Morris Reflection

At risk of sounding dramatic, reading these two articles back to back was a roller coaster. I first read the Fast Company article that sung praise of Morris’ font experiment, without any mention of critiques on his work. I found his experiment pretty compelling; I never thought that typeface could influence a reader’s perceptions on the validity of what’s being said. I knew that typefaces are able to convey different moods and emotions, but I didn’t think to wonder if they could influence whether or not something was believed to be true.
When I read the article from Fonts in Use, I saw Morris’ experiment in a new light. I didn’t really think to be critical of it until after reading this article. I began to question why only six fonts were used, and furthermore why those specific typefaces were chosen. His justification (or lack thereof) was less than I had hoped for. I would be interested in seeing a more in depth version of this experiment with a wider variety of fonts, although that will probably never happen – at least to as wide of an audience as Morris’ experiment.