Typophile - giving up garamond. - Comments

i think i decided im

laurenj — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:34:33 -0700

i think i decided im concentrating on the 70’s/80’s.

Brothers is good for

The Don Killuminati — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:34:18 -0700

Brothers is good for contempo-retro.

Bill, you would have to look

Nick Shinn — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:06:44 -0700

Bill, you would have to look at publications from an era, especially the specimens of type shops, to determine whether a face was in use then. I just grabbed my specimen of ACC (Advertiser’s Composition Company) from 1950s Los Angeles, and there’s no Broadway in it, although Raleigh, Radiant and Stymie, all Deco era faces, are. And absolutely tons of Futura. But maybe it was different on the East Coast.

You also have to remember

dezcom — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:41:23 -0700

You also have to remember that just because a type was released in the timeframe of category or “movement” does not mean that it is interpreted as such. AG came out in the 19th century but is thought of as more a mid 20th century type from the Swiss/German Modernists and International style. It was later supplanted by Helvetica but rarely thought of as a horse and buggy era typeface. Many types of the 1930s are viewed by laymen as older than AG even though they are not.

ChrisL

Nick, I meant Art Deco type.

William Berkson — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:30:17 -0700

Nick, I meant Art Deco type. For example, I have seen Broadway, the typeface, ever since I can remember, which goes back to the 1950s. And I think the stuff has also been on packaging...

am I right in thinking that

Nick Shinn — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:14:16 -0700

am I right in thinking that Art Deco never died out?

As a movement it died, but came back again in the 1970s, a revival.

There was a lot of overlap between Art Deco, Moderne, Modernism, etc.

The most popular new typeface of the Art Deco era, Futura, ceased to be associated only with the original era.
But in general the new types of that era didn’t transfer well, the whole category of geometric slab serif types for instance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

jupiterboy — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:38:24 -0700

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stuckists_Punk_Victorian

either 50s retro, 60s mod,

Florian Hardwig — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:18:52 -0700

either 50s retro, 60s mod, 70s groovy, 80s disco

Like this chocolate packaging? ;-)

Nouveau lives on as well.

jupiterboy — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:17:36 -0700

Nouveau lives on as well. Just sold a Mucha print shirt from the ’70s. With VH-1 nothing may ever be allowed to die again.

>Every era is condemened to

William Berkson — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:17:32 -0700

>Every era is condemened to be remembered not for its successes (which last longer, and become associated with subsequent eras as well, or no era in particular), but for the things that died with it.

Nick, am I right in thinking that Art Deco never died out? It is still popular but has a nostalgia factor with it. That may be an exception.

On the clothing store, you might consider the old-looking and somewhat weird but polished look of Maple.

It isn’t just the

dezcom — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:00:03 -0700

It isn’t just the typeface, the design has great bearing on it, too.

ChrisL

I’ve been picking and

jupiterboy — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:56:30 -0700

I’ve been picking and reselling thrift for 15 years or so. I sold about 200 pieces this weekend. Usually the older styles don’t move much unless the shop deals with art directors for movies etc. One reason I suggested Solano is that it has a sort of Neville Brody vibe.

One thing Lauren has not shared is the actual name, and I think that knowing the exact characters and length will have much to do with what type works.

BTW, I’ve never seen a resale shop that had a particularly good identity so there is much room to do something really nice.

My first thought was to go Douglas Sirk with an A. Paul script, but I don’t think that would hit the market really.

One of the best bits of thrift is the garment tags. I’ve always taken inspiration from the wonderful historic marks that live on in these little fabric rectangles.

“whatever suits your

dezcom — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:36:34 -0700

“whatever suits your fancy”

Good pun, Patty :-)

ChrisL

40s to 80s is a pretty wide

pattyfab — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:36:06 -0700

40s to 80s is a pretty wide range - I’d try to focus on one era - either 50s retro, 60s mod, 70s groovy, 70s disco, whatever suits your fancy and run with it.

You can also go to www.myfonts.com and type in 1950s in the search window and see what comes up.

If you’re trying to distinguish yourself from the SoHo vintage stores you mentioned, I’d steer clear of Helvetica. It’s just not an evocative font.

It freaks me out that clothing I wore in college (80s) could be considered vintage. OTOH, I was wearing a lot of vintage clothing myself back then - 30s and 40s stuff. My mom used to joke that one day I’d come home wearing something she got rid of 30 years earlier.

Hearing the songs I danced to at my prom on an oldies station is no fun either.

Right Patty. To me Helvetica

Nick Shinn — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:56:02 -0700

Right Patty.
To me Helvetica always looks old-fashioned (except the Thin) whenever I see it in use, but people who don’t know its history might not think so.
Every era is condemened to be remembered not for its successes (which last longer, and become associated with subsequent eras as well, or no era in particular), but for the things that died with it.

giving up garamond.

laurenj — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:12:16 -0700

i guess at some point i fell in love with adobe garamond, and have been using it far too much along with bembo and a few other serifs. problem? i have to do an identity for a vintage clothing store and i’m trying to use a sans serif, although after about 50 tries and a few oddball fonts they all feel far too modern. any suggestions?