| Title | : | Never Use Futura |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 |
| Publication | : | First published October 31, 2017 |
Never Use Futura Reviews
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Tego typu książki przypominają mi, że jednak jestem "typograficznym snobem", a żarty znajomych, że "nie przeczytam nic, co jest złożone w Wordzie" jednak są prawdziwe. Tę książkę czyta się cudownie przyjemnie. Piękne proporcje, współgranie tekstu głównego (złożonego krojem Lyon) i podpisów pod ilustracjami (złożonych odmianą Futury), kolorystyczny uśmiech do czytelnika, a do tego lekkość pióra autora tworzą smaczne typograficzno-literackie danie podlane dizajnerskim sosem. Tak bardzo-bardzo chcę więcej.
I równocześnie tak bardzo chciałabym, żeby sposób, w jaki w naszym kraju w większości składa się teksty (nie ważne, czy to powieść czy reportaż, poradnik, czy co tam jeszcze) w większym stopniu uwzględniał dobry, estetyczny projekt. Niewielu wydawców naprawdę zwraca na to uwagę, a szkoda. To przecież olbrzymie pole do popisu. Tym bardziej doceniam się dobrze zrobione książki, gdzie oko można nacieszyć niebanalnym, po prostu fajnym projektem, o. -
Εν μέσω δεύτερης καραντίνας (αιώνες πριν ε), σε μια διαδικτυακής (αλίμονο) κουβέντας γύρω από τη Γερμανία, κάπως φτάσαμε στα '30s, κάπως στη στάση απέναντι στο μοντέρνο, κάπως στη Futura, κάπως κράταγα με σημειώσεις για να θυμηθούμε τι θέλουμε να πούμε, κάπως θα ήταν πιο γρήγορα (και καλύτερα) τα πράγματα αν είχε φτάσει αυτό το βιβλίο τότε στα χέρια μου.
Την οποία στάση, αν ήθελες να την συνοψίσεις, τη λες και λίγο πρόεδρος Εδεσσαϊκού. Ξες, εμείς δεν θέλαμε αυτά τα μοντέρνα, αλλά τελικά τα θέλαμε, μετά αυτοί είπαν όχι, ε και τελικά ναι. Αυτό μόνο τίποτα άλλο.
Και επειδή η Γερμανία του τότε μπορεί να μοιάζει μακρινή (άσχετο που μια χαρά είδαμε ότι δεν είναι και τόσο), το βιβλίο παρουσιάζει συνοπτικά βασικούς σταθμούς της γραμματοσειρά που, οκ, την έχεις δει, λίγο πολύ, ΠΑΝΤΟΥ. Από προεκλογικές καμπάνιες και διαφημιστικά μέχρι τη ΝΑΣΑ και ταινίες του Κιούμπρικ και του Γουές Άντερσον.
Ωραίο βιβλίο, με αρκετή πληροφορία, ωραία παραδείγματα και ακόμα πιο ωραίο συνοδευτικό οπτικό υλικό.
Ο τίτλος παραπλανητικός. Γιατί, όπως λέει, ακόμα και τώρα, βρε δεν πα να λένε, χρησιμοποίησέ τη ακόμα και σήμερα αλλά με twist. Ή έστω διάβασε για αυτή μωρέ. Όπως λέει και γνωστό brand που έχει συνδεθεί μαζί της, justi do it. Δεν είναι και Calibri στην τελική, που, ας μου πει κάποιος γιατί υπάρχει ακόμα. Ίσως μόνο και μόνο για να μοιράζει μίνι εγκεφαλικά στη θέασή της και να την κοροϊδεύει ο κόσμος. -
I didn't read much about this book before ordering it from the library and assumed it would be similar to a lot of the superficial hipster writing about Helvetica that was popular a few years ago. I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't the case!
The book is a great exploration of the history, culture, and politics around the typeface. The section on Futura's history during the rise and fall of Nazism was particularly great: Communist political campaigns used Futura; Nazis stuck with traditional blackletter typefaces as a signal of their nationalism. When the Nazis invaded other countries, supply chain issues meant little access to blackletter typefaces and they declared these fonts to be Jewish inventions and switched to using easily available Futura. -
This book is an engaging history of Futura, Paul Renner's famous font that still proves to be an essential part of collective visual culture more than 90 years after its conception in 1927.
