The Love Connection: Type Edition
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If you’re like me and—ahem—of a certain age, you might remember the old gameshow “Love Connection.” The format was simple: A contestant chooses from three potential dating matches with the help of the audience, goes on said date, then returns to share the results. The host (the ever-present-in-the-80s Chuck Woolery) would then declare if there had been a “love connection.” How could there NOT be with all those strangers giving their input?
Well, I doubt I’d take a studio audience’s advice on potential love matches, but I WILL take advice on which typefaces can live harmonious matrimony. That’s where the Type Connection game comes in handy, especially for a typographical lowbrow, like myself. The type-pairing game starts with choosing one of five typefaces, ranging from Adobe Garamond to Univers to ITC Stone Sans, and viewing its history, strengths, visual qualities, and examples. The next step to crafting a perfect type connection is choosing a strategy for finding the perfect partner; choose a match based on the same family, opposite qualities, similar features, or shared histories.
After selecting a potential match from the resulting choices, the potential lovebirds are overlaid to compare serifs, angles, x-heights, gaps, terminals, strokes, descenders, and counters—none of which are euphemisms, by the way. A side-by-side presentation of the multiple fonts in each typeface is displayed for your careful consideration.
If you think these two are a good match, hit the “send them on a date” button to view the results. If you’ve chosen a poor pairing, the rejection will be loud and clear and labeled, “Maybe not,” “Not quite,” or the straightforward, “Oops.” At least these rejections give you solid reasons as to why. Alternatively, if you’ve channeled your inner Yenta, you’ll be crowned a successful matchmaker, with samples of your successful match. I’d like to see more fonts to choose from so I can continue to successfully pair fonts and appear to “just know these things.” If you use this game to assert your know-it-all-ness of all things type, well, I won’t kiss and tell.
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