Re: Choosing Type

If I don't know where to start, I browse this book. Seriously, I love this book. I find looking through printed samples really helpful in order to get started. The fonts are shown in different sizes and weights, giving me a general feel for the typeface.

If I have an idea of what I want, then I start browsing through my font manager. (Eventually, I'd like to print out a font book of all the typefaces I have, for easier browsing.) For project one, I spent--literally--hours scrolling through the phrase "American Shelter" in every font I have on my computer. When I found a font I thought might work, I printed it out. That narrowed my search down to around a hundred fonts. Then I narrowed it down to about 20. So, I did type studies in all of these and narrowed it down to 4 or 5, which I brought into class for feedback. And then I still mocked up my work in three different fonts, including different weights and combinations.

So, I think the biggest thing is to keep looking. As you become more familiar with different typefaces, some of this will get easier. But if you're looking for something different or distinctive, you'll need to set aside hours for researching and testing different type.

Also, don't underestimate Google when looking to identify typefaces. Some companies put their style guides online, so you can get their official typefaces and color schemes easily. Also, I'm guilty of just googling "fonts like [name]" if I'm looking for a font similar to a particular font that doesn't cost nearly as much money. (I do spend quite a bit on fonts, though. I just can't afford the biggies.)

I have noticed that colophons are slowly starting to reappear in some books. I'm missed colophons. Even if a book doesn't have a separate colophon, sometimes the information appears on the back of the title page (the "verso," in publishing/library parlance).

An example of a true colophon.