Thursday 4 February 2010

Font Types

The font that something is written in can change its mood significantly. Fonts can be classed in to 2 categories: Serif and Sans Serif.

Serif fonts are seen to be formal and are used in formal contexts. Serif fonts are used in broadsheet newspapers and old-fashioned circumstances. The name 'serif' comes from the small flourishes that are on each letter that you would not find on a sans serif font. Some serif fonts are: Times New Roman, Georgia and Courier.

Sans Serif fonts are seen to be more informal and are used in informal contexts. Sans Serif fonts are generally used across the internet as they are easier to read. It has been scientifically proven that the human mind reads sans serif fonts quicker than serif fonts, as the brain does not have to recognise the serif on each letter. Some sans serif fonts are: Verdana, Arial and Lucida Grande.

The type of font used in the title sequence of a film could help to give away to the audience the mood of the film.

The serif font used on the Titanic film poster connotes the time period that the film is set in, as the serif font represents old-fashioned attitudes. It also suggests to the audience that something serious is going to happen, as the font used mimics the font that newspapers use. This could foreshadow the events of the film somehow; the font of the title is the same as the font that was used for the newspaper article that reported the events of the film.

The upper case letters indicate that the film has very serious issues underlying the plot, and also give connotations of strength.












The sans serif font used in the Mean Girls film poster suggests that the plot to the film is light-hearted and aimed at a younger audience. This is because the font is often found on the internet - many young people use the internet.

The colour of the font is important, as it shows that the target audience is young girls - pink is stereotypically a girls' colour.

The fact that 'Mean' is bold highlights that the characters in the film will be mean, and this may challenge conventions. The title is in upper case letters. This suggests that strength is an underlying theme to the film.

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