Over the course of eight thematic chapters, Douglas Thomas traces the history of twentieth-century typographic design through the case study of Futura. Each chapter is accompanied by numerous images, while the fifth is a photo-essay consisting almost entirely of concrete examples of Futura's widespread use in city signage (given the geographical location of the author, a Californian working in Los Angeles, the photographs depict mainly U.S. institutions and establishments.). Except for this chapter, which focuses on a particular type of image as a narrative tool, the remaining pages demonstrate a remarkable variety of iconographic sources, including billboards, books, clothing lines, political campaigns, and stills from films.
A theme that Thomas proposes several times throughout the book is the importance of considering the role of fonts as the "dress" of language, which is why the third chapter is devoted to the Futura as the graphic dress of political language. The politicization of Futura is not a recent event, and can be traced back to the 1932-33 election campaigns in Germany. In obvious contrast to the Gothic typefaces of Germanic tradition used by Hitler's National Socialist Party, many political opponents of Nazism dressed their political messages with Futura, which with its clean, geometric shapes conveyed an idea of progress and openness to change. "In the early days of the Futura, the choice appeared simple to some: choose Futura or choose Hitler." Even overseas, in the U.S., Futura became a major font of political communication, though initially more out of custom than out of design proactivity. From 1953 and for 20 years until Nixon, Democrats and Republicans printed all kinds of ephemera using Futura and whatever other fonts local printers had available. This laissez faire attitude to the use of fonts changed in 1972 with the surprisingly progressive campaign of Richard Nixon, who thanks to the round shapes of Futura wanted to appear as a friendly and reliable candidate. There are numerous examples within this chapter, and all in the function of demonstrating how the geometric and accessible structure of our font lends itself to dressing up messages of progress and hope for the future.
More than the other chapters, I find this one to be instrumental in understanding the cultural weight that a typeface like Futura carries, and the most useful in understanding what will ultimately be the book's concluding argument.
Despite the title of the book, Thomas tells us, we should instead continue to use Futura, but in doing so we should keep in mind that in this we are not alone, but rather accompanied by nearly a century of designers, commercial institutions, advertising and political campaigns that have contributed to its fame.
As for me, I think this lesson is valuable for all areas of interest that affect the work of a designer or anyone who wants to approach the world of design: every choice we make does not happen in a vacuum, but constantly evokes cultural gestalts that must be carefully considered. -
I sincerely enjoyed this book! Never Use Futura is a detailed look into the history, use, and revivals of the typeface Futura designed by Paul Renner in 1927. This typeface is EVERYWHERE, with that damn omnipresent, rounded "o" (Futura and its typographic offspring are used for such a diverse range of things including the lettering on Louis Vuitton stores, NASA equipment/handbooks, presidential campaigns, and early feminist zines). I love books like this because they inform how you view the world by drawing up the history of its visual language.
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Ciekawa lektura nie tylko dla „typograficznych snobów” - opowieść o kroju pisma prowadzi nas bowiem przez świat kultury masowej, wraz z jego językiem, schematami itd. Choćby rozdział o zastosowaniu krojów pisma w kampaniach politycznych wciąga nie tylko ze względu na opisane niuanse liternicze, ale też powiązania znaczeniowe. Historia futury jest pasjonująca - jak się okazuje, krój pisma również potrafi mieć bogate i fascynujące życie!
Książka jest oczywiście znakomicie wydana - czego naturalnie można się spodziewać po wydawnictwie Karakter, ale tym razem przeszli samych siebie. Spójny klucz kolorystyczny, znakomite łamanie - to jedna z tych publikacji, które po prostu się chłonie - ułożenie podpisów, zdjęć, tekstu - miodzio! Można się zakochać w zastosowanej czerwieni i turkusie. Wszystko tworzy spójną całość, która cieszy oczy.
Książka z tych, które nie tylko warto przeczytać, ale również trzymać na półce i do niej wracać. -
nie sądziłam, że książka o kroju pisma może mi się aż tak spodobać. zawsze z ciekawością podsłuchuję rozmowy typograficznych nerdów, ale na książki o typografii spoglądałam w księgarniach z pewną dozą nieśmiałości, myśląc, że na pewno muszą być skomolikowane i niezrozumiałe dla laików takich, jak ja, ale "wystrzegaj się futury" przekonało mnie, że wcale tak nie musi być i że książka o typografii może być napisana w sposób zrozumiały, może tłumaczyć trudne terminy (i to jeszcze z użyciem pomocnych rysunków) i może bez nadęcia i przeintelektualizowania opowiedzieć bardzo ciekawą historię. jeśli lubicie typografię, ale boicie się sięgając po książki o niej bardzo fachowych terminów albo monotonnych zbyt naukowych traktatów o niezrozumiałych zasadach to "wystrzegaj się futury" jest dla Was.
