Portraits: Typeface Choice

Before I can move onto my final design I need to consider what typefaces would be suitable for New Scientist, so I am going to form a list of possible typefaces and then choose one from that list.

Psychology of Faces

This topic is quite a “deep” one, so I would need to look for a professional typeface to reflect the nature of the topic as well as the target audience. The audience would know exactly what the article is about so it would be wise to use an “intelligent-looking” typeface, and because of this it would probably be better if I used a serif style.
New Scientist has also used a serif style within their articles so if I want to achieve a similar look I too have to use a serif style. 

However I would need to look for a sans serif typeface for the caption because New Scientist does use sans serif for this. I think this is because they would like a friendly opening before delving into a deep topic.. But that’s only my opinion.

So I shall first start by looking at typefaces for the caption and then the other words.

The Other Faces

This typeface is Biko, and it has the perfect thickness for the heading of the caption. Although I do like this typeface I find the letters are quite wide and the kerning quite… Annoying, as they vary with each letter. However this is probably because – and the perfect example is “F” – that the width of the letters also vary so they would need to take up a lot more space.

Walkway is quite an aesthetically pleasing typeface, and unlike the one above the kerning has been designed perfectly. The letters don’t look too wide although I have a feeling the O and F might take up quite a lot of space and so they would appear large on the page. Walkway reminds me of the type displayed on beauty advertisements, and because of this connotation I don’t think I’ll use it for a scientific article!

Myriad Pro is a bit similar to Walkway although the way that the F is designed, it wouldn’t take up too much space. This is because the “arms” are the same length to give a neater appearance.

It’s true that Myriad Pro is quite a simple typeface but I think it’s effective, especially at a smaller size because of the lack of decoration. The kerning between each letter is perfect, none of the letters look squashed, and it would be perfect at a small size.

London is much like Myriad Pro in its lack of decoration, but then I noticed something very subtle. On the ends of the arms, the crossbars, and the tips of the letters they are slightly – ever so slightly – slanted (e.g. on the t and h). This reminds me of the “pointy gates” at my school, which brings up all connotations concerning rebellion and rules, which isn’t the type of connotations I would want to bring up on this article.

The Main Article

This typeface here is Minion Pro, and is one of my favourite typefaces. It’s a mixture between the strict and professional appearance of Times as well as being friendly with it’s smooth curves and relatively low contrast between thick and thin strokes. Another reason why this – in my opinion – is better than using Times is because Times is a “default” typeface which people could easily get their hands on as it’s available on almost every computer.

Cambria is similar to Minion Pro but as I can see here it appears larger even though they are the same size. I find that each letter is slightly squished on the sides and the kerning between them is very small.

The x-height is taller than Minion Pro although the distance between the x-height and uppercase letter is small so that they all appear to have a similar height. This might be the reason why I thought the letters were squished down!

Linux Libertine is slightly thicker than both Minion Pro and Cambria, and the contrast between thick and thin strokes is higher. Instead of making the serifs look like thin strokes they have turned them into decorative features; with a little “ball” at the end of f, and generally thick serifs with each letter. It is nice to have this contrast but I feel that if I used this at a small pt. size within my caption then maybe these “decorations” could get in the way and blot out the letters.

Conclusion:

I have decided to use Myriad Pro as the typeface for my headings because of the simplicity in its design, and also because of the lack of connotations within. There is no decoration to pin it to something specific (like how the slanted tips of the letters in London reminded me of school gates) which would be perfect for the Psychology of Faces article because the reader could focus more on the topic than what the typeface reminds them of.

Minion Pro would be the perfect typeface for the main article because although it is similar to Times New Roman, it has a “friendlier” look because of the smooth curves of each letter.

I think it was good to look at different typefaces and to narrow the style down to the one I’m looking for, as it saved valuable time that could be spent on the designing process. I think it was also good because I was able to understand each of the typefaces and see what connotations arose from looking at each one.

Please note…

That my typeface choices are pretty small because of the fact that I knew exactly what style I was looking for. This then gives me more time on working on the actual design rather than messing around through page after page of typefaces.