Thursday, January 23, 2014

Jewell / Typography Dating Game













Type Connection's Dating Game, a Fiddler on the Roof of sorts for typography, forced me to stop trying to use so much intuition about matching fonts and resort to much more theory and inarguable laws. It forces you to look at the weight, ascenders, descenders, and curves – just to name a few – as a means of knowing just how compatible two fonts are.

I chose Archer to begin, "a geometric slab serif," actually designed for Martha Stewart. That fact aside, I admired its smooth curves and round terminals, as well as its subtle vintage influences. By embracing the "other" and pairing Archer with what’s different, I ultimately chose Eurostile as its soul mate. Eurostile, the square type of modern architecture, is a contemporary sans serif I knew Archer would like.


While Eurostile settles easily into titles and other objects of emphasis, in its bolder, fluidly clunky manner, Archer compliments that with a lighter, more legible approach to content text. I will refrain too much from boasting, but I think I have the hang of this typographic dating game. Next up, I’ll find the long-single Wingdings the love of her life.

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