(Provision) Type Style Finder
L805.130 / 4228
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Graphic and experimental typefaces are most often immediately associated
with the exotic; they often try, purposely, to flout convention. Typefaces
with extreme exaggerations of width, posture, or weight—and sometimes
all three—as well as proportional discontinuity among characters or coun-
terspaces, typify exotic typefaces. Added to these structural extremes may
be graphical substitutions of abstract shapes, curls, dots, and so on, for
the expected stems, diagonals, and cross-strokes of a classical face.
Alternatively, strange size changes between letters within the alphabet,
tilting off-baseline in straight setting, bleeding, burn marks, extra limbs,
and illustrative or abstract inclusions—all these stylistic possibilities
may characterize a typeface as exotic.If the type becomes difficult to read
because of these formal alterations, chances are it’s an exotic face.
The sense of “foreign” exotic implies depends, of course, on context;
exotic in France is not the same as exotic in the United States (where,
in some places, “French” itself may qualify as “exotic”). Specific allusions
to locale, therefore, are meaningless without a specific audience in
mind. But notions of outlandishness, curious or bizarre qualities, or even
glamour—perhaps a somewhat outdated interpretation—all are
conveyed by unusual shapes, proportions, and odd color combinations.
Event Poster
top, and detail, bottom
Joe Miller’s Company
Santa Clara [CA] USA
Exotic
Moods
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