What’s your type?
Very soon the flame will arrive in London and the world’s athletes will be going for gold (the fact that it remains alight in our sodden June is an Olympian feat in itself.)
But there’s one group of characters that I’m not convinced will even qualify for its event – the 2012 Olympic type face is being vigorously derided in the branding and design stakes.
In a selection of worst typefaces, Simon Garfield, in his recent book ‘Just my type’ placed it at number one. That’s harsh.
At the moment the font is almost omnipresent, you can’t miss it. Personally, I think we have rarely seen a font become so intrinsically attached to a brand, that even a single character seen in isolation screams – OLYMPICS! Isn’t that a great example of effective branding?
Whatever you personally feel about it, it’s great to see a typeface elicit such passion.
Check out: http://en.fonts2u.com/london-olympics-2012.font and read some of the choice words that people have to say about it.
Post by Gerry Smith
