design | Basement Light Design

October 11, 2010July 16, 2013

5 terrible typefaces

There are various reasons for qualifying a typeface as terrible for use in professional design. Some are overused, illegible, ugly, excessively cute, or a combination thereof. The following are the five worst, painstakingly ranked (and sure to be avoided) by yours truly.

A monospaced slab-serifed typeface designed in 1955 and originally intended for electric typewriters, whenever I see Courier used in print, I imagine the designer or printer failed to provide the proper font and Courier was its replacement by default. Handy only for computer coders who need columns of aligned text.

The de facto choice when a lazy designer/printer wishes to add some “elegance” to a business card or invitation. Illegible and clunky. Must resist.

Designed in 1942 and it looks it. Illegible. Vulgar. For added fun, try using it in all caps.

Since the 1990s, Papyrus has been made available to just about every computer in the world. And its use has exploded. I am sure poor Papyrus designer Chris Costello never intended text to be set at 12 point size! Film director James Cameron damned the torpedoes by famously using a variation of the typeface for his Avatar movie poster. Unfortunate.

The “best worst” typeface ever, and a product of Microsoft. This casual and “cute” typeface designed by Vincent Connare in 1995 is the ultimate in amateurishness. There is even a movement to ban Comic Sans. Avoid using it, even if designing a comic!

Runners up were Curlz MT, Lazybones, Times New Roman, and Arial. Did I leave out your favorite? Leave a comment and let me know why.

September 13, 2010July 16, 2013

Aol. Struggling to remain relevant

AOL’s late-2009 corporate logotype redesign was its first move away from former parent company, Time Warner. The new logo is simply “Aol.”—upper and lowercase, and with a period, as if to state that it is the last word in online content—set in a sans serif typeface (perhaps a slightly tweaked Futura Bold?), and “revealed” through different backgrounds (the “blue monster” shown above being an example). Designed by Wolff Olins, the letterform remains fixed while the background will change continuously by the hundreds, ostensibly symbolizing AOL’s commitment to changing content. Other backgrounds include a headbanger rock fan, a fish, a beetle, a leaf, and a woman’s shoe. (Visit AOL’s site and click “Refresh Page” at the top navigation to see it in action.)

Maureen Marquess, chief of staff at AOL in New York, is wrestling with the monumental task of making the AOL service relevant again, as “having an AOL account” is seen as a nostalgic reminder of the early days of the Internet. “We have to give people a reason to care again” about AOL, Ms. Marquess said. The designer in me admits relief for the retirement of AOL’s frozen-in-time triangle logo. But despite the press release mapping the complex thought process behind the redesign, about remaining “flexible” while AOL sorts out exactly what services it wishes to provide, it is difficult for a critic to get past the laziness of the rebranding. I am immediately reminded of the children’s cable television network developed in the 1980s, Nickelodeon, who employed changing orange backgrounds (a blimp, a dog bone, a splat) with the “Nickelodeon” mark knocked out in white. Whether viewed in a promo spot or seen on a child’s toy, the logo was instantly recognizable in all of its guises.

However, an effective brand must start with an instantly-recognizable symbol—the brand identifier—to provide profound meaning. I doubt adding a colorful fish behind the simple typesetting of “Aol.” will help to allay the brand’s woes.

July 26, 2010July 16, 2013

Sanctuary screen printing in Austin

In a warehouse in South Austin, the talented artists of South Side Sanctuary toil away on their computers and at their presses creating fashion that comments on art, music and fashion itself. Leaders Jon Pattillo and Jed Taylor do this for fun, cranking out three to five thousand t-shirts per month of their own design. But their designs are anything but mass-produced. Services also include custom designed screen-printed t-shirts, letter press-printed posters and business cards, banners, murals, and stickers. The duo started out creating merch for a record label and its touring bands. Today the company is housed in a 5,000 square foot location on South Congress Avenue. In addition to the three screen printing presses, SSS operates a 1947 Kluge open-face letterpress.

During this past year’s SXSW festival, the SSS crew could be seen rolling around town in their super-rad 1979 El Camino “delivery vehicle” equipped with a working screenprinting press in the truck bed.

July 20, 2010July 16, 2013

Miller Beer “Vortex” bottle

If you are like me and have seen the Miller Beer “Vortex” bottle billboard, you’ve probably also wondered why anyone might want their beer to pour out into a “vortex.” In recent years MillerCoors introduced its cold-activated bottle, a useful innovation where the mountains on the label turn blue when your beverage is at its optimum temperature. However, I don’t see the same level of creativity with the Vortex, which, according to a MillerCoors sales rep, is a bottle with specially designed interior grooves that “create a vortex as you’re pouring the beer.” This innovation is intended to “create buzz and excitement and give consumers another reason to choose Miller.” For me, it’s just a different-shaped bottle that won’t provide much consumer benefit. MillerCoors’ advertising agency is Saatchi & Saatchi.

February 24, 2010July 16, 2013

“Off-the-shelf” logos

The recent concept of prêt-à-porter or “shelf” logos involves the online offering of pre-designed corporate logos with exclusive ownership (i.e., the logo design may not be resold). A few companies have cloned the online business model, but the geniuses at South Africa-based LogoAnts.com appear to have perfected it, offering clean, perhaps generic-looking logos for those with a small budget. The customer browses categories such as swoosh, Christian, building, 3D, etc., then adds its organization’s name to its choice. Clearly, target industries are small-time entrepreneurs, startups, builders, and churches. Despite claims made to the contrary by the manufacturer, most of these logos are forgettable. But it’s hard to fault business owners wanting to explore these options, as the prices are astonishingly low (shelf logos start at $99!).

Pundits will argue that one’s logo should be a unique symbol of the brand and the people behind it, and working one-on-one with a graphic designer is the only way to achieve superior results. Indeed, some sites do offer graphic design consultation, and LogoAnts.com offers custom logo design services from $179. Professional graphic design firms specializing in corporate branding should prepare to lose a share of its smaller clients tempted by these budget services. And maybe, it will spur professional designers to produce stronger creativity (and avoid clichés).