gawck's Funny Sign Friday™: I hate goodbyes. 
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gawck's Funny Sign Friday™: Stubbornness? What stubbornness?
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Words are a powerful part of our everyday lives. We are constantly reading text--whether it be on a sign, smart phone, computer, tablet, magazine or packaging. Although the content of what we read can have an enormous amount of power, the choice of typeface used can also greatly influence the way people read, understand and feel about the text presented.

A Note About Terminology:
Typeface vs Font
A quick note on terminology. The terms font and typeface are often used interchangeably. Technically, a typeface describes the whole family of characters and how they look (eg: Arial),  where a font is the specific one being used, eg: Arial, 12pt, bold. We use the term typeface here as we are referring to the overall look and feel of the characters being used.

Comic CERN
Last year scientists from CERN presented some very exciting results about the discovery of the Higgs boson particle. The significance of the results was marred by the choice of typeface for the presentation--Comic Sans. Comic Sans is generally considered an informal typeface mimicking comic book text and is widely criticized as being overused. Instead of the world celebrating one of the biggest scientific discoveries of our time, the hot topic was the inappropriate typeface choice. Those reading the report felt the typeface choice distracted from the greatness of the results and made the report look unprofessional.

Truth and consequences
A recent online article in The New York Times compared optimism to pessimism and presented a quiz asking whether readers believed the conclusions of the story. It was later revealed that the article had been presented to various readers in several different typefaces. The article was actually an experiment to determine which typefaces inspired confidence in the results of the research and which ones weakened the credibility of the study. According to 40,000 readers who took the quiz, the typeface Baskerville generated the greatest amount of trust, while Comic Sans caused many to disregard the results and even sparked a sense of contempt in some readers.

Letter grades
Another interesting example of the influence of typefaces is demonstrated by university student Phil Renaud who, over six semesters, submitted over 52 essays for his various classes. 

Upon realizing that his overall grade had risen but the amount of effort remained consistent, he looked back on all of the essays he had written. He found that the only difference was the typeface he had used. The essays using Trebuchet MS received the lowest average grade of B-, which Renaud suspects is because the typeface was harder for professors to read. The essays written in Times New Roman received a slightly better average grade of A-. Renaud noted that most of the essays submitted by his fellow students were also in this typeface, as it is the default on their computers. Lastly, the essays submitted in Georgia received the best overall average grade of A. Renaud theorizes that Georgia is similar enough to Times to maintain an academic feel, while providing a slight visual relief from the norm. He concludes, “You never know just how loudly a font speaks.”

Lorem Ipsum
To do your own demonstration on the influence of a typeface on the overall piece, use several samples of Lorem Ipsum text set in different typefaces in place of your intended text. Lorem Ipsum is text used as a placeholder that has no actual meaning, and allows the viewer to see the overall piece without being distracted by the actual words. Compare the overall look and feel of the samples in order to choose the best typeface for the intended ‘feel’ of your document.

It Does Matter
So yes, the typeface you choose does matter.

When laying out text, always consider which typeface best conveys the message you are trying to deliver. Balancing the ‘feel’ of the typeface with the feel of the message will help determine an appropriate choice.


References:
http://theweek.com/article/index/245632/how-typeface-influences-the-way-we-read-and-think#

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/705/

http://www.mdgadvertising.com/blog/how-typefaces-influence-perception-and-persuasion/

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/hear-all-ye-people-hearken-o-earth/?utm_source=slashdot&utm_medium=slashdot&utm_campaign=slashdot&_r=0

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/07/comic-sans-at-cern.html

http://designzis.blogspot.ca/2008/09/secret-lives-of-fonts.html

© Cathy Vandergeest, RGD, gawck group inc.  

Instead of sending your friend a text, send them your message and have it print on their toast! With a new Kickstarter product prototype called Toasteroid,  it may soon be a reality. It's as simple as downloading the app, choosing a template or create your own doodle and have the message or image toasted onto your bread by the Toasteroid toaster. Production is expected to start within the next year with delivery of the high-tech toasters starting in July 2017. ​https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/258723592/toasteroid-first-app-controlled-smart-image-toaste

When stuck in traffic on Toronto's highway 401 it's hard to imagine that there was a time without speed limits, lane marking, signage--or even driver's licences--and, it wasn't all that long ago!

The first stop signs originated in Michigan in 1915 and featured black lettering on a white background square sign. In order to reduce confusion and provide a standard, the octagon sign shape was adopted in 1922. In 1924 the colour of the signs evolved to black lettering on a yellow background. This remained the standard until 1954 when it changed to the white lettering and red background we know today.

​Many countries around the world have adopted parts of this standard, but typically feature the translated version of the word stop. Reference: http://www.myparkingsign.com/MPS/article_history-of-stop-sign.aspx

As a graphic designer, I'm often asked to create or modify text-based designs for clients. Typically text-based documents are meant to be read with ease and contain some sort of hierarchy in the layout. There is more to legibility and emphasis than making type bigger, bolder or in all-caps.

Just like today's text messages, typewriters lacked the ability to emphasize words, leaving the user to resort to using all-caps to make certain important words stand out. However, using caps for an entire message actually decreases legibility. The brain deciphers words based on their overall shape and the shape of the letters, including their acenders and descenders which capital letters lack. 

The sample below is from the National Weather Service in the US. For years their forecasts had been posted in all-caps due to old equipment. Just recently they made the switch to using upper and lower case. It is quickly apparent how much easier the second block of text is to read than the first. 

Resources: www.noaa.gov/national-weather-service-will-stop-using-all-caps-its-forecasts ,  https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fyti/situational-typography/all-caps