Although it was hard work and time consuming I'm now really pleased I have all of the fonts in one document to compare and arranged into groups. Although I have used the drop down menu in Illustrator and Photoshop to try and get the right typeface I now realise there are some great typefaces I'd missed. I'm also now aware that I wasn't paying enough attention to the differences of style within similar typefaces. For example if I wanted a handwritten typeface I it was difficult to decide on the right on - or compare the subtle differences between them.
It was good to be able to put this new awareness into practice immediately by using them for the four commissions. I was also able to work through different typefaces more methodically than from the drop down list before I finally settled on the choices below:
I tried quite a few typefaces before deciding on Lucida Bright for the first commision. Varying the typefaces immedeatley may a diffrence to where you would expect to find the story. A lot of the decorative fonts tended to make the story look like it would appear in a more downmarket publication. I decided to go slightly more upmarket and coupled it with Garamond Regular for a readable, stylish serif.
The choice for the flower was Poor Richard, which had attracted my attention during the grouping exercise. I love the diffrence between the tall height of the ascenders and the short/curled ascenders. I also like the constrained nature of the flourishes. It is the sort of typeface that might be found on a headstone - and therefore perfect for attracting budding church flower arrangers.
For the teenage boys' after-school club I wanted something that wasn't too conservative or authoratitive -it also had to be a typeface that had 'energy'. Italics were too traditional so I went with Forte which really fitted the bill. Importantly it's not too cliched or patronising and manages (hopefully) to speak to and connect with its intended audience.
The engagement flyer was the most difficult of all as I tried to balance fun with readability. I tried many typefaces before finally settling on Hobo Std Medium - a relaxed, fun and readable text.
As mentioned this was a very time consumig exercise but it gave me a real insight into the importance of using the right typeface in order to connect with the intended audience. I now realise that choosing the right typeface is crucial. I can also appreciate that although there are many typefaces out there, there should be one that serves the purpose.
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