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Who doesn't love the typeface Futura? Certainly not Nazi Germany, U.S. Election campaigns, NASA, mid-century design, American malls, Nike, Wes Anderson, Barbara Kruger, Volkswagen, CSA Archive or Aaron Draplin. The previous list is long, but for good reason. This classic geometric san serif has the ability to create rather broad visual languages in a chameleon-like manner, perhaps moreso than any other typographic family in existence. Industrial products, modern fashion, elementary schoolbooks, sports messaging and pretty much everything in between is well-served with the ever-changing character of the world’s most hardworking typeface, Futura.
Their recognizable letterforms have been embraced everywhere and continues to this day (Bon Appetit Magazine, Vanity Fair fashion ads and the influence of geometric sans in current rebrands, just to name a few). As we celebrate this typeface's 90th anniversary, a set of impressive typographic books are being released this Fall. First out of the gate comes “Never Use Futura” from graphic designer, writer, historian and educator Douglas Thomas. I first saw him talk about his love and appreciation for Futura at Typecon Seattle in 2016. His talk was at times humorous, revealing and most enjoyable, very much like this well-researched book. It reads as an expansive essay covering the history of the typeface's creation, its wide usage over the years and where it stands today within the crowded world of digital fonts.
I quite enjoyed nerding out on the many historical details about competitive versions of Futura from different international foundries, as well as the abrasive responses directed towards print publications using “the eccentric, malformed, ugly, and illegible type reflecting cubist art.“ Blasphemy! (Surely, I jest.)
“Never Use Futura” is a satisfying and delicious introduction to all things Futura. In some ways, finishing this book was like that feeling after seeing the film “Memento” when one starts looking at everyday life with different eyes….noticing the finer details that seemed inconsequential. And yet that typeface was hidden in plain sight more than first realized. Whether a lifelong devoted fan or you just like it for its agile robustness, this book will make you always want to use Futura again.
http://www.neverusefutura.com -
+ Po pierwsza, to przyjemność mieć w rękach taką książkę. Wiadomo, Karakter. Wszystko jest przepiękne złożone. Dobór kolorów, odpowiednie przedstawienie ilustracji - to są wyżyny. Autor przekopał archiwa, zaprezentował ogrom swojej pracy na stronach, ale chwała wydawnictwu, że tak profesjonalnie to ukazała.
+ Po drugie, przygotuj się do tego, że staniesz się poszukiwaczem. Dostaniesz obsesji na temat Futury, odkryjesz ją w każdym zakątku swojego otoczenia. I tak właśnie powinna działać książka, stymulować do własnych działań.
+ Autora podziwiam za przystępny język. Nie musisz znać się na fontach, studiować typografię. Każdy ją zrozumie. Co więcej, ta książka to skarbnica wiedzy, ciekawostek.
Daje Ci wskazówki, podpowiada na co zwracać uwagę i jakie znaczenie w historii miały niepozorne szczegóły, jak działają one też dzisiaj.
+ Ilość ilustracji, dzięki którym nie czytamy o czymś, ale studiujemy ten temat, zaczynamy się zastanawiać. Naprawdę trzeba było przekopać wiele archiwów, aby tak fenomenalnie zobrazować temat.
+ Tytuł. Po prostu. -
Czy to książka dla nerdów? Nie wydaje mi się. „Wystrzegaj się Futury” to doskonały dowód na to, jak ważne są walory wizualne przedmiotów, reklam, dokumentów, filmów, z którymi mamy do czynienia na co dzień. W tym przypadku chodzi o Futurę – jeden z najbardziej charakterystycznych krojów pisma w historii. Książka Thomasa to historia XX w pigułce – od powstania fontu, będącego echem Bauhausu, przez loty w kosmos po kultowe reklamy i loga najbardziej znanych marek na świecie.
Książka nie dość, że bardzo wciągająca i napisana, mimo wielu specjalistycznych danych i informacji, bardzo lekko, to na dodatek wygląda jak małe dzieło sztuki. Zdecydowanie jedna z lepszych książek podejmujących temat designu jakie ukazały się w tym roku na polskim rynku. -
I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to learn a lot about typography in person from Doug as a professor and mentor. This book is interesting and meaningful because he is so passionate about typography and what he writes about. It’s contagious!
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Pretty good! It's halfway between a coffee-table book and a book you'd want to read-through. I did the latter, and, well, it isn't a masterpiece in terms of writing - lacks continuity, often uses lingo without definition - but it makes up for that with the gorgeous typesetting and examples.
