Interview with Sarah Hyndman, Type Expert
Q&A with Sarah Hyndman, who is presenting at the CreativePro Design + Marketing Summit
Sarah Hyndman
Sarah Hyndman is a designer/researcher, the founder of Type Tasting and the author of books including the bestselling Why Fonts Matter. She’s also speaking at the CreativePro Design + Marketing Summit, which takes place November 18-19 online, with a session that combines principles of language, neuroscience, and typography to help you choose the best fonts for any design project.
We thought it would be fun to get to know her better with some Q&A.
How do you define “type tasting” and how does it differ from traditional typography analysis?
The idea of type tasting is to ask how typography makes us feel when we consume it — like eating a meal, listening to music, or smelling a scent that evokes a memory.
I ask you to explore the experience of words from the type consumer’s point of view. How will words in different shapes and styles make your intended audience feel? The emotional response to typography happens in the subconscious, which is also where we make most of our decisions. This means it makes smart business sense.
The mantra for typography was once “form follows function.” Today, the starting point is that form follows feeling. Of course, typography still needs to be functional and inclusive, but if it doesn’t connect emotionally in the first instance then our audience might not even read it.
What are the key sensory elements you focus on when tasting a typeface?
Our brain makes sense of the world through our senses. We mix up input from our emotions and across all our senses. This means typefaces can evoke specific moods.
Depending on the context, a typeface can provoke a thought, feeling, smell, taste, or action.
Aesthetically pleasing styles will make us feel happy and we’ll anticipate a positive experience. Attention-grabbing styles will alert us to respond quickly or to anticipate a more challenging experience.
On a basic level, humans like curvilinear shapes. When we see curves we’ll likely anticipate a sweet taste or smell, something soft to the touch or a happy mood.
The flip side is that we don’t like jagged shapes because we find them aversive. When we see spiky letters we’ll likely predict sourness or bitterness, a pungent smell, something sharp to touch, or an aggressive mood.
In reality, the typeface associations we make are more complex and nuanced. We spend our lives gathering associations from where we live, what we do, and everything that happens to us. These are much more complex than “curvy = good”, “jagged = bad”, etc. We’ve all had different experiences, which means that my associations are different from yours. We can both look at the same typeface and anticipate something different.
And, sometimes aversive is more exciting — when we like things to be spicy or thrilling.
How can type tasting be applied to practical design processes?
1. The type tasting approach designs for feelings-first, followed by function and inclusivity.
2. It considers that anticipation and meaning are formed in the minds of the audience. This means that as designers we have to know who our audience is, and accept that they might perceive the world a little differently to us.
3. As designers we think about typography consciously (and a lot!). Remember that we’re designing for type consumers who respond to typography instinctively and emotionally.
We’re living in an exciting time for typography. There are so many expressive typefaces and amazing type foundries creating innovative new styles. Enjoy!
This article was last modified on September 9, 2024
This article was first published on September 9, 2024
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