Obama Deserves a Better Typeface

Obama’s new book is out. He got a $65 million advance for it, together with Michelle’s Becoming. Obama needs those millions just as consolation for the typeface.

Why would you lay out a memoir by the most modern, and one of the youngest, American presidents in an antique typeface riddled with distracting and annoying elements?

Why these grate at a designer with a good education:

What could they have used instead?

These fonts are similar in style but notably more elegant, cleaner, and modernized enough to offer a smooth read. They create a balanced black-and-white evenness to the text block that a wider and older serif can’t achieve. Both Minion and Arno have “Th” ligatures that are elegant but not distracting.

Want an old-style typeface? Lots to choose from, instead of whatever that monstrosity is. The Middle Ages are long gone.

Various educational programs are producing more graphic designers than ever, many of whom have never taken a typography class. A designer needs to learn the elements of a typeface, to study fonts and discern their pros and cons. This is easily self-taught. That way, when a $65 million book heads our way, our respect for the subject matter, the author, and the art and majesty of printing are evident in the details — where God supposedly is manifest.