Esquire Does It Again

I found this image on the magculture.com blog. Esquire's December issue is a flashback to the covers we saw in class yesterday with Bill Clinton and Halle Berry. Each time Esquire replays this image it becomes more distasteful.

The December issue with Robert Downey Jr. implements a few different pieces, but still conveys a similar message as Clinton's cover. To start, the current cover gets rid of the blue tie. The blue tie stood out in the previous covers by being one of the bold colors standing out in the all black clothing. Instead of using the blue tie again, the December issue relies on the sitting position to refer back to the previous covers.

Something that I found distracting is the overuse of headlines on Downey's cover. Esquire goes from no headlines with Clinton, to a few large headlines with Berry, to headline overload. This cover is too busy.

The positioning of Downey's hands is a different move from the previous images and personally I found this in poor taste. At first glance it seems as though he is pointing to the white box, but on closer inspection this is not the case. Esquire has taken the initial message Clinton conveyed and overtime has turned into a not so subtle sexual reference.

Lupton's Letters - Typefaces and Their Personalities

It seems almost too easy to ignore the importance of typeface. I, for one, never put much thought into the typeface I chose to use. It seemed so minor a detail in comparison to writing the actual body of the text itself. However, it is the typeface that decorates the page and brings it to life, ultimately attracting the reader or pushing him away. Typeface, and the way it is used, is essential to successfully delivering the intended message of the text. To discard this "minor detail" and pay little attention to the typeface, therefore, seems foolish.

A typeface has many distinct personalities that are portrayed through small details. For the most part, I thought these details were insignificant. So what if one part of the text was bolded and the other italicized? What did that really mean? These details, however, can change the entire vibe, the look and feel, of a text. For instance, the Louis Vuitton logo can be recognized almost immediately by two letters: L and V. They put their Louis Vuitton logo on nearly every bag they produce, but they change little details in the logo that gives the bags different personalities. In the picture shown above, the same Louis Vuitton logo is used to decorate the bag, but in different colors. The first bag looks sophisticated, and the usage of only two colors suggests a more mature feel. The second bag, on the other hand, looks playful, and the usage of many bright colors suggests a more energetic and younger feel. The first bag probably attracts the attention of people who are older, and the second bag is probably targeted towards a younger crowd. The mere change in the color of the typeface, therefore, has different effects on the bags.

Without a doubt, I have underestimated the importance of typefaces thus far. Fortunately, reading Lupton's "Thinking with Type" helped me realize the distinct personalities of different typefaces, and has made me more aware of their versatility.