Identifying fonts can be some fun once you are familiar with different type faces. When you see that poster in the school hallway or that new album cover from your favorite band, you will start to recognize the fonts being used and feel some sort of comical accomplishment. “Ah yes, Ariana Grande used Bodoni for her perfume campaign, how interesting”. Well, maybe it isn’t that interesting, however it is super beneficial if you’re entering the graphic world.
I decided to test my skills out with one of the records on my wall. These records are vintage and came out somewhere around the 1970s. I thought it would be interesting to see what fonts they decided to go with. Below we can see the “Let It Be” album by the Beatles.
There are not many letters to work with, but from what we can see there are no extended curves or angled top. They decided for a more modernized font. Since the letters are extra bold it might be tricky to pick out the “nitty gritty” details, but it is ultimately extra bold Futura. It is very minimal, which is often used for brand names. A popular name that everyone might recognize that uses this font is Louis Vuitton.
Futura was born in 1928 in Germany. It is known for their modern/simplistic detail. It is extremely clean and although it is a modern font, there is something really classic about it.
I recommend when trying to recognize different fonts, start by looking for little details like curves or italicized accents. I personally started by researching modern fonts and ultimately narrowed this title down to Futura. It might be overwhelming considering there are many different fonts that overlap the same stylistic features but once you are familiar with basic fonts, it is easier to narrow down and research which font is the one you are seeing before you!
Typography Fall 19 