I'm watching a documentary today (20 minutes at a time) called Helvetica. It's all about the font. It is completely nerdy, obsessive, and awesome. I love this font. You might know it as the Crate and Barrel font, or the American Airlines font, or pretty much most of modern life, including this blog and now I know why. I'm also amazed to hear that it is considered the Font of the Establishment, which of course makes perfect sense, but doesn't make me love it less. I can love the funky fonts of the seventies, all The Pie Plate and Chorus Line and LOVE too. They get into the idea that fonts should be all things to everyone, or that the font can be the message itself. The melty ice font for cold, and album cover designs are two examples they use.

The font I don't love right now is everywhere and it's making me crazy. It also makes me realize I am officially an old fart and not cool or rock-n-roll whatsoever, and clearly never was. It's the "notebook" font. I don't know what its official name is, but it looks like a 10th grader scribbled it in their spiral bound notebook. It is the "Juno" font, the "Napoleon Dynamite" font, the font for Urban Outfitter shoppers everywhere. I didn't used to hate it, in fact I liked it, until it showed up absolutely EVERYWHERE that is trying to hook in the 14-25 year old crowd. As if they only understand one font.

What gets me is that it is too transparent. The line weight isn't heavy enough to balance it. It looks good very dark on a light background, but it isn't always used that way. It's difficult to read at a glance. Which is totally cool when you don't want people reading your notebook in study hall, but not so good if you want them to buy whatever piece of crap you are pushing.

I guess it is just a modern version of Melty Ice font, except is says Disaffected Youth Who Are Doing Their Own Thing Outside The Box. Except if that experience has its very own font, you are solidly in the center of the box.