Advice for a font for Education/Professional use

[_kat_hayes_]

1.) I'm looking for a big bold font that will look good in all caps to be used for a logo for a site targeting professional educators. Anyone have any advice?

2.) I also need a nice lighter font to contrast with it as part of the logo, the logo has 2 words.

Thanks for any advice!!!!

[Thomas Phinney]

A single typeface that has both light and bold or black weights would seem to be one good option. There are many possibilities, including Helvetica, Univers, Myriad, Frutiger, Futura, Kabel, Hypatia Sans....

If you're goint to use two different typefaces, you need to pick two that can work together reasonably well. For example, Minion with Myriad or Frutiger, Baskerville with Hypatia Sans, Futura or Kabel, Adobe Caslon with Helvetica or Univers.

T

[_kat_hayes_]

Thanks for your response. Can you recommend a typeface that conveys technology? So one of the fonts will be the big bold font "USE" and the other "Technology." This is the logo I need to create.

Thanks!

[_Herb_V_B_]

A contemporary font like Neo Sans

http://www.monotype.co.uk/neosans/

would be appropriate, but in my opinion it's a 2000's trendy type
design that has already become as overused as the 1990's Papyrus and
Vivaldi. It, or similar fonts, are used for the NY Times Play
Magazine, Intel's new logo, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The more
classical designs suggested by Tom might not coordinate well.

There are also many display type fonts such as those that look like
keyboard keys or a printed circuit or simulations of led's that could
work for a logo if VERY carefully designed. If by "professional
educators" you're thinking of stodgy deans in button-down collars or
hair in a bun, then no; if you mean the kind of educators who buck the
system and open their own charter schools, then possibly they'd fit.

- Herb

[Thomas Phinney]

urm, I think the LED fonts and keyboard-looking fonts look pretty amateurish for this sort of use.

But Herb's suggestion of NeoSans/NeoTech would be great. My own Hypatia Sans would be fine. You could look at Serpentine or OCR-A as possibilities....

Cheers,

T

[Neil_Keller]

>I think the LED fonts and keyboard-looking fonts look pretty amateurish for this sort of use.

Too hard to read and obvious as well.

Neil

[_kat_hayes_]

What are "LED fonts?"

[_kat_hayes_]

I looked at the fonts suggested and like different aspects of each:

NeoSans/NeoTech, Hypatia Sans,Serpentine and OCR-A.

Are any of these of higher quality than the others? Just looking to see if there are any technical reasons to select/skip any.

Thanks.

[Neil_Keller]

kat,
>What are "LED fonts?"

Fonts that look like letters on many LED displays.
>Are any of these of higher quality than the others?

From major type foundries, such as Adobe, no. Choose by appropriateness of style, copy fit and readability in the environment you intend to have it appear.

Neil

[Thomas Phinney]

Actually, at Adobe we'd say that our Adobe Originals tend to be of higher quality (outlines, spacing, kerning, and aesthetic quality).

However, in a logo, spacing/kerning is less of an issue. A graphic designer will usually be tweaking the spacing/kerning by hand, anyway.

Cheers,

T

[Neil_Keller]

Thomas,<br /><br />Didn't mean to step on Adobe's toes on that, and yes, I do recognize that Adobe Originals would be in a small class with the very highest quality fonts. <g> But considering Kat's needs, I don't think that fine point would be a deal breaker for use of the other Adobe fonts.<br /><br />Neil

[_Alex_Peterson_]

Are any of these of higher quality than the others? Just looking to see if there are any technical reasons to select/skip any.

Thanks.

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