Why this font is everywhere
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- Опубликовано: 15 июн 2020
- How Cooper Black became pop culture’s favorite font.
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There’s a typeface that has made a resurgence in the last couple of years. It’s appeared on hip hop album covers, food packaging, and advertising. Perhaps you know it from the Garfield comics, Tootsie Roll logo, or the Pet Sounds album cover by the Beach Boys. It's called Cooper Black, and its popularity and ubiquity has never waned in the hundred years since it was first designed.
In the video above, Steven Heller and Bethany Heck tell the story of Cooper Black and deconstruct all the reasons it's been pop culture's favorite font for so long.
Sources:
Design literacy: Understanding graphic design. Steven Heller, 2014.
The Book of Oz Cooper: an Appreciation of Oswald Bruce Cooper. Society of Typographic Arts, 1949.
Font Review Journal: fontreviewjournal.com/cooper/
Fonts In Use: fontsinuse.com/typefaces/7357...
Letterform Archive: oa.letterformarchive.org/
Printing Films: printingfilms.com/
Museum of Printing: museumofprinting.org/
International Advertising and Design Database: magazines.iaddb.org/
Archive.org: archive.org/details/magazine_...
Cornell University Library Hip hop collection: rmc.library.cornell.edu/hipho...
Additional sources: Getty Images / Shutterstock / Google Books
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com.
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Want more? We have an entire playlist about fonts. Check out this video on the 8-bit arcade font next: bit.ly/2UMITos
I've recently discovered a few fun Instagram accounts that post pictures of Cooper Black in the wild. Here they are: @cooperblackwatch / @newyorkcooperblack / @cooperblackappreciationsociety. In addition, I've listed a handful of sources in the description, including Fonts In Use and Font Review Journal that were indispensable in researching the piece. - Estelle
as a graphic designer, yes! I can't help but recognize fonts everywhere since I started studying for graphic design. That really leaves me interested in seeing more of this! :)
@@Vox please make a video on India China border clashes right now
ᙏɾ Cσσρҽɾ, 𝓶ყ 𝜏ყρҽ⨍α𝓬ҽ ԃσҽടɳ'𝜏 ⨍ҽҽɬ ടσ ցσσԃ...
Oh my goodness, this is up my alley. I love fonts so much, I named my daughter Helvetica.
No wonder I feel compelled to start a revolution while eating Top Ramen.
😂😂😂😂
It's because if you're eating top ramen you're part of the proletariat
Now I know what font to use for my Ramenist Manifesto
¡Viva la Ramenlucíon!
😂😂😂
I'VE ALWAYS SAID THIS FONT IS EVERYWHERE, my friends said I was tripping
Send them this video. ASAP! 😉
Mee too bro
show them this video lol
If you're seeing it on the cover of 'Leonard Nimoy Presents: Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space" then you might in fact be tripping.
Well, you might have really seen it - but it doesn't mean that your weren't tripping!
Y'ALL COOPER BLACK IS THE FONT THEY USE FOR THOSE REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS...
yup I realised it while watching
WHICH REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS?
Simon Crabb those ones for kids
woah.
It gives the warmies 😊
Am i the only person that wants a series dedicated to fonts...
im here with u!
YES
I could definitely mach a few more of these :)
They have an entire playlist for fonts
There's Netflix series that covers typography in two (if I remember correctly) episodes. It's called "Abstract: the art of design". I recommend it. :)
Edit: I just checked the episodes list to remind myself... There's one episode "Typeface" about typography and another one "Graphic Design", which is pretty similar.
Episode 1021 of: “Things I don’t really need to know but glad to know otherwise”
*anyway
The number one purpose of the internet if we're being honest.
@@alphabrainwave thanks for telling me that I should sleep now
I have an entire playlist worth of videos like that, you can check it out
Edit: I'm refering to "the videos that i learned something from"
@@p_dusty5451 Thanks!
Hearing passionate experts in something like font is so interesting. No one else will say "let me show you one of my favorite wood letter stamps." These people know a lot about their subject because they like it.
Dylan Dreisbach you should watch the series abstract on netflix, especially the one about typeface, its interesting and of people like that. people talking about their passions is always interesting
You could say that they're very font of it.
There’s an entire documentary on Helvetica
@@alphabrainwave I'm offronted by this pun
@ Dylan -- this is why expertise still matters....
Cooper Black font is everywhere, but I'm not tired looking at it.
Yeah, unlike _comic sans..._
@@mackattack9650 It's strange how well it works. I kinda wanna font tier list now
Add Helvetica to that list.
just like Helvetica!
@Octavio Di Gianni But better.
I love the phrase “it was an immediate hit” when talking about a font
I DonT gEt It. PLeaSe ExPlain And DonT R/woooosh.
@@yasminalothman7926 Because old fonts and letterings were made as the metal and wooden stamp things shown in the video ( 2:18 I think). So it’s literally a hit when you type or stamp with the letter.
@@silversunset Thanks Diamond!
Wanted to like your comment but 555 is simply too perfect
I’m so disappointed that the end card wasn’t written on CooperBlack
Haha same
They had an opportunity
Mighty Purplelicious opportunity squandered
𝐓𝐡𝗶𝘀?
@Kikara Fonts art , an app
make one on why comic sans is meme culture's favorite font
It's not precisely a "why" video, but VSauce has a "defense of comic sans" video that explores it's history and how it reached today's popularity. You might like it.
what about impact tho
*A poem* This letter style of 'Cooper' it's a real old super trooper, its just the font we want, and who knew we'd be watching this today, its not a disappointment! The end :) Im a poet don't cha know it, a bad one! Ha
@@MinhNguyenminhja Impact is more likely seen on highway signs
Cause they're filthy degenerates
My type 1 professor hated how often I used cooper black because I “wasn’t challenging myself enough”. It’s just such a cool, fun typeface and works in so many different situations.
