Simon Garfield isn’t a designer. Or an architect or a visual artist or a typesetter. What he is, is a journalist and author of many excellent books on esoteric subjects. Oh, I lied about him not being a typersetter – he is, but only on an amateur basis. And that’s the setting-off point for Just My Type, his humorous book on fonts: everyone can be a passionate amateur now.
Opening with a light-hearted chapter on Comic Sans, he sets the tone for the rest of the book: amusing and informative. Most graphic designers hate Comic Sans. It was designed by Vincent Connare in 1994 for Microsoft and was included as a supplementary typeface in Windows 95. It was an instant smash hit. But not with designers. To make the point, Garfield points you towards the website – BanComicSans – dedicated to its death.
Garfield narrates a history of lettering through a series of themed chapters interspersed with such general chapters as The Ampersand or DIY Type.
And with all this, he shows how social convention has changed in just a short space of time. These days, capital letters in email or text messages means ‘YOU HATE SOMEONE AND ARE SHOUTING’. Included is the cautionary tale of Vicki Walker, an unfortunate accountant, who lost her job for sending out a straightforward memo in upper case – giving it (what was deemed) an inappropriate and aggressive meaning.
A knowledge of typefaces has become accessible to everyone in the digital age and no longer exclusive to a small group of specialists, or those working in the media industry.
Garfield recounts the Guardian’s now famous April Fool’s hoax of 1977 when they ran a piece marking the 10th anniversary of the independence of San Serriffe: a republic whose every name was taken from the world of fonts. Situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean it is said that some readers actually tried to book a holiday there, but no travel agent could locate Bodoni International airport. Today it would be far too obvious a prank to pull off.
What’s more, Garfield shows, changing the typeface of a global brand like IKEA can have enormous commercial implications. He says: ‘When IKEA dropped its elegant Futura for the more contemporary Verdana, the switch had caused consternation not only among type geeks, but also among real people’ – who reacted by buying less. To ram this point home, he drops a monstrosity on the reader – the 2012 Olympic typeface. Read that chunky, sportless font – and weep.
Just My Type is an immensely refreshing offering from an author who is fascinated by his subject. Conveying the richness and the personality of typefaces with love and passion, this is an accessible and entertaining introduction to the world of lettering.
Just My Type By Simon Garfield, Profile Books, £14.99
