The power of typography | Mia Cinelli | TEDxUofM

What do the Empire State Building, the iPhone, and Times New Roman have in common? They were all designed. Artist and designer Mia Cinelli opens our eyes to the decisions designers make in the world of typography and reveals how these decisions impact our daily lives.
Mia Cinelli is an Assistant Professor of Art & Design and the Director of the Women’s Commission Art Gallery at Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. After studying Graphic Communication at Northern Michigan University, Mia earned her MFA in Art and Design at the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art & Design. She is passionate about design, education, and the ways in which creative practices can engender positive experiences and social change.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@miacinelli]

Hi y’all! Thanks for your very kind words on my TEDx Talk! If you want to know more about typography, I just wrote a book called “Giving Type Meaning: Context and Craft in Typography” published by Bloomsbury Visual Arts. Considering the social, spatial, and temporal contexts of visual language- and featuring *incredible* work from contributing artists, designers, and organizations- this book serves to inform how and why we understand what type communicates within the expanded field of art and design. 😊

[@cheese497]

I am a Graphic Designer and one of the few things i struggle the most in the subject is understanding the typography. Your TEDx Talk helps makes things clear. I will for sure be buying your book.

[@EllyValentini]

Theres no way she didn't do theater. Such a good speaker xD Graphic design is a super power, but its also a curse. Like she said, bad Typography/ design can really hurt your soul. lol

[@melannierivera7064]

Taking typography I this semester, I think this tedTalk pretty much covered the basics very well. Thank you for the info

[@srushtisakhare2029]

are there any short term courses like 2-3 months of typography?

[@MrTridac]

She's so right about that "superpower". I was at a funeral once, and I couldn't stop my brain from focusing on the fonts on the grave stones.

[@ivanavalos3911]

Comic Sans MS

[@071949]

Interesting discussion. I learned to write in cursive as a 7-year-old in the mid 1950s. Mia's "Fayette" looks almost exactly like the way were taught to form the letters.

[@vickryfadillah]

she's the coolest speaker i ever watch in TEDx

[@yvettedean92]

I’m beginning to learn typography and this woman’s passion is really giving me excitement about this subject. Typography is really cool 😎

[@AndrewKolb101]

I really enjoyed this, my father and Grandfather both were in the International Typographical Union (ITU) and they mainly dealt with newspaper printing presses and were not typesetters but the process and the ability for written communication has always fascinated me.

[@KrishnaLohra]

As a junior designer, this talk really helped me be a little more interested in typography! Thanks TEDx and Mia!

[@Cre-Art]

Very cool video. I used to design type when I was a kid-not really thinking about what I was doing, it was just fun. And: it was (yes) before PCs existed. So here I am, decades later, at the beginning phase of designing typography t-shirts. I never actually designed a typeface (well done on that!) but enjoy learning all I can about type and how to use it creatively to get the effects I want. Thank you very much for the fun, educational talk. :)

[@kirsten1301]

Great video and I loved her sense of humor!

[@augustuscaeser8939]

shes an amazing speaker

[@DarrylMiglio]

Her talk and the typeface instantly transformed me back to the town of Fayette.

[@mmafightcoach]

Brilliant! Going to use this information when designing websites now.

[@nikkiknutson2846]

Amazing talk! Thank you!

[@emstrazz]

This is awesome, Mia! Congratulations!

[@priscillaknight4678]

Wow, this was awesome! She spoke great and made this Tedx Talk fun and inviting!

[@Mahlercougar]

Ive been a FONTOHOLIC ever since I was a little girl in the early 80's. To this day Im still fascinated by FONTS... I created my own personal fonts for my(PC) MS Word and Open office and Im going to be making a few more after seeing this video *giggles*

[@ryanbrandt6589]

Amazing talk Mia! I was in Mr. Stewart's class probably with you, I remember those bird lectures and outings clearly to this day! I'm giving a TedxNMU talk next Saturday, I hope mine is half as good as yours!

[@danieltv5505]

bro facts I was there too

[@biglloyd5870]

@@danieltv5505 you too bro?

