There are two things that I will always geek out on: comic books and typography. I can talk for hours about either. And when I can geek out on both at the same time? That’s my definition of nerdvana. Matthew Olin is a talented designer who, as part of his MFA in graphic design from the University of Minnesota, put together some really cool posters of DC and Marvel superheroes using letters (called glyphs to typophiles) for the outlines.
Each character has their own unique font, one that fits their character. For example, Batman is Gotham Book, a sans-serif font that is “Assertive and familiar — Enforcing structure and authority.” On the other hand, Catwoman is Bodoni Roman, a Didone-classified font that is “smart but stylish — influential with its curves, while deceptive in weight.” Sound familiar?
According to Matt, “My goal, was to create an understanding for design through the similarities found between design principles and our already existing knowledge of superheroes.”
And Matt grew up a type-geek: “I used to re-create historic manuscripts in Microsoft Word when I was little; trying to typeset them the exact same as their originator’s handwriting (i.e., match Bickham Script to Abraham Lincoln’s penmanship on The Gettysburg Address), which is probably when my first experience with typefaces started.”
One last important question I had for Matt: DC or Marvel? “DC. I’ve grown up with Batman and Superman since I can remember, whereas I didn’t really get into the X-Men, Spider-Man or other Marvel characters until later in my childhood.”
See more of Matt’s great comic-inspired illustrations on Behance.
