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The Rhetoric of
Font Selection

1. Here's a brain teaser to see where you are on fonts.  Take a look at the Tech logo above.  We see it all the time, but what does it mean?  Look at the font at the bottom.

• What font is used in “Louisiana Tech University”?
• Why? What is the source of that particular font? Think about the logo as rhetoric — what is Tech trying to tell the world through its font selection?
• How did you find the information?  In some ways, this is the most important question.  

1. How do you figure out what font is being used in a text or image?
2. Where do you find out the history of the font? Who designed it and when? What was the inspiration of the font?
3. What does the history of the font say about its current use?

First I want to point out what I mean by the rhetoric of font selection. Every document tries to persuade its audience. A glossy brochure is trying to convince you to buy that car. This is the brochure for my 2014 Ford Fiesta. Pictures of the car form the centerpiece of the brochure, but the text is important as well. I don’t know what the printed brochure looked like, but on my computer, the font is often too small to read at 100% scale. Even documents that don’t seem to be trying to persuade are trying to persuade the audience of something. A dry scientific report wants the reader to believe the accuracy of the report. And if the document has sections that the author wants you not to read? Use a font that’s tiny and hard to read.

Here are the steps I took to arrive at my answer. The process is more important than the answer itself, since you’ll be able to use it in identifying why specific fonts are used in other situations. Also, you’ll be able to use this process to select the best fonts for your own document design. 

1. Identify the font used in the image
   Font Identifier.
   Font Matcherator.
   
2. Look up the font in Bringhurst.

3. Learn more about Trajan.
1. Trajan Column.
2. Trajan inscription.
   

3. The Trajan Imperium

4. What does Rome have to do with us?
   Hint — It's always Rome. Read that page and listen to the lecture before going to 5.
   
5. Conclusion. Whoever designed the logo for Louisiana Tech wanted it to symbolize permanence, stability, and reliability. They chose a font that people can see on government buildings in Washington, DC, and on government buildings all around the country. Similarly, when the young country of the United States was looking around for models for their new nation, they chose the model of Rome because of its own durability.
   

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