Used by colossal companies such as these, it is no surprise that the Didot typeface is often associated with style and elegance - but how did it come to be used by these giants in the first place?
After an exhausting shopping spree out and about, there’s one integral time of day that everyone looks forward to: lunchtime! Whether it’s chips and a burger from a diner or a fancy italian three course meal, a day out just isn’t complete without grabbing a bite to eat. However, surrounded by endless options, how do we distinguish the difference between fast food and sit-down restaurants? Well, different types of dining experiences use contrasting typography within their logos and shop signs in order to allow consumers to navigate their way through a labyrinth of lunch options.
In today’s consumerist society, no one has the time to ingest and ponder upon every billboard/poster/ad they see. For this reason brands use a variety of semiotics within their marketing depending on the type of audience they are targeting. For instance; bright, primary colours are typically used to target younger demographics. With this strategy, consumers can tell if an ad is aimed at them just by recognising the iconography continuously used to target their specific demographic. One important aspect of this iconography is (of course) typography, and I will be delving a little deeper into how typography is used by brands to target men vs women.
