The Character Issue

But it's Obama's sans serif Gotham that's been getting all the attention. Just seven years old, the font that appears on Obama's signs and rally banners proclaiming "Change We Can Believe In" and "Stand for Change" has a vague familiarity to it, as if plucked from an Ed Ruscha painting or from the sign atop a building you might pass by every day but never really noticed. (Obama's logo itself is rendered in a font called Requiem -- described on the designers' website as celebrating "the fertile world of Renaissance humanism," whatever that means.)

John D. Berry, author of a series of books on typography, calls Gotham the font of 2008. "It's the hot one," he said. In a discussion of presidential branding on NPR's "On the Media," Gotham garnered praise for looking classy and clean with one commentator likening it to an Armani suit. Online, typography blogs are full of love letters to the typeface, and one artist created a spitting image parody of an Obama sign declaring: "Gotham, a Font We Can Believe In."

"It's funny to see it used in a political campaign because on the one hand it's almost too ordinary, yet that's the point," Berry says. "It has that sense of trustworthiness because you've seen it everywhere."

Gotham's roots

Berry also noticed something else. "There is plenty of space between the letters, which makes all the difference in the world -- especially if you are viewing it at an angle. People are viewing these signs not just from the straight-on camera angle."

Gotham was originally commissioned by GQ magazine and designed by Frere-Jones of the New York-based Hoefler & Frere-Jones type foundry. "They wanted a look that was masculine and fresh yet versatile," he said, noting that the font was ultimately inspired by the Eighth Avenue Port Authority Bus Terminal sign in New York City.

Frere-Jones is also struck by the consistency of the visuals in the Obama campaign. "When you see a crowd of Obama supporters, any sign that's not handmade is in Gotham," he said. "I've never once seen a sign that's in Arial, Helvetica or Comic Sans."

But even the slickest new typeface can get you only so far. Just ask former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C). His candidacy is long gone, but his campaign logo is still out there in cyberspace at www.johnedwards.com.

It's in Gotham too.

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adam.tschorn@latimes.com