I feel like the nerd inside me is exposed when someone learns about my obsession with typefaces. Its okay, I laughed too when a close friend and co-worker of mine told me about the entire philosophy behind typefaces. I mean, common, its just a stupid font right? Wrong.
The art behind typefaces is so incredibly interesting. My obsession with typefaces was originally fueled by the Gary Hustwit documentary, Objectified. The thought process behind every single letter, the angles, the spacing, and every object, from a Macbook Air to a toothpick, is a work of art. Cleverly designed, a typeface, particularly Helvetica, creates a standard of simplicity in a world that is often pure chaos.
With this, I also pose another argument: Video games as art. When the subject was debated in class, I didn't exactly have a position on the matter. I pondered for a little while, and then moved on with my life. I was sitting in my computer science class later that day, bored as usual, and so I took out my iPhone and went to one of my favorite apps, Helvetication. The object of the game is simple: Pick what word is typed in Helvetica. The game flashes two of the same word on the screen, one in Arial, one in Helvetica, the goal is to pick the word typed in Helvetica. You have 60 seconds to get as many words as possible.
At that moment, it hit me. Of course video games can be art. Type faces have been seen as a piece of art for years. If thats the case, wouldn't a type face based video game be art? I sure think so.
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