Font Men: I found it interesting how these two guys who have both have a different focus, but the same idea, work together to create new fonts. I like the idea that there is not enough fonts and there will never be too many fonts. They were not expecting their company to grow how it did, however they seemed surprised when bringing up how their staff shares their same belief in regards to the creation of fonts. Where it is hard to start from scratch, but fun.

Mike Langley: This video interested me the most, because he is a sign painter that does his work by hand. Unlike the other two he is out painting on a truck. He implemented at least 3 fonts onto the truck and he did it by hand. I like how he says he is attracted to the human feel of the things he does. He likes mistakes because it says it was created by a human.

Dan Rhatigan: Like Rhatigan said, the idea of saving ink through his font is a small gesture. I believe that although small, it carries a big message. It will not solve the worlds problems but it is definitely a step in the right direction. I find it interesting how I believed fonts were mainly for expression but he is able to use it as a means to save the earth.

Starting from the fact that I found all three videos extremely interesting and inspiring, it is fascinating to see that behind each single letter of a typeface there is a meticulous work made by a single or an entire group of people. How typefaces are created according to the content and context in which they could stand.

Moreover, it is interesting to see how typography is used for different goals. Hoefler and Frere-Jones company creates a variety of nice and functional typefaces, already available or personalized onces. Their typefaces transmit ideas and concepts, mostly used and sold to big companies. On the other hand, Mike Langley goal is to express the personality of few clients and their philosophy. His work is not meant to be used by different clients all over the world and over the years, but to be authentic and unique as his clients are. Ryman Eco, instead, not only embraces the readability and the personality that a font should have but it goes behind. Dan Rhatigan work was born to reduce the use of ink and the waste of cartridges in the environment, to have a minor impact on the ecosystem, now and in the future.

While H&FJ Company and Mike Langley purpose is to sell or satisfy a big or small group of clients in a short or long term, Dan Rhatigan uses Typography to encourage sustainability and maybe to inspire future generations to create environment friendly fonts. Hoping that Mike Langley would use ecofriendly paints for his work, do you think ecologically friendly fonts could really make a significant difference? Wouldn’t the use of less paper be more effective?

Font Men
In the first video, Font Men I learned about the design process of making new fonts and
how font typeface grew in the 90s. In the video Tobias Jones explains how in the 90s he would
often receive font catalogs in the mails and would look at them as soon as he got them and
discuss his opinions on them with his friend and former competitor Jonathan Hoefler. Jones also
explained how back in the 90s there wasn’t many companies creating font type faces which is
what inspired him and Hoefler to create their own company together. As they began their own
company, they soon got a team of people to expand their company and produce more font
typefaces. Later in the video they talk about the design process they go through when creating a
new font which fascinated me. It fascinated me because it seemed so simple and I never
considered where to start when designing a font. The way they began creating a font was with
the letters H and O because H is a square lettering and O is a round Lettering. With this design
process it makes it simple to design a font for the whole alphabet because the rest of the alphabet
is a combination of both round and square lettering. Another thing that interest me is how they
were able to create and use that same font within the same day.
The Sign Painter
In the second video, The Sign Painter I listened to Mike Langley express his passion for
painting and his work on sign paintings for shops. It was pleasant to hear about Langley express
his love and passion for painting as well as intriguing hearing him talk about how his work feels
like art more than work and likes to paint signs for shops because of the imperfections of the
lettering when painting the sign. Langley makes good points about how when painting no letter
will be the same and how the imperfections of the lettering is what makes the sign unique. I also
agree that although painting signs can be hard work it is a true art form because of how unique it
is to paint the lettering rather than creating it on a computer. In addition to that I agree with his
stance about going into shops and supporting more shops that hire painters to create their signs
rather than ones that use digital designs.
Dan Rhatigan on Ryman Eco
In the third video, Dan Rhatigan on Ryman Eco Dan Rhatigan speaks about the
importance of having and creating different typefaces and how to make them more eco- friendly.
Rhatigan makes some interesting points about the reason there are a variety of typefaces which
are to give a personality to the letters as well as make an impression on people when interacting
with it. In this case I agree with the Rhatigan’s reasoning on the reason there are a broad range of
typefaces. Rhatigan also makes a very thoughtful reason as to how certain typefaces are printed
on paper and how this has somewhat of an impact on the environment. The typeface he creates
enforces all of his reasonings and provides an answer on how to create a font that looks full when
printed but is not in its design. This font not only is unique artistically, but it also is much more
ink efficient. This makes the font eco-friendlier because it uses less ink when printed saving both
ink and plastic which is used to contain the ink. I believe we will see more fonts like this in the
future and is the start to a design model when creating fonts.

The video that I found more interesting is the second one, where Mike Langley, a Sign pinter, talks about why he likes working with painting lettering. The comparison that he did about lettering being similar to human Feelings and how the imperfection and mistakes make it more interesting, made me realize that each font has a personality and that it attracts and makes people respond in different ways. This idea connects to what Dan Rhatigan expressed about the needs of having new fonts; By creating new fonts, the possibilities to show new ideas can be infinite.
On the side note, knowing how much time a group of people spend to create a new font is impressive, and makes me want to learn more about typography; who knows, maybe I’ll be part of the creation of a new font family.

In reference to the video “Font Men,” I find it fascinating that so much patience and focus is required to create a typeface. “Every decision has an implication,” which makes this seem more like a science than an art. Or perhaps the perfect marriage of art and science? The final video about Ryman Eco also gave me this impression when Rhatigan went over his process of analysis, experimentation, and evaluation. He even uses the term “hypothesis” at one point.

The short film of Mike Langley is the only video that focuses solely on the visceral aspects of lettering. He prefers small flaws over perfection and values the emotions that can be solicited through hand-painting. It is interesting to think about why a certain practice remains in society even though its more-practical replacement has already been invented & produced. This artform must still be serving a purpose, though certainly not the purpose of feasibility. Somehow it fulfills the emotional (rather than logical) needs of the audience.

On another note, I was very surprised and a little disappointed that all three videos featured only men. I was always under the impression that graphic design is one of the few industries that isn’t male-dominated. After watching these videos, however, I did a quick google search and found that few women in this field occupy the upper tiers. This was disappointing to discover.

Juan Bracetty

Font Men

I guess it’s common knowledge, but I find it incredible that you can create your own fonts. That there are teams of people in specialized fields of typographic design that come together to build a font. That these two guys built an empire designing them. It feels like a well-oiled machine with multiple parts churning out font designs. Hoefler says in the video, the “design of the typeface is validated by the market” They’re a business, designing with a purpose, to sell.

The Sign Painter

This video unlike the other two focuses on a more human approach to typography. The sign painter Mike Langley reminds us of the natural beauty of hand painted signs, flaws and all. He presents himself as a nostalgic. I wonder if this approach to typography will eventually be lost in time. There will probably always be a niche market for it. I think it’s pretty interesting that this coffee company used Langley’s story as a promotional tool.

Ryman Eco

I absolutely love that there’s an environmentally conscious font in the world. And it’s beautifully designed. Why aren’t we all using Ryman Eco?