An Intro to Typography

[littledicemonster]

@xperpetualmotion You are a graphic designer, a nerdfighter, a photographer, and video blogger???

THIS IS EVERYTHING AWESOME MIXED TOGETHER IN ONE PERSON! =)

Why didn't I see you before???? btw subbed!

DFTBA

[gottmospahedengubbar]

Are you guys serious? I knew about this shit even before I started working and studiying as a GD.

[14bchu]

In your comment, does "you guys" refer to people who likes this video?

[my rhetorical question counter]

As for already knowing this "s**t", the title of the video is: An Intro to Typography

so the real question is not whether or not we are serious but rather why you clicked on video called: An Intro to Typography, if you already knew all of it.

As for I, I'm still in high school so this is how i learned this "s**t" even before I started to even think about working.

[mrsandblack]

Love your videos and funky, quirky, passion. RaiderSteve

[norwedgianawesomenes]

WHEEZY WAITER WTF?!

[danasaurusrex93]

i want to be you. seriously.

[711sanchez]

Shut up!

[1TheStuffChannel1]

Oh! I see rivers all the time in newspapers!

[Peeremoghan]

You are smart crazy but I love you.. thanks for the wonderful work

Aziz Qassim, Bahrain

[lovethegirls1]

I love your videos, your teaching me a lot thank you, I will keep learning from them !!!!!

P:S Why don't you teach this you would be great at it ?

[ebmosier1]

Great vid! I'm taking Typography now and it's so interesting...

Also Cracked, Zapfino, and Hobo are no-nos.

[RosieeeeRAWR]

My class and I watched this in class at college. I must say, we all got more out of this video then the rest of the day lol <3

[KillYourTeeVee]

waffles are pancakes with syrup traps

[VioletKoncz]

this was so cute! love it!

[lightningboltmedia1]

Excellent Karen! 

[pksmb1120]

"Be careful of rivers in justified text. You don't want to be able to sail a boat through your words." Love the quote! :)

[lousaysmew]

I share the hatred for Comic Sans and Papyrus. Now whenever I see it (ESPECIALLY on advertisements or store signs) I involuntarily say the name and "ew" right after.

[muzammalhssn]

AWESOME

[refreakasoid]

Are you from Chicago like Wheezy too? Because I am going to art school, Columbia :D

[catfish11011011]

wats the song starting at 25 sec

[newworldization]

thanks dear, its very informative video

[kahlesssr]

I totally love your you and your vids.... but ya gotta quit being a comic sans hater Vincent worked very hard on that :P but yeah even he is tired of its over use. i just wish that i had seen your vids a few months sooner, it would have made class sooo much simpler.

[MrPaintist]

That moment you realise you're not the only person on this planet that his heart skips a beat when someone starts talking about typography... wow, that does sound sad...

[c3r0cool]

...marry me

[webduncetv]

Okay, so just to summarize this lesson...you're basically saying that -- whenever possible -- we should use zaph chancery or brush script...but not unless we're going to put it in all caps and on an arc, right?

I'm kidding (of course). I've enjoyed your videos so far, thanks! :)

[hopelesslyinsane]

now I want bacon...

[zioo5]

My typography teacher showed us this video and many others from her. My class doesn't like her lol, they're like "not again..." and "wait, wtf is going on!?!?" lmao

[MisterSensational]

Liberation Mono for the win.

[crushTVelour]

I still like Papyrus. One day I want to write a technical document in Papyrus. I just don't know what font to use with the headings.

[dekuConnor]

thank you for the boner

[keithtreason]

.....wooooowwww.

[punk98]

you more or less covered my first year at college, in 3 minutes :L

[RBlFire]

Haha, nice video. Stylish. Entertaining and informative.

[SoSlipknot]

Um Okay can you translate all that to Computer Programmer-Geek?

[kxmode]

ban comic sans!

[edkaau]

How to make comic stories on computer? any software program? we 've got bamboo fun pen & touch board, we can draw and write comic stories with it, but we don't know how to connect them together.

[edkaau]

thank you for this intro, my 11 years old and I have learnt something from you. You're great!

[MrChilliflakes]

you're awesome.

