![]() ![]() To be fair, the article never exactly says the fonts are racist or objectively offensive, though it does have this classic junk: Musing about this article, Matt Margolies says, “The question of whether fonts can actually be racist is obviously a sign that true, legitimate racism is so hard to find that we actually have to make everything inherently racist just to have something to complain about.” Well, yes, except that the Left is in the process of re-defining racism to mean “anything said or done in America or by Americans, unless it is said or done by an African American or another Perpetual Victim of Color (PVC).”Īnn Quito, the author, argues that type fonts that attempt to evoke or reference another culture or locale like this…Īnd, though she doesn’t mention it, this (African)…Īnd if anybody cared about what they thought, this… If the author does believe it, he or she (it’s a she this time) is obviously a victim of the dreaded “political correctness ate my brain” pandemic, so why pay any more attention to what she writes about fonts than if she had ranted on about Republican beetle larvae burrowing into her brain? So when it comes out with something like this idiocy, complaining about “racist fonts,” what is the ethical response? It’s click-bait, so there is no way to determine whether anyone, even the author, believes what the article says. It also raises the question, “How does one correctly regard what CNN says and publishes?” We know now that the network cares not a whit about journalism, nor facts, nor objective analysis, not integrity. It’s like a return to the 1950s.This dispatch from The Great Stupid raises the question, “How stupid can the Great Stupid get before a critical mass of the public says, “Hey! This stuff is stupid!“? But we will leave that one for another day. ![]() ![]() However, Yang points out that at the bottom of the cited Design Observer article, the writer notes, "Granted, unlike people, typefaces have no feelings - so who cares if they’re used without sensitivity and knowledge? But on some level, the line is a murky one: What’s the difference between a celebrity making an unforgivable racist remark and a typographer making a font that clumsily perpetuates a cultural stereotype?"Īnd Paul Shaw, design historian and School of Visual Arts professor, told Yang that the chop suey and chopsticks styled letters are usually linked to unflattering stereotypes, "You’ll see caricatures with slanted eyes and buck teeth." He added, "You’d think FreshDirect would know better. Reached this week, FreshDirect PR manager Maria Coder added that “Our team gave this typeface a lot of thought before integrating it into our packaging and advertising.” Likewise, nobody questions a sign for a burrito restaurant designed in Hot Tamale, but what about when it’s used for a border crossing sign in Texas?’ We agreed with this evaluation of ‘appropriate use.’” “ says, ‘Clearly, some fonts are just too Western, and that’s where modification…can, when done well, can be extremely useful….And yes, it’s all about appropriateness: fine to use Fake Hebrew for a deli not so fine on, say, a yellow armband. Interestingly, the spokesperson then went on to quote an article in Design Observer that the FreshDirect design team read and debated before deciding to go ahead with the chop suey/chopstick font choice. The FreshDirect creative team did not in any way intend to offend anyone with the use of the typography, which was meant to echo a classic typeface found in many menus and takeout boxes. In response, a company spokesperson sent back an email that read, in part: “Thank you for taking the time to express your thoughts and share your concerns. Yang's friend had emailed FreshDirect to complain about their "unfortunate use of stereotypical typography" and how she was “disappointed by the laziness of using an outdated and unimaginative font in the logos to advertise the ‘Orientalness’ of the cuisine." From Yang: ![]() And, apparently in an attempt to make it more authentically Asian, "Stir Fry Kits" is written in what Yang calls that "cliche fake-brushstroke 'oriental' typeface that reflexively causes many Asians to cringe," which is called "chop suey lettering" while "Dumplings" is written in what's known as "chopsticks lettering." , who writes the Tao Jones columnist for the Wall Street Journal Online, observed earlier this week that FreshDirect sent an email promoting a new line of "quick and easy" food options, Stir Fry Kits. ![]()
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