Typefaces 'reveal personality traits'
By Robert Uhlig, Technology Correspondent (www.telegraph.co.uk)
The size and style of a computer typeface used in an email or a printed letter can tell its reader more about the writer's personality than the words the message contains, according to a study. The choice of font could reveal whether the writer was mean, an attention seeker, friendly or confident.
Dr Aric found the choice of a font used in different contexts carried a message of its own in the way that answering machine greetings and mobile phone ringing tones have taken on the role of reflecting the owner's values. He said: "The choice of font serves as a form of social coding, classifying its users as, for example, garish and flamboyant versus understated and refined."
Courier fonts, regarded as the "anorak of fonts", were also associated with a certain character, said the report, Dr Aric said "It is used by older administrative staff, secretaries who harbour latent nostalgia for the by-gone era of typewriters and carbon paper, and old-school journalists who associated it with whiskey, cigarettes, late nights and goose neck lamps."
Serif styles such as Times New Roman and Palatino showed a compromise between old and new, conjuring up images of trustworthiness that had made them favourites for solicitors and traditional businesses.
Sans Serif styles such as Arial and Modern were the "sensible pair of shoes of print", said Dr Aric.
Fashion conscious "pop chicks" used soft and curvy fonts such as Georgia.
The size and style of a computer typeface used in an email or a printed letter can tell its reader more about the writer's personality than the words the message contains, according to a study. The choice of font could reveal whether the writer was mean, an attention seeker, friendly or confident.
Dr Aric found the choice of a font used in different contexts carried a message of its own in the way that answering machine greetings and mobile phone ringing tones have taken on the role of reflecting the owner's values. He said: "The choice of font serves as a form of social coding, classifying its users as, for example, garish and flamboyant versus understated and refined."
Courier fonts, regarded as the "anorak of fonts", were also associated with a certain character, said the report, Dr Aric said "It is used by older administrative staff, secretaries who harbour latent nostalgia for the by-gone era of typewriters and carbon paper, and old-school journalists who associated it with whiskey, cigarettes, late nights and goose neck lamps."
Serif styles such as Times New Roman and Palatino showed a compromise between old and new, conjuring up images of trustworthiness that had made them favourites for solicitors and traditional businesses.
Sans Serif styles such as Arial and Modern were the "sensible pair of shoes of print", said Dr Aric.
Fashion conscious "pop chicks" used soft and curvy fonts such as Georgia.
Whats your style ?
posted by ssmz at 10:35 AM
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