End of the week, friday and we all live for the weekend. Unless of course you might be a designer and you don't necessarily live for the weekend, as you never stop thinking with the exception of sleep I suppose. (I can tell you for sure I do not dream about design, deadlines perhaps but that's a whole different kettle of fish all together) So yes Friday were all looking forward to relaxing, so I thought after yesterdays rant, I'd post something a little less weighty. I'm not a huge typography fan but recently I have come to appreciate and yes, adopt a geek type of sensibility. Below are a couple of examples I've spotted recently of bad kerning quite a fundamental corner stone of design. Isn't interesting that these examples come from opposite ends of the retail spectrum? I guess no one is safe from the designers who don't learn to kern!
Pizza Hut on Cambridge Heath road.
Waitrose advertising, Elephant & Castle station, nationwide campaign.
It's amusing to see such a simple element subjected to a lack of knowledge, and would love to know how wide spread this principle extends. If you have any bad kerning photographs please by all means do share. A simple observation that would however go unnoticed to the general public, but us designers, we don't switch off really do we?
In any case I hope you might have enjoyed one or two posts, and advocate criticism, comments and ridicule... constructively of course...
It's one thing to screw up the kerning on a line. To screw up the kerning in a logo, which is usually printed from an official, supposedly immutable artwork file protected by the 24-hour armed guard of the identity guidelines, takes real effort. Good spot.
Posted by: Mike Reed | 28 January 2011 at 01:25 PM
Great week Joe! It was nice to have over and keep the type addiction growing!
Posted by: Antonio | 28 January 2011 at 10:36 PM
Thanks very much, I will try to in between the last few months of! university!
Posted by: Joe Hug | 29 January 2011 at 12:21 PM
Thanks for a great week of posts Joe. Raising interesting issues and finishing with bad kerning. I'll keep my eye for a few examples.
Posted by: Gerry | 31 January 2011 at 09:21 PM
I'm glad you enjoyed them Gerry
Posted by: Joe Hug | 31 January 2011 at 10:16 PM