Just go to Helvetica

Mon, Apr 7 02:17 AM

I've changed fonts nine times while writing this piece, even though I know Newsweek will print it in regular old Vincent no matter what I sneak in. I laboured through Book Antiqua, Century, Bodoni and Verdana, finally deciding on the Microsoft-commissioned Georgia. I'd like to think the font's personality fits me: a British psychologist described it as individual, sophisticated, with a curviness that suggests a little bit of rocker chick.

OK, maybe I'm flattering myself. But the idea that a font says something about the person who selected it is, perhaps for the first time, rising beyond the design elite. Like me, America has developed a geeky obsession with fonts. Helvetica, a documentary about one font's history, played to sold-out audiences when it came out last year. "Knowledge of Fonts" was actually a category on the TV quiz show, Jeopardy! Even Barack Obama has a custom font. "I always used to dread having to explain to a stranger what I do for a living," says Matthew Carter, a typographer who has been in the business for more than 50 years - he designed Newsweek's font, "Nowadays, you can have an intelligent conversation with a 9-year-old about font."

Half a century ago, designers like Carter were manually carving words into lead - sometimes at the rate of a letter a day. Today, there are tens of thousands of typefaces available to buy and download on the cheap. Basic programmes like Gmail and Microsoft Word come equipped with dozens of free types, and anybody can learn how to create their very own font.

Now Hollywood's jumping in on the action: celebs like Beyonce, Kate Moss and Bjork all have unique fonts.

In many ways, we're catching up with what typographers have long known: that font can be a "subtle form of propaganda," says Helvetica producer Gary Hustwit. Typography is about message as much as form: a letter's density, its arcs and points, even its placement can convey tone, spirit or mood. A manly brand like Marlboro for instance, will use a thick font to convey boldness. "There are definitely typefaces that one would consider to be more aggressive or sophisticated or sexy," says Michael Ian Kaye, who worked on the logo for Beyonce's fashion line, Dereon.

Cool candidate Obama staged a mini-coup by choosing the modern classic Gotham for his logo. Modelled after New York City signage by designers Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, Gotham first appeared in GQ magazine which wanted it to feel modern, yet authoritative. The blogosphere has since exploded with chatter of the Obama "brand," which designers say is the best crafted of any politician's in history. On the other hand, Hoefler and Frere-Jones describe Hillary's font as a "snooze of a serif" that "might have come off a heart-healthy-cereal box, or a mildly embarrassing over-the-counter ointment."

That's a little harsh, but a serif here or there can make all the difference. Studies show fonts with round O's and tails are friendly, while angular types convey rigidity. Fonts can influence whether we see an e-mail as professional or casual, or even if we read it. "We as designers have the power to influence the world, to influence what the world sees," says Kaye. Or at least the way we see their words.

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