What's Your TYPE?

No, I am not referring to your soul mate somewhere out there who's just right for you. Nor am I talking about your haemoglobin group identification which by the way you should be carrying in your wallet at all times.

I am talking to you about an element in design that cannot be discounted if you want it to communicate meaningfully. It's called typeface or fonts. And the discipline in using them is typography.

Typeface

In typography, a typeface (also known as font family) is a set of one or more fonts each composed of glyphs that share common design features. Each font of a typeface has a specific weight, style, condensation, width, slant, italicization, ornamentation, and designer or foundry (and formerly size, in metal fonts). (e.g. "ITC Garamond Bold Condensed Italic" is a different font from "ITC Garamond Condensed Italic" and "ITC Garamond Bold Condensed," but all are fonts within the same typeface, "ITC Garamond." However, ITC Garamond is a different typeface than "Adobe Garamond" or "Monotype Garamond.") There are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly.

You can tell quite a bit about a designer from the fonts they most commonly use. If you are mostly using Helvetica or Avant Garde, you probably saw quite a lot of the seventies and early eighties. If you are the Gill Sans or Garamond type, again, it's not hard to tell which generation you are probably in. This is of course not rocket science or a precise indicator, but it's a good barometer.

So why is typography so important to design? In simple terms, it is because it is carrying a message. All words needs to be set in type, so employing the correct font helps communicate the message accurately with the right emotion, tone, expression and even volume. The right font actually helps dress the words. Sometimes it can give it a period look and often, combined with the right colours complete the intent of the designer in establishing where in history they belong. Every decade has its own look. The Fifties and the Sixties are very distinct as an example, both in type and colours.

A typical '50s type and colour by Alex Fowkes

And here is one that screams '60s with its psychedelic colours.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are some samples of how the right type can make a whole lot of difference to the look of a piece of design.

Creative use of type by BeType.

One of the most popular font "Garamond" showcased here by eledencreativo.com

Alphabet soup anyone? asubtlerevelry.com

Beautiful type painted in light by Burçak Tanrıverdi

Artful use of type in an editorial piece. cdn.indulgy.com

Making a stronger statement. fromupnorth.com

Hey Jude for a t-shirt. YONIL.com

And food just sound more appetising with the right type. stylemepretty.com

Beautiful typography is everywhere. You just need to look. 

Good resources to go to are:

http://typography-daily.com/

http://typographica.org/

http://welovetypography.com/

http://www.fridayfonts.com/

http://typenuts.com/

Ideas don't come from Empty Reservoirs

The creative industry demands something different, something new from you each time, every time. That is what makes this a challenging, yet rewarding career. It allows you privileged information about an organisation's inner workings, their products that are still under wraps and some trade secrets that business owners often share with no one else except their advertising agencies.

However, to become an active partner in your client's ongoing quest to be ahead of the competition takes a lot of imagination and knowledge that can only happen if you constantly refill your reservoir. An empty dam gives no water. So what do we do to constantly acquire substance that allow us to be a contributor in this business? Here are some things I do.

1. Cultivate Reading Habits

Knowledge comes from information, and information is best acquired through reading. I subscribe to almost 7,000 articles everyday on my RSS feeds. Topics range from Technology to Religion. Advertising to Sports. Business to Entertainment. Notice the mix. Some benefit my work, others just satisfy my interest. They are auto downloaded to my iPhone every morning and whenever I get a breather, I browse through them and read what interests me and bookmark those I think are useful for future reference. That is a lot of information that gives you a wealth of substance. Read with intent, storing what's useful and chucking aside time wasting stuff.

2. Be Curious

Take genuine interest in your client's business. If it's property, get to know their industry terminology, understand how the market impacts them, find out how they price their products etc. When I was involved with an award winning developer in the North, I was invited to sit in on their development meetings in KL where the town planner, landscape consultants and architects pick each other's brain, mine included. You would not have been invited if you had shown no interest in their business. When I was dealing with the apparel industry, I learnt to touch denim and can tell their weight, look at their finishing and can tell the type of wash involved and see the stitch work and tell if it's up to mark. When I invested in our company's first Apple Mac in 1989, I forced myself to learn to use it and understand how both software and hardware worked. Apple Malaysia invited us for a trip to MacWorld in US and the exposure was priceless. Ken Ray could open up any Mac and and do hardware upgrades and still not void our guarantee. And we were the first company in Malaysia to be able to buy a Mac with legal software of our choice bundled in. Curiosity opens doors of opportunity.

3. Learn from Others

Learn from your clients. Be like a sponge and absorb information they share. Learn to ask, not just about the work at hand but the motivation behind them. Learn to understand. Learn from your vendors or industry that support yours. It will help you understand how to better work with them and create a win-win partnership. Learn from your friends who are in other industries. And never think you can only learn from those more knowledgeable than you. Every person can contribute to your information bank. I have learnt a lot from my staff so it is two way. Look down on others and it is your loss.

4. Work Hard. Play Harder.

You may wonder how this can fill your reservoir. Well, it is not so much to fill your reservoir but to be its floodgates. You need release, and play is the best release so that you get the most from what you put into your reservoir. For June, it's her badminton or gym. For others, it could be craft work. I know a Property Marketing Director who paints to release and recharge. Her paintings hangs proudly in our conference room. For others here, it could be travel. Just ask Jovin. There is such a thing as information overload so learn to chill and not feel guilty about it. It actually just enlarges your dam to take in more.

So people, these are just simple thoughts you can ponder on and do a self check. Are you filling your reservoir? You cannot give what you don't have. Remember this too. Garbage in garbage out, so choose wisely what you fill your mind with. 

Start baby steps. Write a blog on things you discover. Keep a journal or a scrap book of interesting information and cuttings. I am all for cloud computing and I am a collector of references. That's why I can just pull out my iPhone and show you an ad sample because they are always at my fingertips (in the cloud). I take screenshots of all relevant ads in The Star, categorise and tag them so it's easy to find them. I use Pocket to clip useful web pages and also tag them so I can always reference these sites anytime. I keep a database on the best slogans by industry on my iPhone and I have thousands of logos and creative typography in my iPhone which I browse through for ideas. Just find a method that works for you and you are on your way to become what some people call a walking encyclopedia who can strike up any conversation with any one... and contribute.