Question mark forms
hi all,
i noticed on the front page a question mark set in Borges Titulo - it
seems to be of the general form where the upper part wants to shoot off
into never-neverland rather than curling back down.
it reminds me of the one in Scala Sans - my main disappointment/irritation
in an otherwise great typeface.
does anyone know about this kind of question mark? is this style part of
a general class of question mark designs? does it have a name?
what is the history of it or inspiration for that form?
thanks,
jarrod
30.Jan.2008 10.32am
Yeah, it looks a bit like someone took a baseball bat to an exclamation point, doesn’t it.
I know of no terminology for this. It is somewhat like the ampersand, another character where a designer can have a bit of fun with the character shape, as long as he/she does not go too far. (And I don’t think that the Borges example is _too_ far out).
30.Jan.2008 10.33am
Hi Jarrod,
I don’t think this form has a special name. Be the first and make one up …
You can read about the origin of the question mark and fonts with a dramatic question mark in these older threads.
F
30.Jan.2008 12.23pm
Most useless question mark hands down is Stempel Schneidler.
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/stempel-schneidler/
I had someone flip it over for me when I used this font for a book.
30.Jan.2008 2.17pm
Word.
30.Jan.2008 2.23pm
Needed one in the title of this post for those who havent seen it and a little touch of ’wit’ :P
—
Rez +
30.Jan.2008 3.44pm
Patty, the question mark for Weiss is marginally more useful.
30.Jan.2008 3.46pm
What Pattyfab said. Stempel Schneidler’s question mark weakens the whole typeface.
2.Feb.2008 1.53pm
Just noticed this question mark in a newspaper headline:
It almost has kind of a Hebrew touch, no?