A classmate pointed me to this hilarious parody of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” Whoever said you can’t mix typeface geekery and pop music obviously didn’t know what they were talking about.
Creativity strikes in the strangest ways, at the strangest times. “What font should I use for this invoice?” Hey, it happens.
I’ve blogged before about my love for some typefaces (fonts) over others, and am a little embarrassed to admit that I’d never even heard of Neutraface, or its namesake, the modernist architect Richard Neutra. (Neutra’s son, also an architect, now heads his father’s firm.) Now that I know Neutraface, I want it. Badly.
You’ve seen Neutraface before. It shows up frequently in promotional materials for new buildings, especially upscale condominiums. If you’re familiar with Shake Shack in the NYC area, you know Neutraface from their signage. Movie posters for Quantum of Solace feature it, too. Condos, fast food, 007—somehow, Neutraface suits them all.
I read recently that “Neutraface is the new Helvetica“, meaning that it’s becoming ubiquitous, standard, overused, clichéd. As a relative newcomer to type design, though, I find it refreshing. Remember that I’ve been stuck in the eighth concentric ring of typeface hell, where Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, and Comic Sans masquerade as the only fonts on earth. So anything beyond these four is, to me, manna from heaven.
“Neutraface: An Ode on a Typeface” is the only creation uploaded by YouTube user pimpernelpinstripe. I’ve hoped in vain for another typeface-inspired video parody, but that’s probably asking too much. Perhaps these fellas are too busy to create additional font videos. Perhaps they’re up to their necks in graphic design work, squeezing Neutraface and other gorgeous letters into album artwork, product packaging, promotional literature, and magazine layouts all day long.
Come to think of it, that’s the best ode to typefaces there is.