Cliffhanger: More On The Font That Dare Not Speak Its Name
Professor Peter Friedman from Case Western Reserve University Law School, while liking my last Nerdlaw post, thought it a bit of a "cliffhanger."
After saying what font not to use, I did not go on to say what font should be used.
Who knew that fonts could be so thrilling?
Don't worry, The Appellate Record's official font recommendations are coming. But in the mean time, think of this as the Dickensian novel in serialized form.
Besides, Times New Roman is just too awful to resist another post on the Font That Dare Not Speak Its Name.
And prepare yourself, gentle reader. I am about to turn you on to nerdiana about fonts and typography of the highest order.
Meet Matthew Butterick, lawyer and Font Jedi -- a bona fide Harvard educated graphic designer. His website, Typography for Lawyers (where you can preorder a copy of his upcoming book by the same name) is my new document design happy place.
**Hat tip to Jason Wilson, the publisher, who commented on the first Nerdlaws post for pointing me to the resource.
In addition to providing an expert's recommendation on fonts and a link to the Seventh Circuit's recommendation on typography, Butterick provides the history of Times New Roman and how it became so ubiquitous.
Times has been with us since 1932, when the Times of London (the newspaper) hired font designer Stanley Morison to create a new text font, which was based on historical Dutch designs. Because the font was being used in a prominent daily paper, it quickly became very popular when it was released for general commercial use the following year.
* * *
As font technology has evolved—from lead type, to photo typesetting, to digital—Times has been one of the first fonts available in each new format, for the sake of backward compatibility. But this first-mover advantage in each format has only solidified Times’s hegemony as the ultimate default font.
Though much more qualified than I am, Butterick agrees, "If you have a choice about whether to use Times, please stop."
Given its position as the ultimate default font, the appearance of Times in a book, document, or advertisement connotes a certain apathy—it says “I submitted to the font of least resistance.” Times is not a font choice so much as the absence of a font choice, like the blackness of deep space is not a color. To look at Times is to gaze into the void.
But don't despair. The spine tingling font suspense will not (can not) go on much longer. Next in the Nerdlaws series: Thou shalt use the right font. Then you can feel the magic for yourself.
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If you haven't done so already, watch "Helvetica," a really documentary about the typeface. I think that, years from now, right before I retire, I may write a brief in Comic Sans.
Thanks, Scott.
I love the movie "Helvetica." Just FYI for everyone else, I think it is available for instant viewing on Netflicks.
And if you are the kind of person who watches "Helvetica" on Netflicks, then we truly are kindred spirits.
As an art major I learned that fonts with serifs are the most easily read and interpreted. So I ask students to use those when they write papers. Seems to work.
I too use serif fonts for text for ease of readability. But I use a sans serif font for headings as they are highly legible for that purpose, and the contrast (I think) helps readers organize the ideas into bite size pieces.
Early next week a post on how serif and sans serif are like white wine or red wine--perfect with the right food but wrong if poorly paired.