Okay, when I started this series a week or so back, I asked what other typographical pet peeves you guys had. Julie mentioned the grievous abuse of Old English typeface; particularly that they should never be used in all caps. COSIGNED. She’s referring to fonts like this:
(Which is called– fittingly– Olde English.)
Some form of Old English font seems to be packaged with everything nowadays, from photo creation software to operating systems. (Why, I don’t know. Strange that the industry standard would be a handful of modern, legible fonts, and then something that mimicked the Dark Ages.) The good news is people tend to shy away from this typeface in professional use. The bad news is that they use it liberally other places, particularly wedding invitations. Embellished seems to equate to classy.
The problem with Old English fonts– any ornate font, really– is that it’s illegible. There’s just too much going on, and it becomes an eyesore when every letter is decorated with lines and curlicues.
So here’s my advice:
Less is more. If you’re deadset on a medieval style, only use it on the first letter in sentences or names. Go with a more legible script for the rest of your words. Actual medieval writing practiced the same restraint.
… Well, sometimes.
Heh.
Secondly, Old English fonts should be used for Old English projects. There are a bevy of sophisticated wedding fonts out there, and I firmly believe most of them are better suited for your magical event. Compare this:
to this:
Scripts should be fluid and light, not hard and blocky. If it’s the calligraphic look of Old English you’re fond of, choose clean strokes; like the stunning Kaligraf Latin:
Or maybe it’s the actual intricacy that you like about Old English. NEVER FEAR. For a wedding invitation, I would still favor a script, but use one with swashes. Swashes are usually an alternate font package that matches an original typeface, but with ornate additions to each letter. For example– you want Champignon. (Trust me.) Download it along with its additional free swash package.
Champignon in its original form would give you this:
Which is already lovely. Now, what you want to do is highlight choice letters, and change the font to Champignon Swash. Dress up a letter here, a letter there. Ends of sentences. Beginnings. Qs and Ys usually do exceptionally well in swash form.
Magnifique!
HOWEVER. I refer back to my original point: practice restraint. You CAN have too much of a good thing, even in type form. Changing all letters to swash will give you this headache:
Then you’re just back to square one again.
Okay. Now. Let’s say you actually have a medieval theme for something, and you want to relay that in print– then is it cool to use Old English?
Kind of.
You can (again, without all caps). Still, there are better forms of Old English than the most commonly used one. Here’s a Latin prayer I whipped up in Photoshop, showcasing my preferred 14th century fonts.
Capital letter is Saraband, paragraph text is Teutonic No. 3. I love the shading of these particular typefaces, and I think they compliment each other beautifully. Xenippa is another font worth a download if you want the Old English style with a more artful, authentic touch.
That’s it from me today! Feel free to suggest any future font substitutions. (I know: that was a lot of F’s. Heh.) In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend, and enjoy the last bits of warm weather.
Dude, LOVE the Champignon Swash thing. But the restrained one, not the completely over-stylized one. Another great entry about fonts! I love Font Friday. 😀
Oh, I love that Champignon with the Swash. If I ever get married, I’m coming to you for font suggestions. 🙂
okay. so I never even THOUGHT of changing some letters in something to a different font. The difference between Champignon and then the Champignon mixed with some Champignon Swash is, like, EPIC.
bless you o’ great one!!!! 🙂