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iconic - i’m a slut for futura
will now be entering my wes anderson, barbra kruger, nasa phase -
Super interesting dive into the past, present, & futura of a typeface. ;) This font is everywhere, and nods to a long line of geometric sans serif design with widespread influence in the industries of advertising, politics, and art. Plenty of typographic fun facts annotating both historical and modern observations of Futura and its contemporaries are packed into this book and are as satisfying as its design.
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Ciekawy eksperyment, żeby z fontu zrobić bohatera. I naprawdę czyta się to jak opowieść. Na plus - społeczne konteksty oddziaływania napisów na odbiór ludzi, bieg historii i inne zjawiska. Wow. Można tak o każdym kroju?
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There are a certain number of people out there - people who hide their interest - who love to read about fonts. They come out when someone like Douglas Thomas publishes a book on fonts. His book, "Never Use Futura", isn't long but does do a good job of explaining the history and continued use of "Futura" in advertising and everyday life.
Futura came to life in Germany in the 1927 by Paul Renner. It developed into a clean, sophisticated font after some tinkering and it soon took off. Go over to Wiki and bring up the section on Futura. They have a very good box with the lower case letters. Thomas's book has a larger box with all the letters and it's fascinating to see how Renner conceived the letters but changed the more complicated ones to a more simpler style. In Chapter One, about five pages in (I'm reading the eversion, which seems not to have page numbers but you'll find it if you look.) is a chart of Futura in pink and black. The capital letters are sleek and sophisticated but the lower case letters are delightful creations. Take a look at the "a", "b". "g". and "o" for their almost art deco shapes. Renner made them into more recognisable letters...ah...
His book is very visual - as it should be - and the only thing I could find wrong - and why I'm giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 stars - is that he refers to Helvetica quite a lot, particularly in comparison to Futura, but he only gives one side by side examples of each. I know Helvetica fairly well, but I'd have loved to see them both together. -
Futura is one of the best and most iconic fonts in modern times. Indeed, everything about Futura screams modernism. Douglas Thomas addresses the font's history, ubiquity, uses and misuses. His title is a sly reference to the frequent warning not to use the font given by design and typography teachers everywhere. Of course, everybody ignores that rule.
Here are a couple of fun things I learned:
I am a Wes Anderson movie fan and, without realizing it at the time, Futura is one of the best parts about his movies.
Donald Trump's campaign didn't use Futura. In fact, his "Make America Great Again" hats use the most basic and utilitarian font ever: Times New Roman.
Nike owes much of its success to Futura. Its presence in Nike ads (and threaded directly into the shoes) have become a crucial part of the Nike brand.
In short, the book is fascinating. Doug Thomas is a great writer who clearly is passionate about Futura. Anyone interested in cultural histories, design, pop culture, and especially typography should check out this book. (My only complaint is that the book is too short--it needs more space to delve more into an analysis of why Futura is such a persuasive design strategy.) -
If you’ve ever been interested in or fascinated by typefaces or fonts, then you might be interested in this book. On the other hand, if you’ve never been interested or fascinated by typefaces or fonts then you still might find this book interesting.
Really what happens here is the history of the typeface called Futura.
My understanding is that when it’s on the screen it’s called a font but when it’s on paper it’s called a typeface. I may have that wrong.
It delves into the history and the associations of particular typefaces, and what those typefaces came to mean. I guess you could say that a typeface is like a logo but instead of encompassing a single entity like a logo it actually encompasses the world of people, the world of ideas, the world of politics, also ethics. If that seems a bit far-fetched or over the top then I guess there’s a whole world here that you never dreamed existed, but once you see it, you cannot unsee it.
Like why does Wes Anderson use Futura in so many of his movies? Why does Eurostyle bold feature in so many science-fiction movies. None of this is coincidence, if you like, it operates on a level just below the conscious level for probably the bulk of humanity.
Anyway I really enjoyed it. -
This book was sitting on a quick grab shelf at the library. I decided to pick it up since I used to work in a design firm and there were some typography snobs that worked there. I thought it might help me understand their point of view a better. Even though I no longer work for that firm, design is something I still deal with. What was crazy to me was that I had actually never noticed the font Futura in my drop down list and yet it surrounds us in our daily lives. As Douglas Thomas points out, the new “it” font is Helvetica. Regardless, Thomas provides proof after proof after proof how popular Futura has been and continues to be. I felt like my eyes had been fooled for years. Despite never taking a design course, I knew never to use Comic Sans or Papyrus - both of which are highly identifiable to me by their almost comical characteristics. Futura is just so simple (yet clearly versatile) it has been applied and used by not only Nike but also NASA. Overall, this book was a wonderful insight to the world of design and a thorough history about a font that literally surrounds us still, to this day.
