A significant part of my job here at Gray is to ensure we deliver quality work, from a design perspective, and technology perspective. In the course of evaluating designs, I’ve come to notice that many of our designer’s personalities become evident through their work. One of the clearest examples of this is when I look at their font choices. I disrupted some of my co workers to ask what their favorite fonts were. Here are the results…

Century Gothic - Sarah Pearson

Ladies first! Sarah is one of our creative geniuses. Her office shelves are lined with action figures and design magazines, all fairly orderly. Not surprisingly, her font choice, Century Gothic, is also a clean and consistent type face. While the font is borderline-edgy with it’s exaggerated ovals and concise meeting points, it stays largely true to it’s 1920’s roots. Sarah could be said to carry the same characteristics. She loves live music and has been known to frequent shows in Austin, but you would never expect it based on her day to day demeanor. In addition, it was found that printers using Century Gothic saved around 30% on ink costs. Determined to prove my font-personality theory correct, I asked Sarah if she recycles at home. Sure enough, she does. I’m on to something here. Let’s continue…

Univers - Jiles Rodriguez

Fonts.com states that Univers is “versatile and distinctive without being obtrusive.” Sure enough, Jiles is one of our jack-of-all-trades. He’s been known to dabble in design and has a strong eye for interface opportunities and flaws. On the flip-side, Jiles also has strengths in development, leading our charge in to the world of responsive design and taking a mobile-first approach on some large projects lately. The versatility of Univers is a clear compliment of Jiles’ work style and capabilities.

Lobster - Amber Rucker

Things you will see on Amber’s work desk: Star Wars Legos, a mini terrarium and sea monkeys. I don’t even have to try and defend this font to personality comparison. This font is a clear statement of creativity, outgoingness and personality. A lunch chat with Amber would reveal all of these traits, like her addiction to mountain biking among other outgoing endeavors.

Raleway - Tim Smith

I love Raleway font and a few similar fonts like Dosis and Open Sans. When I see the stems of the “w” meet, it’s like an elegant wrestling match of beautiful typography. I enjoy the slightly exaggerated bows of the “R” and the “a” and how well they mesh in to straight letters. The subtle curve on the legs of the “l” and “y” letters are unique, in that they turn this font in to some form of serif and sans-serif hybrid, in just the perfect way. What does this say about my personality? I suppose it exposes my focus on creative layouts that balance traditional design with out-of-the-box ideas. I strive for a balance of consistency in life, with just enough edge thrown in the mix to keep things interesting.

What font have you been drawn to? Why are you prone to using it? Does it speak to your character or habits?