[sk8erpro10]

They need to fix the kerning in microsoft word when you use tab its literally off by one pixel and it really annoying.

[Mjracle11]

nice... lesson

[75pietro]

u are so cool !!! i love it ... i have a question to make ahahahah:)

I was wondering if I could stretch, distort , modify to my liking a typeface like helvetica or any other font ??? is that possible or I break the low .. I'm not sure about that.

[scotthughesphotog]

I am so using this in my middle school art class, (art teacher) that is of course, if it is okay with you... :) (please)

I wish your color theory was more "G" rated too... just sayin...

(I am sure you will inspire my students!!! Thanks!!!)

scotthughesphoto on flickr

SCAD 1993 BFA Photography/Art History

[astroflaregun]

you forgot "Mistral" -- makes the "eew" trifecta complete!! good job

[01mymomma]

Why does everyone think comic sans suck!? 

[qumps]

That spot on ur arm is veeery annoying for me,,

[GTEproductions]

i use papyrus and i love.umadbro?

[Chazzinger]

I hate comic sans with a passion!

[IAMA1337NINJA]

1:49 I MUST find out what the font at the bottom is!

[silverzgirl]

Lot's of that stuff has different names here......

[maripunki]

"And If you've watched this far,

don't you DARE ever let me see you use Papyrus or Comic Sans again. I'LL BE WATCHING YOU!"

LOLOLOLOL

[irevilodesign]

VERY well done video!!!! Subscribed! :)

[readergirl100]

... what's so wrong with papyrus and comic sans??? :(

[yellowmeerkat97]

@readergirl100 everything.

[imdaveperkins]

epic. you win all of the prizes.

[ChocoSyrupOnMyAbs]

What do you use to make typography? Please, I need help. I'm hoping one could make it manually but do you need computer programs like adobe for this? What do you suggest...and I'm not really good at computers...Thanks!

[GTEproductions]

@ChocoSyrupOnMyAbs Adobe illustrator or photoshop

[serene3j]

omy, i love this video! it summarised my 1 hour reading into 3 minutes.

OH THANK YOU!

[L2b1serval]

Dr. Noise!

[macron12]

Hey Karen, I just discovered your videos, they are DAMN Amazing! Am watching and learning so much, they are fun and entertaining as well, ammmm so jealous of you too that u live in NY! Keep up the great work!

[thanx4writing]

7 people who watched this video, use Papyrus or Comic Sans.

[nickytree1]

didn't she spell *your* wrong at some point in the vid spelling it * yout* bad vid to have a typo but kinda informative if not a little rushed therefore missing a lot of explanation...

[666Barbaro]

OMG, this girl is amazing :D SUBSCRIBED

[TheRonisharoni]

you look like Mclovin

[rnotghi]

don't use copperplate either!!!

[UTubeTulip]

Where can i download Helvetica

[TylerBunnylover]

She's such a nerd. I love her. It's adorable. <3

[morgantyree]

Zapfino... the entire world has nearly discovered it. LOOK OUT!

[labatte14]

what typeface is "should be your" in? (when you mention hierarchy)

[lukestratton1]

BAN COMIC SANS!!!

[jscrebelo]

i wasn't sure what this video was about, but then wheezy told me it was great with sprinkles so I loved it =D

[craisins95]

Oh good. Someone else who dislikes comic sans as much as I do!

[combasso2]

KAREN KAVETT! I am your fan! I wish you were my mother!

[hugoestr]

This is probably your best video. Thanks.

[viper3636dr]

WOW i love you!

[Rissychan]

Hi, I love your videos ^^ This one was very useful to get started on typography ^^ Can I ask which fonts were used at 0:28 for "Lesson 1" and "anatomy" ? Thanks a lot :3

[jfbssp]

Stellar and very cool video!

[mooplink]

wondermark(dot)com/650/ you remind me of this comic! (which is a good thing)

[Sandman267]

How do I know when to use what font? When do I use a super thick one, when a thin one etc?

[rstephensonable]

Thank you so much for the information and links! Another important subject added to my learn list - woo hoo!

[FelipeFECTM]

I just watched 15 seconds and already love you.

[577Lynx]

talk about obsession...autistic much?