[@azur7362]

@@biglloyd5870 Yea I remember that class, good times

[@AubreySciFi]

Nice work Mia. An entertaining and informative talk. Thanks!

[@ivanavalos3911]

0:47 If my typography-obsessed eyes don't lie, that "Typography" is written with either Montserrat or Gotham.

[@toma4474]

Iván Ávalos It’s 100% Gotham light and no way Montserrat. Gotham is my favorite font. I don’t like the light weight tho. Gotham is kinda overused in slideshows and online tutorials these days. It’s very wide font which takes a lot of space which is a common trait of rounded fonts. But Gotham doesn’t has rounded ends. My another favorite fonts would be century gothic. Favorite serifs are Garamond, A1 Mincho. My favorite rounded font is Df Maru Gothic which is a good alternative for Naru(ナール). It’s not popular as shin Maru Gothic but I like it better. Favorite free fonts: M+ font, Futura.

[@Daltic639]

11 years ago I was blessed (cursed?) with the type eye from my first graphic design teacher, great lecture.

[@cliffe02]

So interesting and entertaining, Mia. Thank you so much for the talk, 'magnifique' as they say in Paris :)

[@soniaaroraa2404]

Wow...So enthusiastic and eye opening for new cover like me

[@JairoSaysHi]

This was so great! Glad Mia was able to inject some humour into that. The babysitter bit had me cracking up

[@vijayarya9528]

Thank you all very much

[@dud4064]

awesome ted talk Mia

[@Mogwai88]

Beautiful heartfelt talk

[@pankajsinghgusain199]

this is a great talk

[@erikmiehling7413]

Very entertaining and informative!

[@ridayshah1549]

Amazing Talk!

[@iakanshasoni]

As a designer wherever I go, I look at the typography and think why a specific typography is used. (Even in the restaurants menu😆)

[@yogendrasinh]

The title of the video should be "Introduction to typography", it's very basic and presented well.

[@carlagcortes]

Wonderful!

[@swapnilsambhav1069]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing

[@alefalefalef1]

This was like a college education in 12 minutes.

[@shobhitsadwal756]

this is a great comment.

[@yellooh]

Very articulate & a great presenter too not to mention public speaker. Talents & gifts a plenty. Could have made it either way.

[@amirann123]

Excellent talk, to make people aware of the power of typeface choices. One correction: on the sentence you misspelled “lazy dog” and please fix it for the future!!!

[@benw9949]

I am looking for that Fayette typeface. :D -- Also, I wonder what some type designers have against bold italics.

[@josephjayeoba7985]

Can someone please name the fonts she used for authoritative, Honest, Organic, Friendly and childlike

[@anshsakhare4541]

I don't understand the yellow bellied flicker part? What is the change?

[@jyotsna1104]

That babysitter's example 😂

[@greaterthanaccra]

What's the name of the microphone she's using.

[@maxturpin5563]

Wow this is super informative! Interesting how deep and complex it is to get a type kit to work together in a natural and flowing way with so many combonations of text. Also wild that simple kerning and letter postioning can have great effect on how a user percives a certain font or how readable it might be, would love to hear about more of these complex fonts and how they were made, anyone know of any ?

[@biebskidrauhl3694]

Amazing

[@therandomyou]

Amazing Still its relevant in 2022

[@ChristianJiang]

Very interesting speech

[@pranaytony]

You are an amazing speaker! Cool Session on Typography!☺️😊👍👌

[@vervegrande]

Someone didn't notice the sound design.

[@jenelchandler6761]

GOOD JOB

[@loweni7460]

9:16 Sign language girl going at it XD

[@3-y86]

awesome

[@patrickmccormack4318]

"You can't have something for nothing Zaphod." - Humma Kavula

[@SohelPatelDesigns]

best moment 8:20

[@chiragpandav4360]

💗

[@vovalyashenko4890]

12:11 is it a fake laugh?

[@aimandaud644]

I didn't. Get "Yellow bellied flicker" joke..can someone explain please.🙈

[@aimandaud644]

@Natalie Barr oh yes... Thank u for your reply 😂😂

[@shreeyasuhag1007]

👏

[@generalkenobi6869]

Can’t focus on anything she’s saying because of the messed up mic. Hope it gets better later in the video

[@bakhtinur_um]

Sister gap yo'q sizga.

