I recently came across an old logo I did for The Mermaid Salon and Day Spa. (Please note, I did NOT do their website). This logo was created about eight years ago. I ran across it on a fluke as I was Googling some mermaid reference. It was fun to happen upon this and see the design has stood the test of time.

Can you name the font that was used as the basis of the logo?

The font family Barack Obama’s campaign uses for “change” is Gotham, designed by Hoefler & Frere-Jones. It was originally commissioned by GQ Magazine. This type foundry, run by Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, has produced some of the industries best work. I highly recommend you check them out. They also have a pretty useful blog.

By the way, I have had a lot of inquiries on the “Hopeless George W. Bush” artwork inspired by Shepard Fairey’s popular Obama design. Thanks for the kind words. I am offering the sale of the “Hopeless” and “Exchange” artwork on prints, t-shirts, ties and mugs here.

Feel free to contact me if you would like the design on any other products. Enjoy!

The Gothamist also has a nice piece about the font with a few samples of inspired New York signage.

During an interview for the documentary Helvetica, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones spoke about the creation of Gotham:

(Gotham)…sounds surprisingly Obama-esque. “GQ had a dual agenda of wanting something that would look very fresh, yet very established, to have a credible voice to it,” says Hoefler. It also needed to look very masculine and “of-the-moment.” Mission accomplished.

The NY Times wrote a short about Gotham as the typeface for the Freedom Tower memorial at the World Trade Center site:

Gotham, the typeface chosen for the Freedom Tower cornerstone at the World Trade Center site, is distinguished by the uniformity in the width of its strokes and the absence of embellishments like serifs.

The Balboa Park Puppet Theater website was updated last night. Video clips, animation, revised home page, updated schedule and a great deal of cosmetic changes were uploaded. Initial steps are being made to update this, as well as the rest of my web client pages, into a fully CSS-driven layout. Unfortunately, it will be time intensive; but I’m very excited about the progress being made thus far. Check out the Balboa Park Puppet Theater here.

The Barack Obama campaign is using a specific font family for all their campaign materials. Unless you’ve been avoiding the media for the past few months (and who could blame you) you’ve definitely seen Obama’s “Change We Can Believe In” and “Stand for Change” banners. The campaign has branded themselves beautifully with this font and their graphic treatment. Can you name this urban, fresh and established-looking typeface?
By the way, this is not an endorsement of the Illinois senator. I just have to defer to him on the use of his design, especially in comparison to the competition:

I have to add, I truly agree with what the Boston Globe said about the Clinton logo. However, I don’t completely agree with their take on the McCain logo, though. I find the use of the “Optima” inspired font a bit tired, dated and uninspired. I do think McCain the man is much too spry and lively for this staid treatment. Plus, couldn’t using a little red, white and blue help? He is running for president, after all.

The Hillary type palette is far from fresh and colorful; it is begging for legitimacy instead of demanding respect. It projects recycled establishment. The type has a tired feeling, as if the ink has been soaking into the page too long. The Hillary logo has the look of an ’80s newspaper layout or an investment company. The tall lower-case reminds me of someone with their pants pulled up too high. I wonder about the significance of the three stars and three stripes. A third term?

McCain uses type that is a perfect compromise between a sans and a serif, what type geeks call a “flared sans.” Not quite sans and not quite serif, sort of in between, moderate, not too far in either direction. The strokes have contrast between the thick and thin, creating the feeling that the ends are going to have cute little serifs, but they just flare out a little, not forming actual serifs but wanting to. The military star centered and shadowed is a not-so-subtle touch. And McCain just says “President,” as if to say he’s already been elected. Everything about this logo says you can buy a car from this man. From the perfectly centered star to the perfectly spaced type, the entire design looks like a high-end real estate company. McCain has done something no other candidate has done, he uses all blue, no red - not even a dash.

A lesson in curves from that “too surly for the horde” Donny:

Congratulations, we have a winner of last week’s Font Nerd Friday. The winner is Deborah of Life Without Novacaine. (Nice new design at Deborah’s blog, too, by the way. Check her out.) The Mission Restaurant logo is based on the font Aurelius, also known as Marcus Aurelius.

Aurelius is a unique typestyle. Although fonts tend to have lots of step brothers and sisters, I haven’t seen anything similar to the curled edges and whimsical attitude of this one.

It can be purchased from My Fonts or from T.26.

This is the next incarnation of the Corpus Christi logo for Diversionary Theatre, the last show of the current season. The logo started last year as vector art that was used on season announcement materials. This is the time in the design process that posters, banners and mailers are developed. Typically, we take the simplified existing logo and push the design for effect. This is the result to date:

Earlier incarnations of the logo:

My designer friends affectionately refer to me as the “Font Nerd” due to my fixation on typography. I often play the “Quick! Name that font!” game. Now, all you kids at home can play along with the online edition.

The Mission Restaurant logo is based on what funky, yet macabre font?

You’ll find several full color and black and white ads designed for Bluebonnet Court, an upcoming show at Diversionary Theatre, placed in regional magazines and newspapers throughout Southern California. Outside the theatre is the exterior banner I created for the show.