Find this font (please!)

March 30, 2006 8:11 AM

Can anyone identify the font used in this logo? (image inside)

I need to make some changes to this logo but the original design company doesn't seem that interested in getting back to me now that I have paid them. I don't know if the 185 and Creative are the same or different fonts. Any help would be appreciated. I found a few that came close on my Mac but not exact...I think these might be italized versions of a font but even accounting for that I don't seem to have it on my system.

posted by UMDirector to media & arts (13 answers total)

Have you tried WhatTheFont?
posted by pmbuko at 8:18 AM on March 30, 2006

See.
Also.
posted by grateful at 8:19 AM on March 30, 2006

i would also try Identifont.

before you try whatthefont or identifont you may want to remove the graphic "swoosh" and separate the '185' from the 'Creative' and upload them separately.
posted by freudianslipper at 8:31 AM on March 30, 2006

Basic Commercial LT Black Italic

Is what WhatTheFont gave me for the letters. Its VERY close but not exact. Although I am still impressed by how well it works once I cropped out the graphics.
posted by UMDirector at 8:33 AM on March 30, 2006

Well, the word "Creative" is almost certainly a semi-bold version of Myriad (perhaps Myriad Pro) that has been artificaially italicized. That is to say, the artist set the text in a non-italic Myriad and then mechanically slanted it (using the Shear tool in Illustrator, for instance) Pretty damn lazy artist, if you ask me.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:50 AM on March 30, 2006

It's also mechanically extended, unfortunately; notice that the strokes are a bit wider on the sides than top and bottom. Too bad the "creative" who came up with this logo was so typographically unsophisticated to do that (and to letterspace the lowercase fake italic / oblique below!).

Try condensing it back to its original width and Identifont may have more luck.

Alternatively, the folks here will ID it for you.
posted by luriete at 9:08 AM on March 30, 2006

Why not just change the font? If you used a "1" with an angled serif, it wouldn't look so much like a little "7".
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:23 AM on March 30, 2006

That difference in thicknesses between upper/lower and side strokes is natural and part of the design of the font. Rarely are the strokes equal thicknesses. It's an optical thing.
As an experiment, I set the word "Creative" in Myriad Pro Semibold. Then used the shear tool to manually italicize it. I think it's a good match.



posted by Thorzdad at 9:23 AM on March 30, 2006

Yes, sometimes stroke widths vary, but here, due to the curve of the counter / bowl being as long as it is, I'm pretty certain this is a mechanical extension.
posted by luriete at 9:31 AM on March 30, 2006

i agree, 'Creative' does look mechanically extended.
posted by freudianslipper at 9:47 AM on March 30, 2006

it has been mechanically extended (see: width of vertical strokes versus horizontal ones and distortion of curves). if the 8 is any indication, this started life as microgramma or eurostile extended, but was more than likely customized.
posted by patricking at 10:48 AM on March 30, 2006

So I have decided to just go with a font that is close. I found a few on various websites (including the above mentioned ones). I believe you guys are 100% correct that it was mechanically extended so I am never going to find a perfect match! Thanks for saving me the pain of spending time looking for an exact match! Next time I will have to use a local artist for my stuff not a website (no matter what Wired may say!). FYI in case anyone is wondering I used thelogocompany.com
posted by UMDirector at 11:13 AM on March 30, 2006

Next time I will have to use a local artist for my stuff not a website

I think this is the most important lesson you can learn. 99% of the companies that do logos online are untalented thieving hacks who charge absurdly low prices for absurdly terrible work. Oh also it's definitely a tweaked Eurostile Bold Extended.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:00 PM on March 30, 2006