Short stories on Design

I Hate ITC Garamond

“ITC Garamond looks like a typeface with bell bottoms. All the proportions are wrong – when it bends down, you can see its butt cheeks.”

——Erik Spiekermann

Since I am really into typography, I decided to read the ITC Garamond short story first. I immediately looked up the font afterwards and I don’t fully understand all of the hate.  And I definitely recognize it as the font Apple used a few years ago for their logo.  Maybe it will be my initiation into the club of graphic designers: learn how to hate ITC Garamond.  Anyway, this story was just another heads up that creators need to be mindful of their font choice.  Fonts have the power to spark emotion, nostalgia, and mood. And it definitely represents whatever it describes.

Mr. Vigenelli’s Map

The small story about how the bar above the text came to be in the New York Subway signage really struck me.  To me, it looks pretty aesthetically pleasing, but it is quite comical to find that it was never meant to be there.  Anyway, Mr. Vignelli’s subway map was super successful. Why? Because it was simple.  People are always in a hurry on a subway.  Having colored dots and lines is just extremely intuitive.

I am a Plagiarist

This was an interesting story and I am sure it hits home for all of us.  It is practically impossible for us to design something 100% new and original.  We come across media 24/7.  Everything we see influences us in our methods of design.  As history continues, it will become even more difficult to become truly creative.  However, it is the small things that we can add to popular/trendy designs that sets us apart.  I think that is what shows true originality.