[@pinkmagicali]

I am reading a book that’s making me wonder if there is a be all and end all font. One that works everywhere.

[@TangoIndiaMike144]

replying to your comment in case anyone drops some pearls of wisdom here ;)

[@danielvanginkel7081]

Some consider Helvetica to be this, due to it's well balanced proportions and readability. You could literally use this on both a Christmas card and a tombstone without it looking out of place or ironically used.

[@roseplayz1606]

I love typography. But don't know how to use it

[@mohammadmahrus4926]

please help, what font she used in example "authroritative" she talk about at the middle? please contact me or reply me if you know thanks brother and sister

[@robjanssen7420]

I can't find an exact match with WhatTheFont, but try either "Doctor Cyclops" by Haiku Monkey or "Raleigh Gothic" by Morris Fuller Benton. Check MyFonts.

[@KyleLi]

Show this video to the next person you see use comic sans. Don't forget to slap them before that.

[@olympicsongcontest7117]

Also don't forget to slap them with the device you were watching this on

[@jenng6347]

Be sure to research the history of Comic Sans - why it was developed, how it came to be, and how it became a System Font. The takeaway is that Comic Sans was developed for a very specific end use. In talking about "what's a good typeface" and "what's a bad typeface," it's important to understand the context and the usage. So many people poo poo on Comic Sans, but it's important to know its history and efficacy for specific uses. It's not for every application, as Mia mentions in her talk about type usage, but it does serve as an important typeface for people with dyslexia, people in prisons (to help lighten the mood), and for children. Think twice before dis'ing Comic Sans!

[@tonys490]

These are basics of graphic design , how is this even on ted talk ?? Omg

[@Bananapocalypse]

Might be new for non-designers or students beginning design. Even though I knew the stuff already, I enjoyed it.

[@hansdailyfashion]

Almost stopped watching because the mic puffing noise irritated me. Good thing I continued to the end!

[@MsPlymouthkid]

She should do comedy stand-ups.

[@danielf950]

Informal, but informative.

[@Daniel-qo9uv]

me too is typography as a UI / UX designer

[@swschilke]

Audio is messed up, loads of pops and Sibilance, hurts my ears Content is okay

[@supramayro5388]

No Concursos Ingleses y Londreseado

[@razvanluscov8517]

Kerning? Then wtf is tracking? Ted spectacular but superficial and the people invited medium level. Otherwise not bad, but could be better. Go to proffesional sites like atypl conferences on youtube, or written works.

[@tharii314]

12:12 Laughughughughugh

[@mp3am306]

im drowning

[@annie3723]

wait howd she know

[@ajdhowk4447]

took me 1 minute to finally get what's wrong with that bird's name

[@bunwithgun1587]

I mean, I think most people have enough common sense to not use a "bloody" font to advertise a baby sitting business lol. I really don't think we need an expert to point that out..

[@RedCrimsonRed]

i dont care

[@igbamosupaulzini8397]

Love u mia pls I want to follow u on instagram

[@clutchymunchy9053]

rip king von smh

[@godissalwaysmyrighthandthk6945]

오직 PuTa 전화 MiA BadeofwordsujUst pin göstərdi

[@posbanner6694]

Uptalk...massively uptalking

[@clockworkorange1756]

Is she high on sugary soda?

[@maryj.clutterbuck8630]

Overanalyzing every image and word and style you get me.

[@Voltage343]

This typography class is soooo not for me

[@charliefinch8811]

am i the only one who found her so unfunny it was hard to watch the video

[@srishtichaudhary3580]

yes, you are the only one

[@srishtichaudhary3580]

@Trooth Only op is talking about her being unfunny 🤷‍♀️. Do the math.

[@srishtichaudhary3580]

@Trooth I did do the math. The two of you are the exception.

[@timshaw390]

Great talk, loved every second of it. BUT the irony of the kerning on your first slide is a bit of a mess - "in my humble opinion" it read. T y pography.