The Fonts That People Want

Past Boston University’s West Campus is Packard’s Corner. This area, which is designated its own T stop on the Green Line, is no doubt familiar to many BU students. It is a major crossroads for party-bound crowds on Friday nights, and is home to an athletic club, a Super 88, and other smaller local businesses.

But for any fontophiliac, Packard’s Corner is its own special level of hell.

A fontophiliac is anyone who is nit-picky over fonts (yes, fonts. As in Times New Roman, Arial, etc.).  It might seem fussy and frivolous a pursuit, but the typeface can make or break the professionalism of a message. And fonts are everywhere; they are not limited to just Microsoft Word documents and websites. Signs, banners and store logos are all written in a particular typeface.

While obsession with lettering might sound oddly specific to the point of rarity, it actually is not, and there are plenty of people who find fonts to be important. The 2007 documentary Helvetica tells the story of the eponymous and much-loved font. The film was nominated for several awards and grossed $204,000; apparently, at least some people care.

For businesses and events, the particular typeface can help convey specific messages. Some, like

Goodwill's sign is eye-catching but simple. | photo by Patricia Bruce / flickr user woundikins

a poster advertising Donna the Buffalo at the Paradise Rock Club, are written in an eye-catching, relevant font—the type screams “old west,” which is just the aesthetic the group seems to be going for. And the sign hanging over the entrance of Goodwill next door is simple and clean. The lowercase Courier New are classic and unassuming, almost nostalgic.

But while a well-fonted sign can make a business look fresh, modern and altogether appealing, an ugly sign can do quite the opposite. Closet to Packard’s Corners, the aesthetic quality of signage and posters deteriorates significantly. At an Asian restaurant, an advertisement for delicious smoothies can be soured if it is formatted like the front page of a Geocities site. Nearby, a rain-spattered poster advertising guitar lessons uses sloppy, poorly-aligned lettering.

Sound in Motion, Allston's Worst Offender | photo by Patricia Bruce / flickr user woundikins

Some overused fonts that will not go away. Comic Sans, notorious for its hideousness, has been nearly impossible to kill. This is not without concerted efforts. Many have attempted to eradicate Comic Sans, but it still blemishes storefronts across the nation. Sound in Motion, a store at Packard’s Corner specializing in car audio, put its sign in Comic Sans—in italics, no less.

As Comic Sans fades, new and more creatively ugly fonts take its place. The Papyrus font, lazily chosen for its vaguely antique, nonwestern appearance, is inescapable. It can be found on the storefront for the Pure Pilates student in Allston, and many businesses in the Back Bay and South End as well. Because of its omnipresence and all-around ugliness, Papyrus has garnered its own band of haters.

Papyrus's popularity does not make it pretty | photo by Patricia Bruce / flickt user woundikins

For every good-looking sign, there are bound to be a few ugly ones. But half the problem of ugly storefronts and unappealing poster or banner advertisements is in the poor choice of fonts. So next time you have to design a poster for your student group’s event, make sure the font is appealing. And if it cannot be appealing, at least make sure it is not Comic Sans.

About Kelly Dickinson

Kelly is a CAS/COM senior double-majoring in Psychology and Film. She was the editor-in-chief last year, but she ceded to Ingrid in a mostly-bloodless coup. Right now, she's Producing on QuadCast, checking off her BU bucket-list and hunting for one of those "job" things.

View all posts by Kelly Dickinson →

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