Revolutionary People's Fonts

Virginia Postrel on the typefont revolution:

Beginning in the mid-'80s and accelerating in the 1990s, type design weathered the sort of radical, technology-driven transformation that other creative industries, including music, publishing, and movies, now face. Old business models and intermediaries disappeared seemingly overnight. Software replaced industrial processes. Tangible products--metal, film, computer disks--dissolved into bits and bytes sold over the Internet. Prices plummeted. Consumers started buying directly. From their kitchen tables, independent designers could undertake experiments that had once required bet- the-company investments. "Having an idea for a typeface used to be like having an idea for a new-model car," says [Michael] Bierut. Now the distance between idea and execution, designer and user, has contracted.

Though still a tiny number--maybe a couple hundred worldwide--more people than ever are making a living designing type. Many others, mostly graphic designers, have turned type design into a profitable sideline. And more people than ever are buying fonts.

For the rest, including how "the profusion of fonts appeals to a culture that celebrates expressive individualism," go here.

Comments

ILAH DUNLAP LITTLE | January 9, 2008, 12:46pm | #

Ron Paul! Ron Paul! Ron Paul!

*just kidding*

Episiarch | January 9, 2008, 12:50pm | #

I wonder how much they spent on the Star Trek: Next Generation font.

Bingo | January 9, 2008, 12:50pm | #

All I gotta say is thank god for courier when writing those term papers. Magically makes 6 pages turn into 8!

Pro Libertate | January 9, 2008, 12:51pm | #

Sans serif, baby!

de stijl | January 9, 2008, 12:52pm | #

Why do so many sites that offer free downloadable fonts also try to install malware?

Also, I would worked in a Judean People's Font / People's Font of Judea joke, Jesse.

dhex | January 9, 2008, 12:53pm | #

http://www.dafont.com/

good times.

Reformed Republican | January 9, 2008, 12:56pm | #

Arial is good enough for me.

Thomas Paine's Goiter | January 9, 2008, 12:57pm | #

Sanford all the way.

ed | January 9, 2008, 1:05pm | #

"Font of Knowledge" must have been the runner-up headline.

David | January 9, 2008, 1:06pm | #

And yet people still use comic sans. Sigh.

Rhywun | January 9, 2008, 1:07pm | #

Meh. I'll believe the hype when commercial fonts stop being so goddamn expensive, i.e. in the hundreds of dollars.

Why do so many sites that offer free downloadable fonts also try to install malware?

Because most of those fonts are stolen. See above.

Aresen | January 9, 2008, 1:45pm | #

I'd like to submit a report to my boss in Medieval Gothic font. It would fit right in with his Medieval Gothic mind.

Pro Libertate | January 9, 2008, 1:47pm | #

Do states or nations have official fonts? They seem to do that with everything else.

If not, I'd like to propose a few.

ed | January 9, 2008, 1:52pm | #

Comic Sans is the official font of Uzbekistan.

R C Dean | January 9, 2008, 2:11pm | #

Sans serif, baby!

I'm an old-school Time New Roman guy for Serious Documents.

Arial is good enough for me.

Trebuchet is vastly superior.

De gustibus, etc.

Salvius | January 9, 2008, 2:13pm | #

I prefer Goudy Old Style, just because I like Goudy's capital Q.

Pro Libertate | January 9, 2008, 3:20pm | #

I suppose Switzerland gets Helvetica.

de stijl | January 9, 2008, 3:23pm | #

Italy doesn't just get a font, they get a whole style!

Rhywun | January 9, 2008, 4:25pm | #

Britain is Gill Sans, not for any humorous reason, but because everything there seems to use it. (It's the font of the London Underground.)

J sub D | January 9, 2008, 4:32pm | #

Just an inane random thought. How many fonts do users of the Crillic alphabet have to choose from compared to users of the Latin?

Bet I stumped y'all there.

Pro Libertate | January 9, 2008, 4:39pm | #

If Clinton wins the election, the United States' official font will be Albertus.

Hint: It takes the Village.

Larry N. Martin | January 9, 2008, 4:43pm | #

Why are people so down on Comic Sans? It's a FUN font! I just wouldn't recommend it for that business report, is all.

Aresen | January 9, 2008, 4:47pm | #

In Springfield, would they use SimSun?

Aresen | January 9, 2008, 4:49pm | #

How many fonts do users of the Crillic alphabet have to choose from compared to users of the Latin?

Odin.

de stijl | January 9, 2008, 5:03pm | #

I want a do-over for my 3:23 comment:

Italy doesn't just get a font, they get a whole style!

Much better!

Rhywun | January 9, 2008, 5:18pm | #

It's a FUN font!

Clowns are FUN too.

de 'stijl' (ahem),

Thanks, I got it finally!

BoscoH | January 9, 2008, 5:28pm | #

According to comments in the other VP thread today, she is really a Neocon, and doesn't deserve our attention. Idiots.

SJK | January 14, 2008, 9:22am | #

For quality fonts at great prices try:
http://www.FontMarketplace.com