The article from eye magazine entitled The Meaning of Type talked about various forms of typography and the meanings of them during different periods in history. I thought it was very interesting especially to see the variance of type that was described and the ideologies that come from the various typefaces. I thought I would try to find images to compare a couple of the typefaces mentioned along with the period of time in which they were used and how/if they are used today.
Meta is a legible sans-serif typeface. In 1984, it was created for the German Post Office. But now its used for much more than that including billboards, logos, signage and web pages. I found a site that mentioned that meta was in the top 21 typefaces used for professional web designers! Its interesting how it was created for post office use at first and has flourished to many more things.
Peignot is another typeface that is mentioned in the article. It is also a sans serif typeface like Meta. But it uses “upper case letters in its lower case form.” This typeface was used in the 70's for the titles to the Mary Tyler Moore Show as well as other things. Before this, in 1937, the typeface was launched as the ‘official’ typeface of the World Exhibition in Paris, selected by Paul Valery as inscriptions for the two towers of the Palace de Chaillot. Peignot has a quirkiness to it that makes it less legible than the Meta typeface. I don't think I could see Peignot being on billboards for instance. But I do like the typeface with its curved edges and small caps. Its a lot more "playful" than the meta typeface which makes it more interesting to me.
I think knowing the history of a typeface could help in making a decision to use or not to use the type depending on what you are using it for.
DH
http://www.eyemagazine.com
http://www.instantshift.com/2008/10/05/21-most-used-fonts-by-professional-designers/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peignot
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