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I really liked this book. I am a complete font nerd who has been dabbling with fonts since being given access to an Apple in 7th grade independent study class. I even built a partial font for a project many years ago. But I've never really paid attention to Futura, favoring Helvetica like a lot of people do. I had no idea Futura had such a rich history. The stories Thomas tells are great. What actually turned me on to the book is a TED Talk Thomas did about how NASA used Futura for everything around the space program. This story feels little more than a footnote in the book, there are so many other interesting stories and tidbits about fonts. I loved the photos which showed the wide range of how Futura looks and how it looks completely different if you extend the kerning. There were a couple of places where my digital copy wasn't formatting properly and one proper error (I can't recall what at the moment) but overall it's quite good and a must-read for anyone who geeks out over fonts. I've just recently given a copy to a fellow font nerd who is in disagreement with me about whether Comic Sans or Papyrus is worse.
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Never Use Futura is a commentary on use and perception of font families. The author shows the origins of the Futura typeface, and examples of how it has been used and re-purposed for both good and evil over the last century. Uses visual examples and describes historical scenarios to illustrate how a typeface can evolve and be re-purposed over time to challenge perceptions in the design industry that fonts are only good for one thing, or that a font is always associated with how it has been used in the past.
People who would enjoy reading this could include designers, people who work with interface designs, people with interest in typography, and anyone looking to learn about the history of something different than most history books.
I purchased this book to add to my . I personally struggled to read the book as a story or as a historical account so my intentions are to use it as a reference book to find snippet of inspiration and reminders while designing typefaces or working with fonts. -
Everything about Futura screams modernism. it’s one of the most iconic fonts in modern times. In my opinion Futura is the best font on this planet, because it tells a a strong and bold story. Paul Renner did an incredible work, it was great to see the drafts of font and how it changed the word. It's everywhere: Nike, Nasa, Avon, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Red Bull etc.
“..Some people just don’t get it. They don’t get that every typeface has its own DNA, its own voice, and its own hidden of intrigue and excess. Some people don’t get that you can express your love for something by showing
how hopelessly tired and overused it is..”
“..If you thought Helvetica defined modernism you have it all wrong..” -
En opinionated bok om fonten Futura, likte den godt 😸 Og layouten til boka va sikkelig bra, med masse illustrasjona helt fra way back til nye moderne greier. Kan anbefale denna til alle med den minste interesse for typografi ⌨️
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One of the most genuinely fun books I've read recently. The author gives a great, succinct rundown of the history of Futura, its cultural significance, its many copies, and what it has represented at different points and in different countries throughout history. As a graphic designer, I found it extremely fascinating and educational. As you'd expect, the book is also packed with examples of the font's many different appearances in advertisements, publications, signage, films, and more. It was amazing to see just how many familiar logos are rooted in Futura. It's a testament to how flexible and reliable one of my favorite typefaces has become.
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Read it in one day! Fascinating to see some of history through font design. Had no idea there were so many versions of Futura, the most popular American version being Spartan.
I especially enjoyed learning Hillary commissioned font designers to fashion even the dots on her i's. Her campaign was fairy unified compared to Trump's, whose signs varied all over the country. Her designs were elite and his appealed basically to the dumbasses, is the jest of the message, I forgot the way the author phrased it.
Futura is a German design and was banned and tariffed in the US during WWII.
Just loved this book! -
This book is a sheer delight for anyone who notices fonts (even a little bit). Though there’s some decent snark in the introduction and on the back cover about how over-hyped Helvetica is, Douglas Thomas’s carefully written chapters build a solid argument on the impact of Futura on the carefully designed world and on the visual space we all inhabit. You’ll know more about history and see the font everywhere after reading.
Carefully researched and meticulously illustrated with images devoid of their original coloring and excellent captioning, this book is highly recommended. -
Moves through the times of creation, the impact of war on its use, and its use in war, and then onto its impact across politics, branding, advertising, and many offshoots of the original creation. Never got lost in the weeds, and the author had an appreciation of those who loved it, as well as some who made fun of its overuse at times.
One feels like one has some appreciation about how Futura is likely to be experienced by the audience after so many examples of its use, though I might have liked more examples of its overuse or misuse.
