"I know that guy!"

Graphic design is a strange thing; while it's inherently commercial and eminently visible in the world around us, it's a faceless industry. We don't know the names, let alone the faces behind the familiar graphics that surround us. One of my favorite things about studying graphic design is when you learn the identity of an artist whose work you're familiar with, but whose name and greater body of work you were previously unaware of. Some of my favorite examples of this:

Michael Schwab - michaelschwab.com









Lucian Bernhard - aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-lucianbernhard




Matthew Carter - aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-matthewcarter

Recently, with all the debate circling around Ikea's decision to abandon their use of Futura and begin using Verdana in their print advertisements, I couldn't help but think of how ugly a typeface Verdana is. Even in its intended environment (the computer screen) it's just an ugly looking font.

So who designed this ugly typeface? Probably some hack, right? I guess not. A few weeks ago, I was introduced to the classically informed, beautifully precise work of Matthew Carter - aka the man who created Verdana.

Pictured:
Verdana
Rocky
Mantinia