When you are sitting on your couch comfortably, holding your popcorn while enjoying a movie, have you ever noticed what kind of fonts are used to introduce the title of the movie? Or the names of the actors and producers involved in the movie? I bet you haven’t unless you are a designer or typographer or any expert that works lettering. But, if there’s one different letter displayed in an unfit situation, then you would pay attention to it. Well, you should know that by now, the option of movie fonts has played an important role as one of the marketing elements. You should learn that how the title is designed has its evolution gradually over time.
In the early development of the movie, let’s say at the beginning of the 1800s, the design of the title was not an ultimate concern by that time. However, everything has changed today, with the development of technology and knowledge. Customized font designs have been developed by the experts to boost the movie itself. Not only from the content but also from its marketing side.
Below is a discussion of how typography has developed in the cinema industry.
The Movie Fonts Evolution From Time to Time
As we all know every font has its own characteristic and its message to the people, as the fonts for movies, the same rule applies. Here are some evolutions that you may notice in the typography of movie titles from time to time.
1. The Serif Styles
This type of font has been very old, but still very relevant to use for some elegant reasons. It has brought firmness and power as its characteristics that people like it a lot to use to show boldness. The most popular ones are the Garalde and Venetian styles. Its circular character has given a sharp and firm line so that its visibility is just good. Not only in business, but these styles are also well-known in the cinema industry.
Today, the styles have developed themselves into more dynamic styles such as Slab serifs, which are commonly grouped into two main types, i.e. Monotype and Didone. Monotype is known with its character with the same width, while Didone, on the other hand, shows a strong contrast between thin and thick strokes.
2. Sans Serif Styles
This type is a bit tricky. As its name, it doesn’t even involve serifs at the end of the letters. But, most of the movie fonts that are used today are from this category. The sans serif fonts have been developed into three main styles, i.e. Humanist, Transitional, and Geometric. The first type is more likely to carry the mainstream concept of sans serif. While the transitional contains lighter thickness which leads to a less firm atmosphere. And the last one, the geometric even doesn’t perform any thickness variation so it conveys a more relaxed and flexible character.
3. Mixed Style
New designers have done a lot of brave experiments. They tend to go beyond boundaries by trying many new things in their creations. Getting out from the “cage” of serif and sans serif styles, they even boldly combined those styles. Not only that, giving a new touch or variations here and there would be the modern designers’ options to get a real new taste in this work. Starting in the mid-nineties, you will find so many out-of-the-box creations upon the fonts for the movies, if you really pay attention to it.
4. New Genre
Changes are inevitable. In every aspect of our lives, it happens all the time. The same thing happens in the typography creation of movies, especially in terms of fonts. Not only you can find a combination of some styles, but you may also find a combination between the fonts and the images as well. As you may find this interesting, for some designers, it is a new challenge.
As a movie is definitely one of visual communication arts, typography should take an important place as its elements. Studying about it is a must before the movie is launched in public. Creating the right typography, especially the movie fonts, as its main element will enhance the ability of the movie to connect with the viewers. To get the right choice of fonts, you can always rely on twinletter.com, an online shop that provides you with bunches of font choices that suit your needs.
