Author Archives: Type Tasting

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About Type Tasting

Sarah Hyndman is a graphic designer, author and public speaker.

Sunday Brunch

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I was delighted to be invited on to Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch yesterday (Sunday 7th February) to talk about my new book Why Fonts Matter and play some classic Type Tasting games. It was a fast-paced and fun 9 minutes. The aim had been to show that typography can be fun and accessible; that it doesn’t always have to be an intellectual discussion, and from the feedback on Twitter we achieved this. I demonstrated how type tells us how expensive or calorific a product might be. I talked about Simon choosing a typeface for his restaurant menus to convey that the chef is skilful (and discovered that he has an aversion to italics). We had a quick look at the Type Dating Game, before Tim and Simon both chose a typeface card and read out their own personality analysis. We ended with font sniffing: pairing the smells to the shapes of typefaces, and I explained why most people give very similar answers.

Click here to play the Font Fortune personality analysis game yourself.

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The Type Tasting props posing nicely with the Channel 4 logo in the background.

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Happy Birthday Baskerville

Happy Birthday Baskerville

Happy Birthday to John Baskerville, the English printer and typographer who was born on January 28th, 1706. He was based in Birmingham, which is where he designed the famous transitional serif typeface that bears his name.

Baskerville (the typeface)*
Personality: Intellectual, academic, wise.
Values: Traditional, conventional, trustworthy.
Style: Neutral, credible, knowledgeable.

>> If Baskerville is your favourite type, click here to read your lighthearted personality analysis! <<

From Why Fonts Matter by Sarah Hyndman.

*Around 300 participants took part in an online Type Tasting survey, the majority in the UK and the US.

It’s Nice That ‘Why Fonts Matter, and how they impact your mood’

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Typography might just help you date, solve obesity and impact your mood; so we’ve learnt from type fanatic Sarah Hyndman. We’ve previously dubbed her “the one woman tour-de-force behind the Type Tasting enterprise”, which looks at the power typography has over our lives and senses. She’s now published a new book on the subject, Why Fonts Matter, and has kindly offered us an extract looking at the effects of typography on our emotions.

“Physically, we use our voice, facial expressions. gestures and posture to convey a wide range of emotional cues from the subtle to the dramatic. Typefaces and the way they are used provide a similarly extensive emotional range typographically.”

Read the full article.

Christmas ‘font sniffing’ kits

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This year’s seasonal fun from Type Tasting invites recipients to play with one of the multi-sensory typography themes we’ve been experimenting with throughout the year. What smells would you think of as being quintessentially ‘Christmas’ and which typefaces would you match them with?

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Case Study – Typography Lab for D&AD

D&AD Typography Lab case study slideshow

Client: Baillie Gifford
Duration: Two days
Participants: 40

An intensive creativity refresher focusing on typography for the investment management firm’s Edinburgh headquarters. The graphic design, digital and motion graphics teams attended the workshop, with participants ranging from partner to newest recruit. The venue was a conference centre in Edinburgh with the attendees split over two days.

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AIGA: The World’s Most Expensive-looking Font Might Surprise You

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The World’s Most Expensive-looking Font Might Surprise You
By Madeleine Morley for AIGA

When you hear the word “luxury,” it’s easy to conjure up the colors gold, silver, and velvety purple; yet when it comes to typography, what we associate with wealth is less clear-cut. For the ancient Greeks, rare and precious purple ink came from sea snails found deep in the ocean, a dye so difficult to obtain it was reserved for kings. We don’t mine the sea for letters of the alphabet though, so what’s the typeface equivalent of purple ink, the fanciest looking font?

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