[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1450″ align=”center” img_size=”full” img_link_large=”” img_link_new_tab=””][vc_column_text]My name is Fiona and I’m addicted to typography.
There, I’ve said it. I’ve taken Step One on the way to recovery.
I’ve been interested in typography for years. I’ve experimented with different fonts and typefaces, delighting in the shape of a G or an ampersand, for example. I even have favourite fonts the way other people have favourite foods (I also have some of those, but that’s beside the point).
Decorating my first home was the ideal opportunity to indulge my love of type – my obsession is evident throughout my new pad. I have letterpress blocks as ornaments, wooden letter bookends, and typographic prints, and I think the only room in which I haven’t introduced some decorative type is the bathroom. But give me time, I haven’t redecorated it yet!
Friends and family tolerate my type obsession. They sit patiently through my rants about designs with ugly fonts and bad kerning, even when it’s just a leaflet that arrived as part of my daily junk mail delivery. My mum has an indulgent smile that, when I eventually notice it, tells me it’s time to shut up about typography and resume the normal conversation we were having around 10 minutes ago.
One thing that delights me is being asked by a colleague to identify a font; instead of going straight to what the font, it’s become a game to study the letters and pronounce the name of the font. I try not to be too smug on those occasions when my guess turns out to be right.
Today, however, things got out of hand. Working on a PowerPoint template with a colleague, I advised him of what font I had used, and specified the weight, size and line height so he could use the same settings. When I saw the file later in the day I was horrified.
He had set the type in Arial Bold. This was all wrong; this didn’t match the settings I had given him. To say I was indignant would be an understatement.
And what was wrong with Arial Bold? I had specified Arial Regular.
Yes, as you can see this love of typography has reached ridiculous levels. Does it actually matter if the text was set in regular or bold? To the client, probably not, and ultimately it’s the client’s opinion that counts.
So I need help; I have to curb this addiction before it gets worse. As a designer, I can’t avoid type, but I can at least try to stop ranting and obsessing before my family bans me from mentioning anything typography-related. And to anyone else who finds their interest becoming addiction, I urge you to join me on Step One; stand up and declare your love of type.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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