Good

For my example of good typography this week I am using one of my sketchbooks that I found in my room. Overall, I do not think that the design of this sketchbook is exceedingly good, but I think the typography on it works fairly well. As mentioned before this is a mixed-media sketchbook, and I think that the typeface that is used here works well to describe its purpose. The big “XL” type in the box in the middle of the cover has a very sketchy and grainy look to it, which emphasizes that this is a sketchbook and is made to be a little messy. The text “MIX MEDIA” near the bottom of the cover does not have the sketchy and grainy look that the text above it has but it still does the same thing because the font used looks more like natural handwriting instead of a perfect computer-generated font. Both the “XL” and the “MIX MEDIA” type do a really good job of making it feel like a sketchbook that is meant to get a bit messy. Other than that, the overall contrast between the background and the text is fine. Everything on this page is perfectly legible and the sizes of the text work well to create a visual hierarchy that your eye can follow. The “XL” in the middle is the largest and most interesting, so your eye goes there first. The CANSON logo the “MIX MEDIA” is the second largest so your eyes go there second. Then your eye goes to the bottom of the page where some of the finer details about the sketchbook are located.

For my example of bad typography this week, I chose this can of compressed air for dusting electronics. Overall, I do not think that the design is very bad, and most of the type on this can I think is fine. However, there are a few spots on it that do not quite make sense to me. To start, I think that the text “for Electronics” should probably be changed. The contrast between the text and the background in that area is fine, but the typeface used does not really scream “for Electronics” despite it literally saying “for Electronics.” This typeface reminds me of someone writing on a blackboard in school. I think that if they really wanted to sell the fact that this air is primarily used to dust electronics, they should have a font and style that looks and feels more modern and technological instead of what they have already. Other than that, most of the can’s typography is fine. Everything is perfectly legible and the format is fine. However, I think that they maybe should put a bit more emphasis on the caution label at the bottom. Currently, it just kind of blends in with all the other text and does not feel like an important part of the can. Considering that this stuff can be fairly dangerous if used improperly, I think that they should add something to help that bit of text stand out a bit more than it does right now. I understand that emphasizing the caution label could mess up the overall design of the can, but I think it is one of those things that is important that

For my example of good typography this week, I went digging in one of my drawers and found a small thing of Whataburger’s fancy ketchup. Other than it being a pretty good ketchup, the typography on this little packet is also pretty nice. To start, the main color on this packet is red, which is primarily there to reflect the color of the sauce, but it also is a really strong color. It is a really bright red which helps to draw attention to the packet. On top of that red background is white lettering. This white type contrasts nicely against the red background which helps with legibility considering how small the packet is. Despite the design having about four different fonts, the “Whataburger” on top, “Fancy” in the middle, “Ketchup” below that, and then the ingredients list. Although each of those blocks of text have different fonts, they are all kept simple enough to not really distract from one another. In fact, the two fonts in main focus point “Fancy Ketchup” work really well together. The font for “Fancy” is printed in a more decorative “script-like” font but is still highly legible even on a small scale. The text “Ketchup” is printed in a large and bold sans-serif font. This text is made bold and easy to read so that when someone is just grabbing a sauce packet they would know exactly what they are grabbing at a quick glance, if the red color wasn’t enough. So the big text is not only visually appealing, but also is also very useful. My only real complaint would be the small text cut off on the top and bottom, but it really does not matter much considering this is a mass produced product made to be thrown away after use.