College Student Preferences for Trendy versus Classic Typefaces

Abstract

The user-generated content trend extends beyond the blogosphere and into the arenas of visual communication—particularly that of typography. Researchers have little knowledge about the implications of this typography boom, although young people today have been exposed to the user-generated trend for well over a decade. This study discerns groups of college students based on their opinions about both trendy user-generated typefaces and classic typefaces in college textbooks. Q methodology is used to collect and analyze data about typeface preference. This methodology is especially suited to preliminary research used to obtain a deeper understanding about under-explored concepts like aesthetic typographic preference. The researcher identified four distinct groups of college students based upon individual subjective preferences for classic or trendy typefaces.