Q 01/05

Which typeface, drawn by Chris Costello in 1982, did a Saturday Night Live sketch mock for its use in Avatar?

A) Lithos

B) Papyrus

C) Herculanum

D) Bradley Hand

Answer · why

B) Papyrus

Papyrus earned Costello just $750 when he sold the rights, although it has shipped on almost every personal computer since 1997. Ryan Gosling starred ...

Q 02/05

Which casual typeface did Microsoft's Vincent Connare model on the lettering of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns?

A) Chalkboard

B) Marker Felt

C) Kristen ITC

D) Comic Sans

Answer · why

D) Comic Sans

Comic Sans was drawn for the speech bubbles of the cartoon guides in Microsoft Bob, but it was finished too late to be included. CERN physicists later...

Q 03/05

Which Reed College course, audited by Steve Jobs after he left his degree, did he credit for the Mac's many typefaces?

A) Calligraphy

B) Letterpress

C) Sign painting

D) Typesetting

Answer · why

A) Calligraphy

Calligraphy at Reed was taught by Robert Palladino. Jobs later said that without that single course the Mac would never have had multiple typefaces or...

Q 04/05

In the typographic term 'sans-serif', the word 'sans' is borrowed from which language, where it means 'without'?

A) Latin

B) Dutch

C) French

D) German

Answer · why

C) French

French supplies the 'sans', while 'serif' is of uncertain origin and may come from the Dutch word schreef, meaning a line or pen-stroke.

Q 05/05

Which Swiss typeface, first sold as Neue Haas Grotesk, was later renamed using the Latin word for 'Swiss'?

A) Helvetica

B) Univers

C) Frutiger

D) Haas Unica

Answer · why

A) Helvetica

Helvetica beat the first suggestion, Helvetia, which a sewing machine maker and an insurance company were already using. A 2007 documentary film marke...