What’s This Font 1.4 – GQ Paris

  Hey guys, and welcome to this 5th edition of What’s this Font! Been a while since the last one but worry not, good things are coming. I finally have a little time for myself which means time to research and share my font findings, this time for the French edition of GQ.

The first typeface we will be looking at today is GQ Baton. It’s the typeface used on the cover. It has a few different weights for our utmost pleasure! Baton is a sans serif typeface, slightly condensed with a very modern edge. It’s the perfect partner for the GQ logo and works really well on the cover. It comes in 10 styles with a lot of great glyphs. The typeface was created and art directed by Yorgo Tloupas (currently AD “at large” for Vanity Fair France) and Paul Chemetoff (AD at GQ Paris). It was designed by Fat Type‘s Yassin Baggar and Anton Koovit. The typeface was originally commissioned for the redesign of the magazine in 2010, they had exclusive rights on it for a while but get your wallets out because you can buy it here, score. The complete family goes for 350€, it’s not cheap but not over the top for a typeface of this caliber. Get your credit cards out!

Now let’s look inside and see what goodies we can find there. I’ll start with GQ Slab. It’s used in different sections of the magazine like the cover story (see below) for the title. It’s a very nice spin off the GQ Baton, sturdy and working very well with the other typefaces on the page. It has a strong visual presence without being too overwhelming so kuddos for that! you can find it on the Fat Type website, though it has limited licensing.

The body copy is called Adelle. This font was designed by Type Together and has 14 styles, ranging from light to heavy, with more than 1100 characters per font. It’s an editorial font but not my favorite to be honest. It works in the magazine but I find it too bulky despite its light weights. I don’t find it particularly pleasing when reading but I have to admit the combination with everything else works nicely. you can purchase it here starting at $30.

The last one is the GQ Serif. It’s quite a nice font to end this with! it’s used in various sections of the magazine like in the “manuel du style” section and brings a bit of fresh air to the mix. It’s quite light on its serifs and brings just enough of a change from the baton without fighting it. Like the GQ Slab and Baton, you can find it on the Fat Type website.

 for more magazine fonts, check out my other “what’s this font” posts, enjoy!

Vogue UK June 2014 redesign

Kate upton made the cover of this month's Vogue UK. It's quite a disapointing cover considering the model and the photographer. I would have expected more but it turns out we don't always get what we want right?

After looking at the full photoshoot I saw this one picture and the cover alarms went off in my head. I took about 20 minutes and here's a little bit of a "what if..." moment...

 Dear Vogue, if you are going to have a really hot, beachy and steamy photoshoot with Kate Upton, do it all the way (by all the way I do mean put it on the damn cover).

 For this redesign I used some of the most basic fonts on my computer (though clearly they need a little help typography wise it's not the point I'm trying to make).

I understand that dealing with brands and getting the proper credits on a cover is a huge thing but that's why you plan those things ahead. This shoot is so light and steamy while the cover appears completely dull and washed out. This is another case of Vogue UK being so much better on the inside than it is on the outside (see my previous post on this with Natalia Vodianova). But this is supposed to be a package deal! (see below for more pictures from the shoot)

Next time Vogue, please go through with a concept ALL the way, 

it would make everything so much better...

Brasil did it better

Kate Upton seems to be everywhere these days, especially on magazine covers. One of her latest appearances was on Vogue UK’s June 2014 cover. Her vintage looking bathing suit is from Dolce & Gabbana and the Photography is by Mario Testino. Now let’s see what could have been done to make this better…

I am a sucker for Vogue UK (most of the time). They have great layouts and photoshoots. Usually though, despite all the awesome content, the cover doesn’t follow. This cover is acceptable but not mind blowing (those are becoming very rare unfortunately). The major thing that is bothering me at first glance is the one thing that always bothers me with Vogue UK, why the hell aren’t they putting the head of the cover girl above the freaking logo? They deleted the G from Vogue, that would have been completely unnecessary if they had just put her head above it. It’s a minor detail I will admit but it’s something that bothers me a lot. Once you’ve noticed her hair behind the logo on the right, it’s all you can see, and you ask yourself, WHY?

As I said though this is a very tiny detail. The typography is also a mess… You can’t read the “Beach Chic” line at all and it’s the biggest headline on there. The first thing I read when looking at this was “30″. Not what you want people to see first, it makes no sense. That giant number is also confusing from afar. Is it her age? oh wait no it’s just “30 all-star summer buys”… The Hillary Clinton copy on the left barely reads too. I’m not sure pink was the best color choice, it has a bad readability.
The photo is ok. I’m saying OK because the fact that the background is beige despite the fact that Upton is in the sand bothers me. It took me a few minutes to put my finger on it but that is a little odd. Everything is so beige, there is no other color to clash, to pop, to make this cover live a little and that’s just too bad.

As I mentioned earlier, Kate Upton has done more than a few covers. Here are 3 other vogue covers she was on and it’s safe to say the only truly successful ones are Vogue Brazil and Vogue U.S. Granted the Brasil cover looks more like a September issue and not a June one BUT, it’s so Vogue. It’s edgy, chic simple and draws you in. what else is there to ask for? As for the U.S one, it’s perfect for a June issue. It’s fresh and warm, it’s not my favorite but it works.