It’s Font Friday! Since the ‘Mad Men’ entry was so well-received, I’m going to do today’s post on another critically acclaimed retro series: ‘Boardwalk Empire’.
First of all– I don’t love this show. Yet. I’m trying. My big issue so far is a lot of the storylines are resolved or forgotten too quickly; that just as I’m starting to be interested in a character, they change or are killed off. A problem will come up in one scene, and be over five minutes later before there’s any real drama or emotional investment. I have the same complaint with ‘True Blood’. And, like ‘True Blood’, I think ‘Boardwalk Empire’ treats its women and minorities horribly. I know there’s a bit more of an excuse when it comes to ‘Empire’, as some of the injustice was based on fact, but it goes so far above and beyond what’s realistic– if you are black, a woman, or a black woman, you will almost definitely be raped, beaten, and/or killed. Sometimes all three. Sometimes right after your introductory scene.
Now, having said ALL THAT: I love the style of this show. It’s the reason I keep tuning in.
Sometimes television is too nostalgic and over-embellishes a place or era, but the set design here is extraordinarily accurate. These are some actual photos from Atlantic City prohibition era:
Absolutely amazing.
So: thumbs down on treatment of women and minorities. Thumbs up on Michael Pitt. (Because he will always be Henry to me.) Thumbs up on Buscemi. Thumbs up on the boardwalk itself. But a sad, final thumbs down on these HBO ads; which missed the mark on retro appeal:
On first glance, these look kind of period-accurate. They look like our perception of the 1920’s. Pin-up style art, bright colors, bold and outline typeface, early script.
Truthfully, though, what we think of as 1920’s design seems to be based on current pulp fiction and noir book covers. I was shocked at how understated– and modern— actual 1920’s advertising was.
They really highlight how garish, and wrong, the vintage attempt was. The real historical advertisements were full of muted colors– careful, neat, delicate typography– and a single illustrated object. Even this, which is more in keeping with our image of Victorian print, stays true to that philosophy:
Of course– to be fair– HBO also put out this promo, which sells itself as a larger-than-life show for a modern audience:
— and I like it a bit more. There’s still something kind of off, though. (That tagline is bothering me: the font choice and position are wrong. I don’t think I’d do white, either. Matching the ATLANTIC CITY beige would be better.) (I know, I’m picky. I’m only like this about design, too– you won’t believe how low my bar is for most other things. Heh.)
I’m wrapping all this up into a final selection of fonts; going with what I think the truth of 1920’s print was, despite it being decidedly less sexy than our fantasy. I’m trading in the brash typographic style for something more dainty and humanist. Although, according to old Enoch–
In order: Jugend WF, Fortunaschwein, Essays 1743, and Camelot. Special thanks to Viewliner LTD for their rare Atlantic City photographs.
CNJC: I got your comment and follow-up email complaint… Like you said, all this is a matter of opinion. You’re free to yours, and I approved it for posting. I looked at many, many travel posters of the time period, and I saw none with the coloring or feel of HBO’s promotions, and many that followed the style I posted. As with any disagreement, I’m sure both of us could bring up examples and counter-examples for weeks, but I don’t have time and energy for that (and am assuming you don’t either). We’ll just have to call bygones.
All: the final image was something I whipped together in five minutes just to showcase the fonts (which I still maintain are very era-appropriate, and pretty in their subtle way). This is NOT the ad I would make for the show. Heh. If I had the resources, I’d love to turn the boardwalk itself into the title.
Well, you’re not going to receive a pat on the back from me. Are you kidding me?! The vintage advertisements HBO used are clearly a nod to travel posters from the 1920s/prohibition-era. If you look at travel posters, movie posters and yes, even pulp fiction of that time you will see that these posters are not a far cry from the real thing. In fact, I believe they have used the best of the illustrative, typographical and compositional styles of similar pieces from that period to make their own versions more engaging and dynamic. I’m not discounting what you’ve found for 1920’s advertising treatments, but if you want to engage today’s audiences you’re not going to turn to the bland and boring inspiration when the era also offers such attractive alternatives.
In regard to the boardwalk advertisement, that’s mostly a matter of opinion. I personally see nothing wrong with it. I can’t tell what typefaces were used, but again, I feel the serif they selected is a nice nod to typography of that time period; a nice small x-height to exaggerate the ascenders and it has a narrow look. If you were to change the tagline to the same color as the “Atlantic City” text, however, it will recede and become lost. If you’re doing a simple rule of thirds breakdown on the layout of this advertisement, the tagline is in a great position. I also think it’s a great juxtaposition to the large title graphic below and even lends itself to the ad’s ominous feel. Not only that, but it also mimics the lone stranger standing in the foreground below.
If I were to give HBO a thumbs down on anything, it would be the inconsistency in the messaging of their advertising campaign. The vintage travel ads are definitely not setting the same tone and feel as the boardwalk ad and they lose any sort of visual identification or connection that they may have established with the graphical treatment of “Boardwalk Empire.”
So wait- did you make that last picture? I really like it, but I’d love to see you do more of your own designs and showcase better fonts and designs. You’re WAY more talented than most actual graphic designers for these shows. Do you have any more recommendations for 20’s-ish fonts?
I always wonder if someone’s going to do a re-imagining of the time we’re living in now, and how accurate it will be. I think in 50 years it would be cool to hear people argue about fonts for the 2010’s. That’s not the Apple font!! What the hell?! Facebook ads didn’t look like that! hehe.
Becca! I was SOOO waiting for you to mock something up! Talk about anti-climactic 😉 I would love to see, based on what you said, what you would do with an ad for this show.
Btw, I LOVE Font Friday. I am not a designer or a detail person at all but I can totally see it once you point it out. Awesome. Thanks for the opportunity to learn!