OUGD403 What's My Type? (Study Task One)

When are you happiest?

I am definitely happiest when I am about to drink a coffee or am drinking a coffee, preferably a Latte or Caramel Coffee Frappuccino from Starbucks.

What is your greatest fear?

My greatest fear has got to be the fear of being chased. I actually have a recurring dream when I am trying to run away from something and I'm running but I'm not moving.

What is your happiest memory?

My happiest memories all involve my girlfriend and two best friends, however there are too many to talk about.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Anything that happens when I am drunk. For example, in the last 3 weeks, I have drunkenly tried to do gymnastics and got a carpet burn on my chin. I have also slipped down a flight of stairs and got the biggest bruise on my bum.

What makes you unhappy?

Spiders make me unhappy. Anything to do with insects and I will cry.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I really wanted to be an actress that played characters like Tracy Beaker when I was little.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Movie sountracks, I can't get enough of them. Whether it is Twilight, Inception or Lost, I am there.

What is your favourite hobby?

Netflix.

Where is your favourite place?

The Ferry Tavern Pub in Warrington. I love going to their beer garden in summer, and also sitting inside next to the fire in winter.

From these questions, which typeface do you think you are?

Garamond was designed in the mid sixteenth century by Claude Garamond, however it has often been used as inspiration for other typefaces, such as Roman and Granjon. Garamond is one of the oldest known typefaces, and is well known for its readability and clarity. The type is considered attractive as the strokes are diagonally emphasised and it uses round serifs.

Bodoni was designed by Giambattista Bodoni in 1798, age 58. The font was heavily inspired by the typeface Baskerville by John Baskerville. His typeface has a high contrast between thick and thin strokes. It is also intriguing as it uses thin serifs and vertical axis. The typefaces slick feel has been a big contributor to its success, as it is now being used for the logo of multiple successful companies, such as Vogue and Calvin Klein. 

Century was the first major American typeface. It was designed in 1894 by Linn Boyd Benton. He created this type for Theodore Lowe DeVinne, the printed of The Century Magazine at that time. The typeface is said to be a “refined” version of the typeface Egyptian. This type is still used nowadays, mainly for textbooks and literature. It’s considered an incredibly legible typeface, so much that the briefs for The Supreme Court has to be in Century.

Futura was designed by Paul Renner in 1927. The typeface is based almost completely based on geometric shapes, such as circles, squares and triangles. The typeface is said to be incredibly slick, legible and stylish, without being too fancy. It is still used today for a lot of design and branding, such as the Absolut Vodka logo, Domino’s Pizza and also Volkswagen. It is also said that the type is the first type to walk on the moon, as Futura was used for the plaque that the American’s left up there during the moon landing in 1969.

Times Roman was designed in 1932 by Victor Lardent, commissioned by The Times Newspaper. It was created after The Times was criticised in an article by Stanley Morison, who exclaimed the current type was “badly printed and typographically antiquated”. The font was inspired by the typeface Plantin, however is was redesigned to focus on legibility and economy of space. This type has nowadays influenced the creation of other typefaces, such as Georgia.

Helvetica was designed by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman in 1957 in Switzerland. It’s aim when designed was to create a neutral typeface with great legibility and clarity. The typeface was originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, however was changed to Helvetica, meaning Swiss in Latin, in 1960. Helvetica is used in thousands of logos across the globe, such as The North Face, Eat, Jeep and American Apparel. 

After researching into all of the above fonts, I have come to the conclusion that I am most likely the typeface Futura, although it was a close call between Helvetica. I think this because the typeface is incredibly legible, which I think says a lot about me as a person, as I am an open book and very easy to get along with. I think the phrase “stylish, without being too fancy” could also sum up myself as I’m obsessed with branded clothes and shoes, however they’re not very dressy or fancy. I think that the type is used for Absolut Vodka and Domino’s is also relevant, seen as I love Pizza and Vodka is my favourite alcoholic drink. 

Below is the presentation that I have created, that I will present to the class. I have kept the type very limited on the slides as I don't want them to be boring, I will just talk from memory.