Avenir

Even though I've been self-identifying as a graphic designer for the last year and a half, I sort of hate graphic design.

Let me clarify: I love designing things, I love telling stories and triggering people's perceptions, I love all the beautiful things that people have been making, but I think everything else makes me puke. I hate it when people obsess over font choice, make banter about software, and carry on mind-numbing dialogs about he nuances of corporate logos. Those things make me feel like I'm sitting in the Pentagon listening to officers get furious about the jelly of the month.

Anyways, in a giant ocean of things I don't consider worth talking about, one island rises from the surface: Avenir.

Avenir is a type family designed by a guy named Adrian Frutiger. If you want to hear more details, you can do so at Wikipedia. But let me editorialize! Avenir has kick and energy! It's happy and optimistic! It bounces off the baseline! It's friendly without being smarmy! It's legitimate without drab!

I got my first non-freelance graphic design job a few weeks ago. Yesterday I made the case for buying four weights of Avenir and they said they will! I'm happy!