Every day we are faced with multiple typefaces: the good, the bad and the ugly. Some help us to read faster and more clearly, some to invoke a specific feeling or emotion, all the while persuading us to do something (or buy something). Jo Mackiewicz makes several points to illustrate that we must choose typeface that is appropriate for our documents and intended audience (113). Choosing an appropriate typeface lends credibility to the writer and makes the reader feel at ease. When the wrong typeface is chosen it can be confusing or overwhelming for the reader.

What if you were reading a Crème Brulee recipe from the celebrated cook Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa?

Normally, it might be presented in this clear and concise manner:
 
1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Now, let’s experience the Crème Brulee recipe in a different way:

1 extra-large egg                                              
4 extra-large egg yolks
½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon grand marnier

*Using Algerian font in case would be inappropriate. It appears too thick and heavy. It is also in all caps, which makes the reader feel as if the writer is shouting at them. This typeface personality has an intensity that would be out of place for a recipe.  However, it would be quite striking on a movie poster.

1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

*In this example, Forte looks somewhat fancy, not quite as out-of-place as the previous example. While Forte may communicate the level of sophistication the Barefoot Contessa is going for, its legibility would make it difficult to read in a cookbook. The audience would most likely grow tired of this very quickly, especially when reading directions. Let’s reserve this font for nameplates.   

1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
 
*Using the Kristen ITC makes this look busy and somewhat immature, not the look a seasoned gourmet cook is aiming for. This font makes some letters appear larger and some smaller, creating a zig-zag affect for the reader. This type of movement would strain the reader’s eyes after a few moments. As Mackiewicz stated, “typefaces that make readers strain after a few lines should be avoided in all writing” (119). This font would be better served in a limited capacity, such as an invite for a children’s birthday party.

It is obvious that the choice of typeface can greatly impact the look and feel of a document. Knowing that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of fonts to choose from, it is necessary to choose wisely and with caution. As always with visual rhetoric, know your audience when designing your document. The better the document visually appears, the better it will be read and understood by the reader.  

The link below shows the original version of this Crème Brulee recipe from the Barefoot Contessa website. This version looks polished, clean and simple. It invites the reader by showing a delicious-looking picture and unfussy layout.   
 
Barefoot Contessa’s Crème Brulee
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In class, we discussed Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics," which is really the seminal work in well, understanding comics.  McCloud discusses just about every, and any aspect of comics that can be conceived, and our discussion on 'gutters' was interesting, as I hadn't read "Understanding Comics" in some ten years.

As an avid comics fan (buff?), I had always been told that Neal Adams was one of the genre-defining comics-book artists of his day (which happened to precede me by some 15 years).  As you can see in the examples to the right, his use of panel arrangement was completely "outside-the-box," to coin a phrase that came up in class.  That is not the interesting part, however.

Trap. The combination of the genres of trance and rap usually through sound mixing and editing, has become a staple of parties and festival shows. They share similar use of synth, heavy base and spoken words to create music. But what interests me out of these is the artwork and how the artwork mimics the mixing of themes between rap and techno much in the same way the music does.

Arguably one of the most recognizable symbols in the Western cultural lexicon, or even that of Eastern cultures, is the silhouette of Mickey Mouse. Popularized in the late 1920s by a series of short films, America’s favorite rodent has come to represent the Walt Disney Studios and the Disney corporation at large.

The above comic by Robert Berry appears in his Ulysses “Seen” adaptation of the James Joyce novel Ulysses.

We watched "The Machine is Us/ing Us" and had an interesting class discussion on whether it was a scholarly work or not. It was not, perhaps, “scholarly”; but it was an argument, and it made me think about the sociology of internet communication.

During our in-class discussion of Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art," the composer brought up gutters, the space in between frames of a comic (or newspaper, cartoon or other media).  In a comic, as McCloud states in the image to the right, gutters "play host to the magic and mystery that are at the very heart of comics."  These gutters are vital, and can serve as more than a space to let the reader's mind wander.

When we talked in class about usability and the internet, it sounded like the conclusion as to what makes a usable website is simplicity. Creating a website to serve a very obvious purpose is the key to usability. But even when a site is usable, there are aesthetics that make a website a more enjoyable experience for the user. Color, formatting, and graphic elements can enhance usability by making a website visually appealing.

In Vitaly Friedman's article "10 Usability Nightmares You Should Be Aware Of," the first item listed is  problematic hidden login links on websites. Friedman uses Backpack as an example because the login link is very small and placed right underneath a block of text that looks like an advertisement, rather than placing the login somewhere else on the page where it can be easily located.

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Of the recent readings for this course, I feel most compelled to comment on the writings of Jakob Nielsen. I had heard of him before, touted as the leading expert of usability. A great deal of the discussion in class was devoted to some apparent contradictions between his ethos and one of his now defunct websites. However, I noticed contradictions on the very page we were asked to look at for class.

Professor John Logie teaches us that comics have a place in academia. He teaches it in Visual Rhetoric. Why not? Comics are visual and they are graphic and they are certainly full of rhetoric. Comics teach us to engage ourselves with the comic we are viewing, on our own time, in our own space. Professor Logie teaches that Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" is an essential book to do just that, understand comics.
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