looking at typefaces to find personalities about

The final analysis of responses showed that participants perceived and categorized the typefaces into three broader categories—Elegance, Directness and Friendliness—based on their semantic qualities rather than functional ones. For example, CounselorScript and Harrington both fit into the Elegance Group; Arial and Garamond were categorized in the Directness Group; and Bauhaus Md BT and Comic Sans MS fit into the Friendliness Group.

Bottom line: Non-design readers and viewers do perceive personality characteristics in typefaces. According to the study’s author, the results suggest that “visual language is analogous to verbal language in carrying connotations.”

Study reference: Brumberger, Eva. The Rhetoric of Typography. Technical Communication; May 2003.

Arial
Impact
Comic Sans
Helvetica
Letter Gothic
Times New Roman
Gill Sans
Baskerville
Lettres Orness
Plastica
Archer
Bell Gothic
Georgia
Futura
Didot
Century
Bodoni
Minion
Optima
Universe
Veranda