"To the Letter Born:" Thoughts on NYT Opinon Piece

Steven Heller's article focuses on an interview had between Steven Heller and Brian Collins, a branding expert who discuss Barack Obama's use of a specific typography that can be seen throughout his campaign.  Collins describes fonts as a powerful tool that has the power to make "language visible," and help bring Obama's messages and words to life.

The idea that a font would be a powerful tool in a campaign seems fairly obvious to me.  Rarely do I stop and read exactly what is said on posters, election-related or not.  Instead, I look at the shapes, the graphics, whatever strikes me in the moment at which I'm seeing the poster or advertisement.  For this reason, everything on the piece must be easily relatable, or strike some kind of emotion within the viewer.  As Collins describes, the font used throughout Obama's campaign, is inviting and friendly.  I'd even go as far as to say it sort of evokes feelings of change, but without being erratic - it's serious, but not cold.  It's strange, reading back that sentence, that you could attribute physical characteristics to typography.  But after reading the article and looking at Obama's typeface against other typefaces on my computer and in other advertisements or campaigns, it really is obvious how important the way what is being said looks, not only what it actually says.