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Subject:Re: cross-cultural study on typefaces/fonts From:linda_sims -at- vanguard -dot- com To:hokumhome -at- freehomepage -dot- com Date:Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:11:11 -0400
Sean wrote on 03/20/2007 10:51:56 AM:
>
> Hi gang.
>
> So, I was busy digesting some piece of information about the way a
> particular font made people feel, the emotions that it evoked. It
> got me wondering whether such reactions were learned or if the
> design was tapping into some subconscious perception. Which, then in
> turn, got me wondering whether a particular typeface/font would
> trigger the same reactions across cultures. I'm not talking about
> perceiving something to be easier to read. I'm talking about pure
> emotional reactions such as "When I see that font, I think elegance"
> or "When I see that font, I think of authority." This then got me
> thinking about what it is about a particular typeface that evokes
> these reactions......is it the line height, the weight, the style of
> serif? It would be easy to say it's a combination of all three, but
> what is it, individually, that creates these reactions?
>
> So, has anyone come across a book or study that examines this sort
> of thing. Something along the lines of psychology of colors but for
> typefaces/fonts? Has anyone run into any cross-cultural studies that
> examined the emotions that fonts evoked? A comparative study would be
great.
>
> This isn't for any particular job; it's just for my own interest.
>
> Thanks.
You and John got me curious, so I did some poking around. Here's a link to
an essay called "Good Fonts, Bad Fonts, and the Rest", which also mentions
a number of books that deal with the subject of typefaces and design.
Lin Sims
The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion
of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was
accessed.
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