If you are interested in typography (which you should be) and even if you think you're not, you need to watch the History of Type - an Animated Short by Ben Barrett-Forrest. It covers everything from Gutenberg's original Blackletter typeface to creating your own fonts on a computer - all in 5 minutes 10 seconds. Brilliantly done - and funny too.
It joins my list of all time favourite typography shorts. These include the excellent tribute to Neutra Face by Lady Gaga. "You can read my Neutra Face, (even when it's bold italics)" to the tune of Poker Face. Stirring stuff.
Then there is the fonts conference with typefaces given human personalities. Baskerville is 'a shrivelled bastard,' Futura a space girl and Century Gothic a modern goth with attitude. Only problem is that it's Comic Sans who saves the day. What are they trying to tell us?
This video led to my family recognising people they knew by their typographical traits. I like to think I'm a cross between Utopia Bold and Avant Garde. My kids think I'm more Goudy Heavyface and my wife definitely likes to think of me as Minion. Which one are you?
From the same stable, CollegeHumor, is the fight to the death between Helvetica's gang and Arial's gang. Watch it here. "Arial. I haven't seen you since you cloned me and stole my identity. I've been waiting for this day for 26 years." This time, though, Comic Sans reverts to type.
It all serves as a reminder that typography isn't just for geeks ... it's fascinating and it's funny. Really.
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