If they fit the bill, hey, they fit the bill.
Most graphic designers on the web (professional and wannabe alike) are having a field day putting down Text Only Designs as if they were of no value whatsoever. There is so much one can do with type! I could list quite a few areas of use and design styles that favor Simple Text Designs. But I will only list one area of use and one design style, namely the Sign Industry and the Minimalist School of Design.
Signs are meant to be legible, sometimes in a very short instant, as in Billboards for example. Any unexpected design element creates distraction and defeats the purpose. The message is lost with all the elaborate and intricate “fanciness”. That is why most signs are symmetrical, and use the simplest typefaces available. Some sign artists actually use just a small number of types over and over. For variety, they just… vary the weights!
Popular typefaces are also the best. Again, this is for the sake of legibility. They are so familiar that we instantly absorb the message they carry. No advertiser can ask for more. Who cares how many times Helvetica and Times New Roman have been used? These days there are so many effects you can throw at a “piece of text” that the typeface just takes second seat.
There is a lot to be learned from a serious study of the classic typestyles. Start with Roman, then follow with classic Script and then, Old English. Of course don’t forget the heavyweights of today: Impact, Helvetica Bold, and family. (Puns intended)! Find out why the shapes look so good. It’s not just the familiarity factor: those were, indeed, very well designed types.
Those will always be my favorites. When in doubt, I jump on my workhorses! But, you know what I miss though, the “drawn” look of the signs of old. That is probably what drew me to signmaking. (Another pun)! One of the reasons I love to watch classic movies, is the credits. I must watch the credits and the title, of course! Those were perfect text designs. It seemed like a new typestyle was created with every movie.
The truth as usual is… simple: Text Only Designs are here to stay. Nothing will ever beat a perfectly symmetrical and well designed piece, rendered in a traditional typestyle. Nothing! I think the message is clear. (OMG, here is a pun again! What is this? Pun City?)
Minimalism, to me, equals perfection in design. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery put it, when there is nothing left to take away, we reach pefection. In other words, when we get rid of all the cheesy and useless extras, we achieve beauty and purpose. When graphic designers follow this rule, (snickering!) all they are left with is… text! HA!
In another article I mentioned “symbols” as the perfect way to get your message across. This is absolutely true. We have to realize that letters are first and foremost, symbols. We are so used to reading them that we do not think of them as such. Text is about the most perfect design element!
When you say “table” some people will picture a table in their minds while others will see the word “table”. Both of these representations are images indeed. So, it is true, we do communicate with symbols. The simpler, the better. What can be simpler than… plain text? By the way, do you dream in color or in black and white? I dream in Roman outlines! If you say “table”, a black outline of the word will pop in my mind, in Traditional Roman! Go figure!
You cannot lose if you are a minimalist. I worked in the printing industry where Crisp, Clean and Fast win over Colorful, Complex and Fancy every time! I am designing T-shirts for a popular Print on Demand company, so I have already chosen my battles. Instead of spending a whole day toiling over ONE sophisticated Pen & Ink drawing, I will try and create FIVE to TEN funny t-shirt designs, or slogan-type ones.
All I have to do is fire up Inkscape and the Gimp, pick up a few words, stretch them around, splash some color all over, apply a grunge effect, a drop shadow or another fancy filter, and I am done. I guess I am a minimalist after all. Or maybe, I am just lazy! Oh well…
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Blog post by Tatán
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