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Arial in Hogsmeade?
Posted by DrDoc in
5 Jun 2010 — 8:37am
5 Jun 2010 — 8:37am
One of my good friends is in Orlando this weekend for the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Islands of Adventure. I was flipping through her photos, when I saw this:
Now, I know that the wizards have previously established themselves to not be great graphic designers (see this thread), so I can excuse the mismatched alignments in the fares table. But you would think that without access to digital technology the wizarding world would provide some sanctuary from that oh-so-ubiquitous Arial. But no, even in the wizarding world it appears that Arial manages to make its presence felt.
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5 Jun 2010 — 9:43am
I'm not seeing the Arial. I don't think the days are Arial. The departure cities could be, but it's too small to tell.
5 Jun 2010 — 10:00am
Pretty sure the days are. Look at the Rs on Thursday and Saturday.
5 Jun 2010 — 10:17am
The R just means it's not Helvetica. This looks like an older gothic. The O and D are wide and circular, L is narrower, and the waist of the Y is much higher.
5 Jun 2010 — 9:35pm
Having seen another image, it's now rather clear to me that it's not Arial. Apologies for the misunderstanding.
5 Jun 2010 — 10:28pm
"Litterae propioribus!"
7 Jun 2010 — 7:09pm
I have always enjoyed the type treatments in the movies. The wizarding world is wild and chaotic, so their papers reflect that. Why should they be properly designed? I doubt there are any designers in the wizarding world. If I could teleport and create fire with a wand, I don't think I'd be a designer, either. :)
7 Jun 2010 — 9:09pm
The hard kerning (e.g. of "AY" and "AT") works against the vintage feel to my eye.
7 Jun 2010 — 10:13pm
If I could teleport and create fire with a wand, I don't think I'd be a designer, either.
However, spoken spells are useful magic, and a part of every wizard's education.
So some wizards are drawn to specialize in that more literary, and sometimes even typographic aspect of their world (just as some muggles are in our world) -- and devise kerning spells such as the one above.
8 Jun 2010 — 9:07am
You're right, I totally forgot about the typographic spells.
"Redigo intercapedo!