More Than Scribbles

I've never been good at selecting fonts, and these videos are visuals that explain why I struggle.

Typography is so much more than boxy letters or "pretty" cursive. Those might be characteristics of some styles, but to me, they are so much more. The same way colors can mean a million different things, so can typography. Each style has a meaning. It can reflect emotion, time, a place, history, culture, and even the movement of energy. Typography is rich with symbolism, and like everything else in art, it illustrates a type of psychology and/or character.

It's difficult for me to simply pick a font and past it to an image, that seems crude and far too simple. I always like to consider fonts the same way I do all my other work.

I start with:

-Who are my characters?

-What do they want and need?

-What is their story and why?

Based on my answers I begin to search for fonts. Ultimately it can boil down to, what font best represents my main character?

Watching these two short films illustrates this perfectly. Many people may see a skilled technician and curly lines, but if you look deeper, you'll find a world of information and intention within every pen flick. It's wonderfully addicting to watch.

Video by: Johann Chan

Master Calligrapher: Seb Lester

Here is another video created by The Academy about the making of movie titles in the motion picture industry.

If you were a font, what font would you be?

I feel like my logo is a good start to how I envision my brand as an artist. Simple, elegant, clean, and feminine.

Logo by An Dao.

Alicia M. Blair