Lupton's Letters: more than spelling words, Ryan Gerhardt

I've been using fonts for years on various processors and Word type programs not really comprehending the difference in fonts. Certainly some had appeal because they were different, cool, or had interesting names yet I used the same one or two fonts over ninety percent of the time. Why is this? Practicality. Teachers, the main receptacle for things I had typed, required no frills fonts so why would I need to use Garamond or Palatino? To me those names were gibberish and remained that way until I started reading Lupton's book.

Fortunately for me, Lupton's book provided solutions to both of my problems in the very first chapter. What I had long thought were names made up for different fonts by computer programmers with too much time on their hands I soon learned had a long historical significance. Bodoni, Didot, and Baskerville were names that I had scrolled by frequently on Microsoft Word and now had a connection to the real world. Being someone interested in history, I was intrigued to discover that these fonts were anchored in the works and writings of printers and calligraphers that lived hundreds of years ago. I had always figured that script and calligraphy was the basis of many fonts but the fact that the slight stylistic differences found among the fonts created typography that is still used today was something I had not known. Type stamped on the pages of a book, talk about a lasting impression. 

The other main clarification Lupton's book opened my eyes to was the fact that practicality is not reserved for the few fonts I had used in high school. Most, if not all fonts, can be used practically depending on the nature of the situation. Typography conveys as much of a message as the actual text itself which for me was a new concept. As I said, I would pick fonts because they looked cool and never much thought about the subtle message that was conveyed in the way a type presented the text. I realize now that the attributes associated with certain styles create messages to go along with the text message. A perfect example of this is the Hummer wordmark. Regardless of what type used, Hummer is still spelled the same and still represents a car company. However, the use of bold and heavy type creates the rugged attribute that Hummer wants associated with their vehicles. Had a type with thin structures been used, the same message of ruggedness would not have been conveyed.  

One of my favorite uses of typography are tattoos. Stylistically, tattoos seem to present unique twists on set typography which in turn create a personalized message. Having recently watched the film "The Boondock Saints," one typography in particular came to mind:

Image source: http://images.chron.com/blogs/blog9/veritas.jpg

A simple word, veritas. In Latin, the word veritas means truth which in reference to the movie represented the main characters' quest for truth and goodness in the world. Looking closely at the type, more of the story can be told. By using a bold, heavy, and all capital text the brothers' resolve and fortitude to clean up the world is conveyed. What I particularly like about this tattoo is the very archaic nature of the font. To me, the word is not only Latin and ancient but so is the type. The brothers in the movie use force and a very brutal and archaic method to eradicate evil, furthering the connection. 

Typography is a far more calculated process than I had first believed it to be. No longer will I see it as arbitrary, especially when it comes time to choose a type for my tattoo.