what we do
Out of context: Reply #44
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- gramme0
Maybe my experiences have been weird, but at least half of the clients I've worked with in recent years take a vested interest in the typefaces I choose for their organization, and why. For instance, last year when I proposed Mercury for the official typeface of my church, and told the group about Mercury's roots in late Dutch Reformation era typography, they were all over it and happily shelled out $1,400 for the entire family.
Another client recently told me he thought Benton (what they've been using) was a bit too vanilla for their needs, and when I showed him National, he immediately picked up on the differences.
Again, another client earlier this summer needed a distinctly American typeface for their ID. They'd been using Helvetica intermingled with Myriad, and when I described Helvetica's European connotations and the way it clashes with Myriad's humanist forms, then went on to say I thought one single family of fonts would solve all their typographic problems, they were all ears and very appreciative.
Maybe this is all still ego-stroking, but in these cases it's primarily the client's ego rather than just mine, and they do write the paychecks after all. At any rate, it seems to interest my clients at least on some level because the fonts I choose are always relevant to who they are and who they want to be.
- Here, RELIGION. Dutch Reformation! You always have to drag in religion?Coffeemaker
- Well, it was for a church after all...gramme
- No no, clients love this stuff. Not a single church visitor will ever spot the Dutch roots in Mercury, or Fleischmann or Dolly.They won't think "hmm, isn't it weird to use Times here", that is the point.jimbojones
- Dolly.They won't think "hmm, isn't it weird to use Times here", that is the point.jimbojones
- Yeah but it fits. They might not be able to see why, but the choice certainly isn't inappropriate.gramme
- people often use the arguments like the triangle means stability, and blue is for future. Meaningless crap is what often emerges then. I don't think this is the right argument when choosing a typeface. Would it be cool if all churches used Mercury? Or a serif face at all? I'm not sure.jimbojones
- what often emerges then. I don't think this is the right argument when choosing a typeface. Would it be cool if all churches used Mercury? Or a serif face at all? I'm not sure.jimbojones
- churches used Mercury? Or a serif face at all? I'm not sure.jimbojones
- Of course not, because all churches are different. A contemporary urban church would require something... well, more contemporary.gramme
- more contemporary.gramme
- and traditional churches require something more traditional -> Mercury. I still think it's a thin argumentation.jimbojones