[309961266]

were using thinking with type second edition in my graphi communications class :) im 3 weeks in and i understood everything you said. love type <3

[titograf]

Classification is not OK!!! You have mixed several different principles of classification. It can be misleading for not so informed persons. Other parts are great and useful.

[volodymyrm1]

lol ok ok i got it... now put that all that staff into microsoft word and thats it

[MyRobotUnicorn]

:l in school they made use comic sans, i had done mine in helvetica but the teacher was like HIGHLIGHT EVERYTHING AND MAKE IT COMIC SANS and i was D:<

[SimpleShorts]

You make me sound really smart in graphic arts. :DD

[FuriousIndigo]

Just as I was typing a joke about comic sans or papyrus, you mentioned them. Darn.

Good luck with the new semester.

[ChainsawJulietx]

WASH YOUR FUCKING HAIR

[combobasha]

aaaaand subscribed, i totaly wanted this, thank you so much :)

[mschacter1]

very informative. and to the point.

Well done!!

[lewenski12]

I LUV COSMIC SANS DNT JUDGE IT!!!LMAO jk luv da typeogrophy thing-a-magig!!!!x)

[DrummermanMatt]

I like Comic Sans.

[pokemonLinoone]

I'll never use Papyrus or Comic Sans again! :D

[timlovehead]

Let me tell you what happens when I get excited

[Tragedienne3]

@timlovehead let me guess, you masturbate to a picture of your mom

[timlovehead]

no, but to you I would

[DemonMaiden]

BEST. FIELD TRIP. EVERRR. <3

[pilkingtoez09]

thanks , more about white space please ,

off toprt2 oh n i think i love you , xx

[failache]

Nice vid!

You're very talented!

[quill18]

Ooooooh...new channel to subscribe to. Found this video via effyeahnerdfighters

[ChateauOfADoubt]

This was brilliant and so well done. I loved your typography field trip. You've jammed so much useful graphic design information into three minutes, and it was digestible and entertaining. I totally own that John Kane book! Have you ever read Stop Stealing Sheep and Find Out How Type Works by Erik Spiekermann?

[hetrogamr84]

If Comic Sans is the only font my iPhone uses in Notes then I can't avoid it. What is the deal with capital I's looking like lower case l's??? Can you please adress this. Also is there a rise-ing fashion in which lower case i's are not dotted?

[Jeshikun]

This went by CRAZY fast! I felt like I had to pause the video to catch it all. Really great video editing though. So far my plans for college involve a Major in Creative Writing and minors in English and Typography(And possibly Drama too but that isn't exactly relevant) And I found this video very amazing.

[blkfrhwk]

but i love comic sans..

[jgordon707]

ill admit. I just followed this link on Tumblr cuz I thought you were cute. I was bombarded with typography. Im ok with that.

[canman1234567]

Five years in art school and I hated typography. Get out and it's all THE thing. Well I still hate it. It's good for commercial work but I hated that too. The one thing it is good for is so people who know little about good art can feel like they are very creative because they are type geeks. Sort of like people who think they are going to be great writers because the know all the tiny technical rules of spelling and grammar. Good type does not make a good idea.

[fecklessman]

p.s. the fact that the annotations at the end of this video still say 'enter your text here' and aren't properly aligned over the video clips is either sheer irony or sheer brilliance.

[fecklessman]

i didn't know a lot of that stuff, but i do a lot of those things anyway. in most cases, i'm incredibly picky and anal-retentive about the way my text looks on screen, even when i'm the only one who will ever see it. when i type in fields like this one i'm typing in at the moment, i make sure the entire box looks pleasant, and i get annoyed that once i get to where the scrollbar shows up or post it, it completely jacks up my beautiful formatting. i often get annoyed and just delete or re-do it.

[fecklessman]

@fecklessman like that above. see that? the 'it.' at the end of the comment looks so lonely and out of place. it makes me want to delete the comment and write it again, but then this comment wouldn't make sense and i would have to delete it too. gah!

[elffia]

Karen, I just watched this TWICE it's that brilliant.

[martywaltershi]

Hah! I just got a very serious laboratory report about hazardous building materials, and it was set in Comic Sans.

