How a typeface helped launch Apollo | Douglas Thomas

When humanity first landed on the moon in 1969, the typeface Futura was right there with them. In this fascinating history of typography, designer Douglas Thomas shares Futura's role in launching the Apollo 11 spacecraft -- and how it became one of the most used fonts in the world.

[dingo]

In German, capitals are an integral part of grammar though. This sentence in German would look like:


" In German, Capitals are an integral Part of Grammar though."


It's not only what's important or at the beginning of a sentence, but shows if something is an object or a verb, objects and nouns are always capitalised and verbs are always small, for example.
I just thought it might be an interesting little thing to add, as not everyone may have noticed.

[jessiepolfliet]

As a graphic designer I find this very interesting.

[namjuok]

Typography was chosen for TED... I'm pleased. As a student of Visual Communication Design, we need to have a more delicate eye on our environment, for example, a font.

[dudeimbusy]

As much as I enjoyed typography; wow.... Histo-typeography?

Never learned it in this way

👏👏👏👏👏🗣

[jakedtreble]

Great video! Thanks! Didn't realize Futura was so popular until now...But we still have Helvetica staring at us in the background :)

[lifeisgood]

I really love how you drop in the language of typography (ie. Drop cap, gutter etc)

[jacobopstad]

Cool, I had no idea a typeface could have such interesting cultural ties.

[chocomalk]

This is what Ted is all about, awesome talk, enjoy it while you can people.

[RichardBronosky]

13:40 this statement would have never been uttered before 2016

[divyamurugesan]

How do you choose the content? It's Awesome. 😊 I never thought typography would be a subject of study. 👌👍

[ChiPsumP]

I usually do not think about fonts as I used to is because NOW I only care if I can actually read it. In the past, I used to think of the various things and meanings I could pass to the reader without being too obvious about it. I now think about how readable it will be by choosing a certain font for my Kindle or Kindle app to both allow me to get the most words on the screen and still be readable to me...sigh.

[luizfelipecesario]

I will use this typeface in my office from now on! Fantastic!

[bonkiliyontukutuni]

He makes it look as if Futura is the most used font, it’s not. Helvetica is the most used font. It’s so ubiquitous, you see it everywhere! Loved the presentation though.

[janjan]

Take a shot every time he say "Futura".

[fernando]

But I mean... many typefaces could have been used instead of Futura. I think it would be more fair to attribute all of this achievements to the invention of writing and our writing system as a whole, instead of a single font.

[PrograError]

meanwhile my city's public buses EDS (the route display matrix on the side or front) has all different designs, some in arial, some looks like it came from london.

and also the MRT station station navigation signs are all over the place with the icon and arrows and designs being all different...

[avazbekolimov]

As soon as I watched it, I wanted to sleep

[michaeljohnston]

Who chose the typefaces at NASA? Is there documentation that other typefaces were considered? It's clear that Futura was the most used, but is there information on how they made the decision for the plaque? Was there even a discussion or was it simply decreed that Futura would be used?

[SeraphX]

it's not that it "tapers". it's that the perfect circle in the middle is offset to be centered from edge to edge of that letter, and not centered inside the other perfect circle that it is supposed to be punching a hole through.

[DipayanSain]

What's the font this YouTube video provided subtitles in? It isn't Futura.