Posterwire.com is a movie poster weblog. From images of the latest Hollywood one-sheets to vintage movie posters, this film poster weblog hopes to offer a bit of insight into film key art.
There’s a common saying among movie poster designers and art directors when designing film title logos: “When in doubt, use Trajan.”
And why such a mantra? “Clients love it. They love it’s elegant look and always gravitate towards it or similar style typefaces.”
A better illustration of the use of the Trajan typeface in movie posters can be found in the excellent short film available from the stock agency Veer: “Etched in Stone” by Cheshire Dave.
Trajan was created by font designer Carol Twombly in 1989. As mentioned in the Veer “Etched in Stone” short film, the type is based on the classic etched style of ancient Roman era serif lettering. As a display typeface, it’s influence is wide reaching in the world of one-sheet logotypes — even film logos that aren’t technically using Trajan are using similar looking fonts or typefaces derived from the Trajan lineage.
Speaking of type, if you need help in identifying the likes of Trajan (or any other typefaces used in movie posters and elsewhere), look no further than the Type Identification forum over at the great site Typophile.com. You can also try IDing a font by uploading an image sample to WhatTheFont.
Master typographer Ed Benguiat is one of the most important font and logo designers in the modern era of design and publishing. He has created the lettering used in logotypes for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and Playboy. He designed such typefaces as Avant Garde Gothic and Caslon, which you probably have installed on your computer as you read this. (For you typophiles out there, House Industries has a font collection tribute to Ed Benguiat you may be interested in.)
Edward Benguiat also produced type used in movie posters, including logos for Planet of the Apes and Super Fly. It’s interesting how a good logo can elevate a poster for films about those “damn dirty apes” or a 70s cocaine drug dealer. This is especially true in the case of the one-sheets for Super Fly, which gives the wonderfully “swashy” Benguiat logo the prominence it deserves. Blaxploitation never looked so good.
