Awful type

This font, called "Rosadelia Dos" is very difficult for me to read. I found it on a typography Web site, where it described it as "Calligraphy grunge." What a pretty sounding phrase that is, but i can't imagine it being very useful. It looks like something that would be found on an album cover (as demonstrated here) but if you were going through album stacks at a record store you might not be able to see through all the scrawl! In terms of ornate, decorative fonts, I understand the need for them that musicians/designers/artists might want them for, but I think this one falls short of being impressive in that regard. All the letters seem doubled in a lighter weight, and it's kind of dizzying!

awful type

I was looking through Microsoft word and I found a type that I was having the hardest time reading.  The font is called Edwardian Script.  (I couldn't upload an example from Microsoft Word, so I found this image from Google.  It is from http://www.fontfinder.ws./418/Edwardian-Script-ITC-Bold-Package.html)  Granted its fluidity and script style makes it beautiful, but this does not constitute a good font.  

This font is readable only at larger sizes.  If it goes below size 16 then it becomes incredibly hard to read as it has a smaller x-height to begin with.  Once the font is brought smaller than 18, the letters are no longer distinct but rather resemble a wavy line after a beautifully drawn capital letter.

Edwardian Script also does not work for long periods of times.  It serves as drop letters of old fashioned books or romantic letters very nicely, but it certainly doesn't work for essays or even for projects longer than a page.  The reader would simply get frustrated trying to decipher the letters and give up.  I would even question using this font on invitations.  Granted it is very elegant, but the reader can only understand the information if it is larger than a normal font size to read it.  For example, what would acceptable for Times New Roman to be written in (size 12 or 14), Edwardian Script has to be written in a bigger font size (size 16 or 18).

This font should not be discarded because of the problems that are associated with it, but rather it should just be used in moderation and appropriately.  You wouldn't wear a cocktail dress to a monster truck rally, so don't use this font to advertise one.

awful text

I was browsing around the internet and I came across this poster. I have absolutely no idea what is says. All I can make out is "The, The, And The" which is obviously not very effective when trying to advertise something. The only way to fix this would be to just choose a different font completely. They could have used the same font that was used for the "the, the, and the" for the other three words, whatever they may be. It was just a terrible choice.

Affliction Brand: Really Bad Typography

Ok. I don't have a personal hatred against this brand or anthing but I just want to say that the typography that Affliction brand uses here has got to be one of the worst. First off, if someone is unfamiliar with the brand I doubt that he/she would know what it is. Second, even if the person knows the brand it would be very hard to even read what it says.

If you look closely, the first image actully contains two words, Black and Affliction. This took me awhile to figure out because at first glance I thought the logo had much more to say than just Black Affliction. I expected it to have a deeper meaning than that because of its flashy and "artistic" style. But than again, this brand is mainly worn by the hardcore fans of Ultimate Fighting Championship...

This typography for me just doesn't work even if the brand wants to achieve that "dirty" and "barbaric" look. When I look at the logo of this brand, I feel like I'm taken back to the Medieval Age (it's ok if you don't have any clue to what I'm talking about; I don't really know what I'm saying either). The serifs are too elongated and sharp which give a messy look. Their choices of color and the images are kind of odd as well. Take a look at the second image. What the heck is that. I really don't see the conection between the images and the type of typography they used to create their shirt.

I hope we are on the same page. Thanks for reading this post!

Awful Font- Week 3

I found this image on blog site dedicated to British pop star Kylie Minouge and the songs that she performs on her upcoming tour. My first reaction to the image when I saw it was, "What in the world does that say?" My initial answer to that question was that the font was very 80s, and considering the fact that Kylie Minougue was a huge star during that decade, I guess she just wanted to get back to her roots. While this font may seem appealing to those who are fans of Minouge, I think that the font really doesn't work because it is really difficult to read. I found my self at many times squinting to figure out what the different song titles were, but thanks to the blogger posting the song titles below the image, I was able to figure out the name of each track. Also, the font is very slanted as well and some of the letters are protrayed as ink blots, which makes it hard to decifer what the letter is. The font in general, in my opinion, is very retro, and would have worked a little bit better if the letters were more ledgible, maybe if the font was a bit larger, but still containing the style of Kylie Minouge's music. Many of the letters also run together, which causes the reader to make out one word, when it is really another. I also noticed that the song titles were not fully spelled out with letters, but rather with symbols. Also, some of the numbers look like letters and vice versa. I think it would have been better if the song titles were consistent as well. Symbols could have something that brought all the titles together, having at least one symbol in each of the song titles. Overall, I think font like this should probably kept in the time that it was popular and thriving.

Awful Type

The Grateful Dead's "American Beauty" album's cover is extremely difficult to read. Granted, the dead released this album in 1970 and were known for their psychedelic antics, their album cover is practically illegible. All of the letters are capitalized and are connected by their centers. Once you get through the A, M, E, R, it is really difficult to decipher the I and the C. The C almost connects with itself, creating the illusion of an O. The flame like appearance of the letters makes for a cool effect but hinders the viewer from separating the letters.

The word "beauty" is even more difficult to read than "American" because the colors are reversed. The letters appear to be larger on the bottom than on the top and because the letters curve around the circle, your eyes are forced to follow.

Looking at this for a long period of time gives me a headache, but I assume the dead appealed to their clientele by making such a "trippy" album cover. The designs on the sides make it even more difficult to decipher the words because other than their obvious difference in color, they resemble the designs that the words form. Whenever I look at this cover I first see a design and finally once my eyes adjust I can make out the words.

Although the dead intentionally created the words to look psychedelic, the graffiti, wave of the words makes them very difficult to read. Even though the dead marketed towards their audience and created some of the best music of their time, their album covers give me headaches from time to time.