Saturday, January 26, 2013

Opinions Wanted



These are fonts I'm considering for use with promotional materials for Disenchanted & Company, my new urban fantasy series for Pocket Star. I've whittled down a long list of possibilities to these, but I can't make up my mind which is the most attractive/appealing of the final five.

Which one do you like best? Please vote by number in comments.

70 comments:

  1. I like #4 best. It's clear and easy to read, but slightly fractured and spooky.

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  2. I like number 5~

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  3. #2 is my favorite, followed closely by 4.

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  4. #4. I wish I could articulate why but it just seems right to me.

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  5. They are all nice but I think I would choose either #4 or #5

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  6. Anonymous4:01 AM

    3 or 4

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  7. Peggy7:38 AM

    Any BUT 3. From a distance, 3 would be nearly illegible.

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  8. Anonymous7:55 AM

    I like #3, but depending on your materials it could be difficult to read. #4 is clear, and the droppy style seems to suit "Disenchanted" in tone. I quite love #4 actually.
    Cheers,
    Anita

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  9. I think 3. It's unique enough to brand the series, so if a reader is glancing through a bunch of books, they immediately know that one's yours.

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  10. Hard choice....I like the ampersand in 4 but I think the A in 1 wins it for me. 3 is too hard to read from any distance, although it looks beautiful

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  11. Anonymous8:25 AM

    I like #2

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  12. #3....I think it'd stand out as the most distinctive on a cover.

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  13. Anonymous8:51 AM

    #2 And I'm nodding/smiling because I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. You stare at something for too long and you're not even seeing words anymore :-)

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  14. Anonymous8:52 AM

    4.
    Strong dislike for 3.

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  15. 4 or 5, but I think 5 is my favorite. Very easy to read, and cool looking to boot. :-)

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  16. I really like three!

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  17. #4 Cool ampersand, no pretentious small caps, and white spacing.
    Initially before seeing comments, I went 1 or 5. 3 is hard to read for me.

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  18. Anonymous9:35 AM

    Number 5

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  19. I like 4. I'd say 3 should be right out because it's hard to read.

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  20. Okay, I need to know the name of #3 because I have love...

    Not knowing the whole gist of the series, it's hard to pin something down, but I'm going for #1 or #5 with the harder lean toward #5. However, that said, I think I'd use #3 on almost anything!

    And that probably doesn't help at all, does it?

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    1. #3 is called Olho de Boi, and you can download it for free here: http://www.1001fonts.com/olho-de-boi-font.html. I found it on another site, but now I see I'll have to get permission from the artist if I want to use it as on this one it's tagged okay for personal use only.

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    2. Thanks!

      Number 3 is very similar to this one:

      http://www.p22.com/products/cezanne.html

      Which you can buy for a small price and then I would think, could use how you want. It's a beautiful font that I use often for things. The link is for the original creator of the font, done for the Philadelphia Museum of Art in oh...1996, I think. But it's pretty awesome.

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  21. Since I don't know the exact nature of the book, let me give you my reaction to each font and let you decide:

    1. Reminds me of bankers, stolid, solid, conservative 'trust me' company. Question: Is the damage to the Y at the end intentional? If so, should it be more extreme?

    2. Creepy. Older. Colonial-era. Magical.

    3. Little harder to read (I'd wonder how it would look printed on a cover. Needs a high-contrast background so the thin lines would show up. The font would be more effective if it was a short word. That way, it could be blown up for the cover.

    4. I like this the best. The odd letters give it the look of a designed font rather than something pre-chewed. (Observation: Book covers and designs stand out by NOT aping everyone else. Look at the flood of DIY covers, most are photographs. Most fonts standard. To stand out, hire an artist to draw your cover. Hire an artist to design your title. DONT use stock art or, even worse, the canned women and men from that 3D rendering program.

    Thus endeth the sermon.

    5. Very company-logo like, but from the 1920s. Definately gives me a modern vibe.

    That's the big difference among these. Some give the impression that it's set in pre-industrial times (#3 would be perfect, for example, to title "Treasure Island."), some have the stolidity of a bank (old-fashioned, back when trust meant something).Numbers 2 and 5 look good if you want to introduce an unnerving element.

    I'm really looking forward to seeing more about this project. I vaguely remember -- now that I'm writing full-time, everything is vague at the moment -- liking it when you gave us the options.

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  22. I think 4 looks the most "UF" but without knowing more about your series, it's hard to advise. Fonts convey a lot in tone.

