This isn't new, so you may have already seen it. In one of his "Goodie Bag" clips from December, Kirby Ferguson takes movie marketers to task for their overuse of the typeface Trajan. ...And not just for big dramas or blockbusters, but for being strangely ubiquitous in horror movie marketing as well. Its a quick fun watch that is well written for the general viewer, not just the designer. Watch it here:
3 comments:
I completely agree that Trajan is terribly overused. But I still think it's a patently *beautiful* design. Unfortunately, since it's been applied to such a wide variety of movies - good and bad - it's completely lost its luster. Not to mention how much it's been horizontally compressed, endlessly tracked out, terribly kerned and baseline shifted to death, etc. I'm a graphic designer myself and have to confess I would love to use it (horrors!), but I know how much my fellow designers would roast me - and how little impact the typeface would really have at this point. Maybe in 15 years or so. At some point all great typefaces wear out their welcome. Even Helvetica had its years of scorn, after its overuse in the 60s and 70s.
By the way, though I don't always agree with you, I thoroughly enjoy your observations on design. Look forward to more.
After getting your comment I have decided to relent on my "patently bad" comment about Trajan, (maybe "not very good" is better). I do believe there are much better classic faces that could be used (even some of the Garamonds). I refuse, however, to relent on my distaste for Comic Sans and Brush Script. :)
I totally agree that the Garamonds are more elegant - and much more versatile - than the omnipresent Trajan. Yes, Comic Sans truly is one of the low points of typeface design. I would also add three of my most-hated faces - Hobo, Revue and Dom Casual.
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