Designing Women: What the Font?

Designing Women is an ongoing conversation between our senior art director, Kristie, and senior graphic designer, Daniela. They’ve got a few things to say about how design and strategy intersect at our agency. Read on to learn more about their favorite facts about fonts and typography and find out what CSG’s fonts say about who we are as an organization.

What’s the difference between font and typography?

Kristie: Typography is the brush on canvas, the final plated meal or the stunning architecture admired through Savannah Spanish moss. Fonts are just the paint, the groceries, the 2x4s and drywall. Graphic design means constantly pushing the boundaries and capabilities of creating while using the same, borrowed tools.

Daniela: Typography is the art form. Fonts are your materials.

(Fun fact: Gotham is widely used. You may recognize it from the Obama campaign, the Saturday Night Live logo and the Tribeca Film Festival.)

According to the CSG brand guide, typography is an opportunity to introduce brand values. What does CSG’s typography communicate about CSG’s values? 

Daniela: Both typefaces, Archer and Gotham are highly adaptable, like the company itself. They convey the two sides of CSG. It’s like a reversible mullet: Business and Party are interchangeable around here. They’re most effective when used together in different weights. Contrast is king! 🌈

Kristie: Archer is a geometric slab serif– it’s strong, structured, and jargon-y. But wait, there’s more! Archer is a very unique font. Variations were made to the font to up its “charm,” calligraphy influences were added and a very structured, modern font became newly classified as a humanist slab serif. It’s strong, charming, flexible, human and unique. Every CSGer strives to emulate at least some of those adjectives either in our work and daily lives.

We also mean business. These fonts show off our strategic side.

What’s #TheOne thing you love about typography?

Daniela: History of typography is fascinating! If you have the chance to go to The Letterpress Depot or Matter, those are great local places to geek out to Typography. Each typeface has personality. It can completely change the meaning of your message. Not only can it define your campaign or project, but it can also and make it instantly more iconic, memorable and recognizable. Think of how many fonts you can recognize from campaigns even without their context.

You may not know that this font is called Futura, but you probably pegged it as Nike without even seeing the logo.

Kristie: In college, my very first design class taught me more about type than I had learned in my short few years of art classes up until then. Immediately upon entering the class, the professor unplugged all the computers. We would not be using any digital tools for working with type. We had printed copies of fonts of all faces and sizes. Over the next few weeks, every design we created had to be hand done type, matching the classic fonts perfectly. Using tracing paper and Mircon pens we followed each curve and obsessed over every crossbar and descender. This gave me a whole new appreciation for the elements often unseen. The negative space, the counters in the characters, the tiny flourishes that make a font stand out in a very crowded world. 

We love to nerd out! Peep this breakdown of what the hell all of those words just meant.