[doctornoise]

soooo, is my typewriter font okay? hehe

[footynutguy]

Thanks for doing this video.

Its been nearly 20 years since I did DTP on a mac when it was 'the next big thing'. If I could only remember what Widows and Orphans are then I might be able to get back into it.

[peevedmusic]

(this is pretty much in response to your tweet about video views being far lower than subscribers)

I must admit that I have 2 youtube accounts subscribed to you, and when things get busy, on top of full time work, I often will miss over half the videos in my subscription box. But there’re a few channels that I’ll always find time for (yours included), even if a few days late... So I just wanted to let you know that even though I hardly ever comment, your videos are always watched and enjoyed :)

[xperpetualmotion]

@peevedmusic Thank you so much. That means a lot coming from you since I absolutely love your music :)

[thefuryabstract]

you're good at this

[JeffreyReu]

Any clue why the book Thinking with Type from Amazon 'has not yet been released'?

[xperpetualmotion]

@JeffreyReu I gave the link for the second edition which should be out soon. If you don't want to wait though, the first edition is great too.

[withalittlegrace]

Now I feel incredibly smart. I always appreciate how beautiful letters are, but this actually helps me with the technicalities. Awesome job Karen, you genius.

[sophieeee19]

I feel better about myself because I knew most of these things. It was a FANTASTIC video!

[RoboFillet]

Informative video is informative.

"You don't want a shape in your rag" has got to be the quote of the night.

[Lyssykins]

Squee! I feel very accomplished that I was able to follow this nerdy fast-talking video of amazingness. Loooved all the pretty colours~ This video shall be my reference if I ever get lost in a sea of Illustrator woes. Thanks Karen!

[pete275]

words cannot express how much I don't care about this

[Futuredudeman]

Is this going to be on the final? D:

[countnumerologist]

You are my favourite youtuber, and this video is why. Your combination of knowledge, passion and humour compelled me to watch it again. Plus I learned heaps.

[xperpetualmotion]

@countnumerologist Thank you so much!

[sittingonanmm]

I am a complete noob when it comes to design and typography, so I'm really glad you made this video!! Learning the basics of typography seems to be very important, and I hadn't thought about it until you started talking about it!!! I'd be very interested in more of these type of videos.

Also, you may have answered this before, but why is it a complete typography crime to use comic sans and papyrus?

[wonwonwova]

Oops! Forgot to say my favorite fonts! Courier, Helvetica, Century Gothic and Redboard are my main favorites. I tend to prefer sans serif fonts. But I do love times new roman when it's used right.

[JeffreyReu]

I think I saw you blink once!

[xperpetualmotion]

@JeffreyReu haha, I'm surprised even one blink made it in.

[Elinious]

Whoa, what? *watches again*

Good thing I'm going to study this (graphich design) next year, I recognise some things that I picked up along the way, but I'm a total n00b when it comes to typography. Many thanks for the book recommendations, I have been looking for a good book about typography but didn't know which ones were actually good :) Now I can do some homework BEFORE school starts and I won't be the dumbest person in the class :)

[goldenjabba]

I never really knew much about typography, so thank you for the improv lesson! ^_^

[hptwilighter]

Very informative, Karen. Thanks!

[bilderbesoffen]

sweet, karen! now i know the English vocabulary :)

[ckXcore]

I knew more than half of the stuff! Score for the web designer! I do have a problem with only using one type face for an entire web site though.. It's the whole having to restrain yourself to the font faces that person with hardly any faces possesses.. Meaning.... arial *dun dun dunnnn* I've been trying to expand on font faces in my later designs though

[ghostwritten87]

I'd never heard of typography before I started watching your videos. Now I keep on spotting font stuff everywhere. Aaaaagh! But I like learning new things, so thanks :D

Loved the ending :)

[theoriginaledi]

Wait, am I completely stupid (entirely possible, believe me) or do you have right and left reversed at 1:33? I'm confused. :-(

Other than that, I LOVE this video. So educational, and fun at the same time. Excellent job! Thanks for making it!

[xperpetualmotion]

@theoriginaledi haha, I probably do. I'm the worst at remembering which way is which.

