07.20.17
Michael Bierut + Jessica Helfand | Audio

Episode 61: Font of Corruption?


What is it with Calibri and the not-so-sharp children of world leaders? Maryam Nawaz Sharif gave Pakistani investigators documents that may have been forged, and Donald Trump Jr., printed out some potentially incriminating emails. Michael calls Lucas de Groot's Calibri a "well-designed font" yet:

Once you make your typeface the Microsoft default sans-serif, I think you are going get tarred with the brush that anything that easy to find is.

And Jessica says choosing a default typeface can give any document a “lazy, sloppy quality.”

Also mentioned this week, Jessica‘s favorite font as a teenager is Hobo, and Michael loves Cooper Black. Also:
Subscribe to The Observatory on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, or follow Design Observer on Soundcloud.

Posted in: The Observatory




Michael Bierut + Jessica Helfand Jessica Helfand, a founding editor of Design Observer, is an award-winning graphic designer and writer. A former contributing editor and columnist for Print, Eye and Communications Arts magazine, she is a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale and a recent laureate of the Art Director’s Hall of Fame. Jessica received both her BA and MFA from Yale University where she has taught since 1994. In 2013, she won the AIGA medal.

Jobs | March 28