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  23. Shizuka10:39 AM

    I love 3; it makes me thing of quill pens and parchment paper.
    3's opposite, 2, is my next favorite.

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  24. 4
    Then 2
    Easier to read

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  25. I'm thinking 4, then maybe 5 in order of favorites for a UF. Also, I couldn't find anywhere to contact, so I thought I'd put the request here. It would be marvelous if you could offer a subscribe by email option for your posts. I no longer use a feed reader, and have pared down to only the most important and interesting blogs to my inbox, and I would love for yours to be one of them.

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    1. I know one can set up an e-mail option for Blogger via Feedburner, Kait, but the reason I never have is because I worry about abuse of my content. Abrupt changes in terms of service which can lead to things that really make me crazy, like the provider inserting unauthorized advertisements into my content or -- as Scribd.com did -- finding surreptitious ways to charge users for my content without any notification or making the slightest effort to obtain my permission.

      I know this makes visiting PBW a bit inconvenient for some, but I feel my content is worth the additional effort, especially if this allows me to protect it from the unscrupulous.

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    2. Lynn, just so you know, Feedburner is going away. They're advising that you migrate to some other platform.

      Delete
  26. Can't decide between 2 or 4.

    2 is more compact, neat and clean; 4 is bolder, bigger, but has that really great ampersand.

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  27. I like number 2 and number 5

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  28. I would go with number 4; definitely not number 3 as it is too difficult to read. With number 2 I had to re-read as well for some reason disenchanted just looked wrong. Too stylized fonts can be difficult to express an idea as the message gets lost in the medium :)

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  29. number four

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  30. #3 is my favorite. I can see a rushed scribe in the background, finishing up the materials before the deadline. But, I do agree that the splendid effect of it might not be appropriate for posters or other materials read from a distance, even if it's the most memorable.

    Of the other four:

    #1 reminds me of painstakingly painted signage on an old bookstore, tucked away down three steps and around the corner of an alley. I bet the owner hosts a monthly debate for a secretive group of intellectuals.

    #4 is clear, open, and simple and looks more hopeful than it does "disenchanted" #2 feels more closed, like it's guarding the gates. Both are attractive and easy to read. I like the hand-printed feel of them.

    I like #5 the least. In contrast to the others, it feels insubstantial to the eyes. The letters string along after each other like a nice, white picket fence. If you move too fast it fades to a blur.

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  31. I like #2 or #4. I would also like to join that company, so if there are any spots available, please consider me. :)

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  32. Geez... touch choice! I like something about all of them with the exception of number 3.

    I think #4 is the most compelling, overall.

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  33. #1, for exactly the reasons Karen Renee gave.

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  34. DIfficult without knowing the tone of the series, but 3 is most distinctive, and 4 is most attractive and readable.

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  35. 2 or 4, the other ones are neat but a little hard to read without my glasses on lol

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  36. really digging number 4

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  37. 3 is my favorite but, as others have said, will be harder to read. It is beautiful and the most distinctive. My vote would go for 4. It is also distinctive and almost as pretty!
    Jennifer

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  38. Karen W.7:54 PM

    #4 is definitely my favorite.

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  39. LaurieF8:15 PM

    I'd go with #4.

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  40. I prefer number five.

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  41. Oh, definitely #4.

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  42. Sylvia10:40 PM

    3 looks awesome.

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  43. #4, followed closely by 2. Both have a slight urban decay feel, and I prefer the personality in the h/t/p/y and &. Love that &. #3 is just too much frill... and #'s 1 and 5 are too... plain, I guess, for lack of a better term at past midnight.

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  44. Keita Haruka5:33 AM

    Two is my favourite. Four in a pinch. :-)

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  45. I like number 4. It reads well. But, number 2 also seems appealing.
    Am intrigued to see which one you go for!

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  46. 3 and mostly because of the word disenchanted. The script seems to fit the word.

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  47. Fran K3:10 PM

    No. 4 for me.

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  48. Anonymous7:14 PM

    No. 5 has my vote

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  49. Number 4
    Not number 3 as it is quite hard to read on my tablet

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  50. dunno if you're still looking, but I gotta say anything BUT 3. I like 4 the best. 3 is very pretty, but for strained, tired eyes? Very hard to read. Couldn't hardly make it on my phone.

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  51. I would choose 3 if disenchanted fell disconnected from the rest of society. Disenchanted were previously enchanted I would go with 5

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