[theoriginaledi]

@xperpetualmotion Whew, I feel a little better now. Mostly because *I'M* the worst ever at knowing left and right. That's one reason I wasn't sure!

[songsfrompaul]

I hope there isn't an exam for this coming up. I'm going to have to rewatch this video several times to take in all of its information...

[PaulSaysThings]

also forgot to mention that the whole letter spotting black and white things were really well done.

[PaulSaysThings]

my comment is in the intro ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

so you eat letters with two knives. i see. *writes down*

thanks for making this video! i really learned a ton in those two-ish minutes. i feel like i've completed the first foreign language class and can understand SOME typography talk.

I just got a new computer with windows 7 and I think you'll like to know that papyrus doesnt come pre-installed on windows 7. comic sans still is though.

[erickeatsfruit]

LOL already knew this hehh

[iainirving]

Thanks for this, this seems like enough info that I can pretend to be a typography expert. I am going to impress so many people!!!

[bauisakim]

great!!!!

[TheOrangeDream]

So this morning I learned the importance of grammar from John Green and the basics of typography from you. What an awesome way to start a day. :)

[xperpetualmotion]

@TheOrangeDream haha, nerds ftw.

[EmmyNeander]

Awesome necklace! :P

[Book5204]

Awesome video! I learned lots! I promise to be good and never use the forbidden comic sans or papyrus. I loved how you used different examples on the street to teach us about it. Will you make more videos about this? I'll have to watch your two others later.

[pilocrates]

I didn't know there was so much I didn't know! I did know not to use Papyrus though. Yay for me!

[xperpetualmotion]

@pilocrates haha, that's basically lesson one. But there's so much more to it than what I got to here.

[pilocrates]

@xperpetualmotion oh boy i cant wait! well i should probably watch this one a few more times to make sure i've mastered Lesson 1.

[IJethrobot]

I really liked how you went around town to point out some different types of lettering!

I will soon be tackling the decision of what fonts to use for a personal website I'll be making for grad school. I've already considered that buying a font face would be really neat. : )

~ Jethro.

[AnIrrationalRatio]

I just looked up Papyrus to see what it was, finally. I can't see myself using it for anything.

I can now say I know next to nothing about typography, rather than nothing!

I may not be into it but I can appreciate the work done by those who are.

Thanks for this, Karen.

[tetsubo57]

I think you should do an entire typography video series. :)

I love watching people talk about what *they* love.

You should have done the librarian look for the video though. :)

You could become the Typography Goddess on YouTube!

[RachMacSaysWhat]

At school our teacher always used to use comic sans to appear 'jolly'... It was an ugly move. Great video! xxxx

[base753]

I'd always thought that the "i" in "pica" was pronounced with an "ee" sound. I guess I've been mispronouncing it the whole time.

BTW, the explanation of tracking vs kerning wasn't very clear, and the examples only sort-of helped.

[GMJ7]

*insert Comic SERIF (!) here just to get xperpetualmotion's attention*

Haha, you are one crazed fontophile. More typography vids, please! :)

[JaseSheehan]

Fuck me you annoy me

[xperpetualmotion]

@JaseSheehan Thank you so much for taking the time to watch my video! I really appreciate it!

[TakeItToMyHeart]

This was awesome! - i would love to see more of these vids. Cant say i have come across any others like it. Might be a new idea to carry though?

[eruanna317]

I'm a librarian at a tiny little country library where we're responsible to make our own promotional materials, and I have one coworker who, since we work in the children's department, is determined to use Comic Sans for *everything*! Drives me crazy!!!!

[xperpetualmotion]

@eruanna317 Oh gosh, I am so so sorry for you.

[MrNLichtman]

I love you. This is a great talk about typography. You taught it in a fun way.

[xperpetualmotion]

@MrNLichtman Thanks so much!

[NavarrB]

Question: Why can't Comic Sans be used for what it was intended to be used for?

[xperpetualmotion]

@NavarrB Which purpose, comic book lettering? There are far more aesthetically pleasing choices out there, and most people misuse it.

[UnculturedProject]

This video was brilliantly made. Also perfectly educational.

[xperpetualmotion]

@UnculturedProject Thanks Shawn!