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You’ve seen them before. The typefaces that just seem to “bring you back”, much like a song stirs up nostalgic feelings about a time and a place in the past. In a former post I spoke about how typefaces can either be appropriate or inappropriate.

Expanding on the subject of a former blog post, look at these type specimens below. What do they remind you of?

Chances are, you’re able to remember the products/services the specimens represent. Now think about if you used these typefaces to design a new identity today. Would you be able to think of anything else other than what their former incarnations were? It would be pretty difficult.

Sometimes, I think designers seem to underestimate the power they have when creating an identity for a business/product/service.

I’m reminded of my graphic design instructor in college. He was an okay designer but he seemed to be stuck in the past (or at least his assignments were). With all of the projects we had to do for him I’m not exaggerating when I say he would have us use one of three font families – ITC Souvenir, Revue Std or ITC Benguiat Std. Generally speaking, they’re not bad typefaces. To this day, however, I just can’t bring myself to use them in my daily work!

Whether you’re working on a new brand identity or a simple sign for your company’s picnic it’s important to put some thought behind your typestyle choices. You never know the impact they may have on the future.

Have you ever been stuck with using a client preferred font that made you cringe? Pics or it didn’t happen!