A genuine debacle has happened. I know that many of you are floored that this has happened. And the ones that don't know, you had better sit down for this one. I mean it. This is big like a venté latte at Starbucks. Or actually, I should say it's big like a Billy Bookcase with the height extension unit.

OK… I don't know how to tell you. Well, first I should tell you about the outcry that this news has caused. Bloggers have been crying in their blogs. Tweeters have been shouting in their Twitters (but not more than 140 characters). Facebookers have been mourning in their groups. What has happened to this world? Does anyone not see the crying horror that Ikea, the lovely Swedish furniture chain, has inflicted on it's fans around the world!

Here it is…

Brace yourself…

Ready?

IKEA has switched the font of their catalogue and marketing from Futura to Verdana.

What! How can this be? The Horror! Just take a look for yourself…

Oh my, the carnage!

OK, seriously now. What does this mean to you, the business owner or marketer? Why should you care. Well, here is the thing, a font is an integral part of the brand and image of a company. A font says and communicates a story about brand and image that should not be overlooked.

Let me give you a bit of a background on the two fonts in question. Actually, let's make this a game. I'll describe the history of the two fonts and you tell me which one tells the story of IKEA the most and which one the least.

Futura (above): Futura is a sans-serif typeface designed by Paul Renner in 1927. In the early 20'th century, the newest, most modern movement in typography was the sans-serif movement. While it may not seem like a big deal today, believe you me, cutting the serifs (the little dashes at the ends of "I" and the bottom of "T", you get it) off of type was a huge deal. Very modern and controversial. Futura was one of the most influential fonts of that movement. Implementing the core philosophies of the Bauhaus art movement, it's characteristics were strict geometric outlines, no embellishments,  reinventing the historical shapes of letters, stripping the unessential to the bare minimum of the type. This was a radical type! Now, 82 years later. Futura is still as modern looking as it was the day it was first designed.

Verdana (above): Not so much of a history, Verdana was designed by Matthew Carter and commissioned by Microsoft (they make software for computers) in 1992. It too is a sans-serif font but not so geometric as Futura. It's actually described as a "humanist sans", which means it's been given a more human nature with varying widths and more calligraphic than non-humanist sans (I know, you don't care). Verdana was designed for one purpose, for on-screen viewing. In the early computer days, there were not many fonts that displayed well on screen. There was a definite need for a stable font that held up at very small font sizes on standard VGA monitors. It's designer, Matthew Carter himself has said that this font is not designed for print. That's all. Not much else needs to be said about Verdana.

Now, of the above two described fonts, which one tells the story of IKEA the best? If the story isn't being fully told in the best possible way, what will that do to the perception of the company? It's products? It's quality? It's commitment to design? Verdana is OK, but it's not IKEA. Verdana is more Sears. It's fine, but it's still… meh!

The rationale from IKEA is that the change in fonts is to have a font in both print and screen that are consistent. If we start limiting ourselves to to what's achievable on screen only, we will be confronted with a new world of blah brands that are sterile and boring. Screen and print are two different mediums (as of writing this September 3, 2009). They each have limitations and capabilities. Good design and branding should explore the capabilities, not limit itself to the limitations.

How can this benefit you, the business owner or marketer?

When designing your brand look at the whole story. How do all the elements come together to create a cohesive brand? Did your designer explore all the possibilities of the medium? Don't limit the creativity to 8 fonts and 256 colours when designing for print. It's a much bigger world out there on the printing press and even bigger world with unlimited branding capabilities.

But most importantly, make sure you know what your story is and ensure that every aspect of the brand tells the same story in it's own unique way.

Please, if you have a comment, let me know by using the handy form below.

Ciao,

Robert Scozzari | www.CloverRoad.ca