We're counting down the 100 greatest typefaces in existence. Here we present number 94, and it's another controversial one...
FontShop AG, the renowned type foundry, conducted a survey based on historical relevance, sales at FontShop.com, and aesthetic quality. With a few additions from the experts at Creative Bloq and Computer Arts magazine, the best fonts ever were selected for the new book, 100 Best Typefaces Ever.
Here we are counting down the 100 greatest fonts, but you can read interviews with some of the typefaces' creators, a brief history of type, the anatomy of a font, and much, much more in the book – find out how to get your copy in print or digital formats at the foot of this post.
But without further ado, here's the 94th best typeface ever...
Impact is an iconic typeface and still works well as a headline font. But over-use and misuse has pretty much killed it in the eyes of professional designers. It makes this list due to its huge popularity as a headline font over the last 10 years.
Compressed letter-spacing, minimal counterforms, high x-height and small ascenders and descenders make it immediately recognisable; and love it or hate it, you can't argue with its influence. Not great for body text, but in July 2010, Terrance Weinzierl and Steve Matteson designed an enhanced version of the typeface with OpenType features for Ascender Corp.
Impact was designed in 1965. It's bold, it's condensed, and it's a decent headline choice. However, it has been dramatically overused – mainly due to the fact that it has been supplied with Microsoft Windows since Windows 98
The 100 Best Typefaces Ever
This is an extract from The 100 Best Typefaces Ever, the definitive guide to the greatest fonts ever created, in association with FontShop AG. Over 180 premium pages, the book dissects the world's greatest typefaces, bringing you some insightful background on each and interviews with their creators.
You can pick up the book at all good newsagents today or order it online. Or you can download a digital edition directly to your iPad from the Computer Arts app on iTunes.
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Rob is editorial, graphic design and publishing lead at Transport for London. He previously worked at Future Publishing over the course of several years, where he launched digital art magazine, ImagineFX; and edited graphic design magazine Computer Arts, as well as the Computer Arts Projects series, and was also editor of technology magazine, T3.
