The "visual onomatopoeia" for words like sizzling, hot, chilly, etc.
January 7, 2015 7:13 PM Subscribe
Sometimes, on restaurant menus or in other media that I'm not recalling at the moment, the text styling will reflect the meaning of the word. Examples off the top of my head: sizzling, hot, chilly. Here's an example in an advertisement. What would you call this phenomenon? The most apt description I can come up with is visual onomatopoeia, but is there a better word for this?
Representative typography.
posted by John Cohen at 7:21 PM on January 7, 2015
posted by John Cohen at 7:21 PM on January 7, 2015
Decorative or display fonts is probably too broad, but it covers these.
posted by klangklangston at 7:39 PM on January 7, 2015
posted by klangklangston at 7:39 PM on January 7, 2015
Figurative typography.
posted by nanook at 7:59 PM on January 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by nanook at 7:59 PM on January 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Here's a debate about the name which includes the charming coinage "fontomatopoeia."
posted by Miko at 3:40 PM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Miko at 3:40 PM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
― Massimo Vignelli
I always think of it as "barking" text, because of this quote. Just a personal thing, not a recognized phrase.
posted by Juliet Banana at 7:16 PM on January 7, 2015 [7 favorites]