Cool Fonts Quotes

After resting in the cool, shadowy interior for a while, with feelings of both gratitude and distaste, he set off once more, and as he left, just as one might ruffle the hair of a son or younger brother, he ran his fingers over the marble locks of a dwarfish figure which, at the foot of one of the mighty columns, had been bearing the immense weight of a holy-water font for centuries.

Un peu comme lorsque je rentre d'un voyage quelque part et que tout le monde me demande comment c'était : peu à peu mes différentes réponses n'en font plus qu'une, mes impressions se resserrent sur elles-mêmes, ouais, c'est cool, là-bas, et tiens, une anecdote marrante... puis ce discours unique se substitue à la réalité du souvenir. Du coup, j'ai franchement eu peur. J'ai ressenti cette crainte familière, soudainement intense et sincère, qu'une fois toute sensation échappée de ma vie, il ne reste plus de celle-ci qu'un cliché. Et le jour de ma mort, saint Pierre me demanderait : - C'était comment ? - Vraiment super, en bas. J'aimais bien la bouffe. m'enfin, avec la tourista... Bon, les gens sont tous très sympas quand même. Et ça serait tout. (...) Et j'ai décidé de raconter quelque chose de nouveau sur mon séjour à chaque personne qui voudrait que je lui en parle, sans me répéter une seule fois.

[sur les parents qui veulent se la jouer “cool”, y compris envers l’éducation transmise à leurs enfants] "Mais ce qu’ils ont oublié, dans leur ferveur égalitaire et libertaire, c’est que les formes bourgeoises ont un fondement moral. Elles ne révèlent pas seulement un être ou une position de classe. Elles font entendre, jusque dans la comédie sociale, le souci d’autrui. Quand je mets les formes, je respecte un usage, bien sûr, je joue un rôle, sans doute, je trahis mes origines, peut-être. Mais surtout, comme l’a bien montré Hume, je fais savoir à l’autre ou aux autres qu’ils comptent pour moi. Je les salue, je m’incline devant eux, je prends acte de leur existence et atténuant la mienne." (p205)

The problem with trying to be relevant is it makes us copy what culture is already doing. To be relevant, you have to copy what is cool. So we put our mouths on the tailpipe of secular culture in hopes we can recycle some of it and use it for ourselves. The problem with this is that it automatically puts us ten to fifteen years behind culture because rather than setting the precedent, we are copying their systems. This is where we get a huge section of Christian apparel and coffee mugs that simply copy secular logos. My favorite is the shirt with the words “Holy Spirit” printed in the same font and logo as Sprite. Or the one with “A bread crumb and a fish” instead of Abercrombie and Fitch. We call it redeeming, but it’s actually stealing. Making bad art is bad in and of itself, but if we are Christians, this takes on a whole other level of weight. Because we are called to mirror and reflect God, everything we do should give people a proper picture of who he is.

Until that June day in 2004, PowerPoint had been the default tool for communication of ideas in many meetings at Amazon, just as it was and still is at many companies. Everybody knew its delights and perils. What could be more exhilarating than listening to a charismatic executive deliver a rousing presentation backed up by snappy phrases, dancing clip art, and cool slide transitions? So what if you couldn’t remember the details a few days later? And what could be worse than suffering through a badly organized presentation using a drab template and tons of text in a font too small to read? Or, worse still, squirming as a nervous presenter stumbled and faltered through slide after slide? The real risk with using PowerPoint in the manner we did, however, was the effect it could have on decision-making. A dynamic presenter could lead a group to approve a dismal idea. A poorly organized presentation could confuse people, produce discussion that was rambling and unfocused, and rob good ideas of the serious consideration they deserved. A boring presentation could numb the brain so completely that people tuned out or started checking their email, thereby missing the good idea lurking beneath the droning voice and uninspiring visuals

If someone grows up poor, in a family that struggles to make ends meet, that person might view wealth in a fantastical, idealistic way. If asked to design a logo for a financial institution, they might opt for a representation of money that matches those idealistic feelings, such as… gold, extravagant, glitzy, big! Conversely, if a person grows up well-off, where having lots of money is normal, then their design might be quieter and more corporate. The latter is more universally accepted as “good” design in most classrooms and design spaces. When thinking of how often a student is asked to design something and make it look “expensive,” or “cool” or “trendy,” it becomes clear how the cultural interpretation of those words will affect the fonts, colors, and symbols used to express those concepts.