Well the irony is golden right here
5:34 it looked the letter 'e' gave me a warm smile.
This may be the only font that fits on a newspaper, store front, album cover and packet of ramen at the same time.
Edit: take a joke
Packet of ramen*
and a tombstone...?
No no no no. You're wrong.... Comic sans fits on everything...
Matteosoder I hope your joking. I sincerely hope so.
Saint Herip Erm... I guess..
To me this font has always looked somewhat retro, like 70's or 80's.
There is a specific font that is very typically used in the 1970s which has the real oversized long grounded seraphs at the bottom like bellbottoms and the top so much more narrow. You’d recognize it in an instant if you saw it.
I always thought it must have been designed in the 1960s as it was so widely used then, so it was interesting to learn that that was its second wave of popularity. And yes, it's fascinating how typography fashion can follow clothing fashion so closely!
(BTW, it's "serifs" - "seraphs" are a kind of angel.)
@@SWLinPHX Bookman Swash
I thought the same
Yeah ikr
Shoutout to the motion graphics animator on this episode. Your work is gorgeously seamless.
0:56 these are all things we love...must be Cooper Black
Colin and Samir!!!!!!
Vox reporter: forgets to bring their phone when going to the toilet
*a week later*
WHY SHAMPOO BOTTLES LIST A LOT OF INGREDIENTS
This comment is underrated
Why do all bathroom tiles have the same patterns?
Arron Caja Lol you’re thinking overrated. He means the comment should blow up more
After watching this, I will be seeing Cooper Black everywhere as I see Helvetica everywhere as well.
Helvetica will most likely be the winner
I see Helvetica everywhere as well.😊
The thing is, a lot of "helvetica" you see isn't actually real Helvetica, it's Arial. Arial is a Helvetica knock-off that comes with every copy of Windows. Because Microsoft didn't want to pay the costs of licensing Helvetica from Linotype. Apple MacOS comes with Helvetica as standard though.
I know Aerial is popular too. I worked at a Copy & Print Center for over 10 years. Lots of Word documents used Helvetica and Arial.
Michael Turner thing is, I know how to tell them apart.
It's also worth mentioning that Cooper Black is included as a default font with a ton of Microsoft Office products which is probably partially why it's still used so widely today
I never imagine that a font will be this interesting.
I went and downloaded this font after watching this video.
I remember finding this font/similar font in PowerPoint and I thought “ah, finally a refreshing font to use.” until I saw this. it’s everywhere, but it’s so everywhere you just don’t notice it.
I'm a graphic designer and I always notice it lol
Are you talking about Comic Sans? 😂
Frank Ocean fans are disappointed that channel ORANGE wasn't seen here
I ain't disappointed cuz I'm not like the other oversensitive fans
Boys Teacher congrats?
Boys Teacher wow. you dropped this 👑
@@boysteacher3818 PERIODDDDDDD
how coincidental that i indeed am a frank ocean fan and indeed disappointed that channel orange wasnt seen there
i love how when talking about the letter O, their first example was the word *POOP*
I just had a phobic anxiety attack and this helped me forget about what I was thinking. Very nice and calm editing.
Me: I have to study
Vox: Do you want to know stuff about a font?
Me: Thats all I've ever wanted
@@brycemurphy2100 idk about them but we're in the mid year exam period right now at my uni (australia)
@@brycemurphy2100 summer courses oof
Lol :)
@@brycemurphy2100 final exams
Germany here: got to study for exams that got postponed because of corona
I took a graphic design class in hs and we learned a lot why helvetica is so popular
but this... this is biblical
What does it mean?
L A M O N A D E what does what mean? Helvetica?
Biblical? I'm sorry my first language isn't English
L A M O N A D E biblical as in pertaining to the Bible, it’s an exaggeration/ expression when something is amazing, grand or divine
Yeaah, thank u so much
Cooper black is one of my favorite fonts! after knowing its history, I appreciate it even more now! This video is so well made. Good job, Vox!
same
Cooper black is my favorite ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how artsy this vid was created? Perfectly suiting theme for the topic.
The editing and presentation of Vox is amazing as always
So trueeee
Agreed
Editor "Give me words that have letter Os in it?"
Someone: *"Poop"*
Editor: *"Perfect!"*
6:14
💩
or.... WHOOOOSHHHHHHHH
@@defotalha excuse me, what?
@@jermafan whoooooosshhhhhh has o's in it.. And of course... /whoooooosshhhhhh XD
@@defotalha ohh, lol i see
The letter that shows just how fun and functional Cooper Black has to be is the O:
POOP
Not sure I would want that anywhere near the phrase "fun and functional" *shudder*
Me, a graphic design lover and major: y e s
"anthropomorphic quality - it looks like a duck"
hm...
"Zoomorphic" would've probably been a better choice.
Or just "organic"
Does it quack like a duck? Maybe... maybe it's a duck you guys.
I thought they were gonna say it looks like it has an eye and a smile. But nope, they went with a duck...
"It looks like a snail. Weird."
Vox giving us the answers we didn’t know we needed.
Just.. beautiful. The editing, the story telling, the content. Beautiful!
I’m pretty sure I have seen ABC magnets in this font too, meaning it is one of the first fonts kids learn to read their letters and numbers in!
some people know this as cooper black, I know it as the Odd Future font.
I thought of it as the Dad's Army font, after the 1970s sitcom.
we get it, you think you have a unique music taste. Take your GOLF clothing and go 😂
@@xcx000 i don't think i have a unique music taste, nor do I have any golf clothes, just because i've liked a music group in the past doesn't make me a fan at all. it's honestly very rude for you to come at me like this smh
@@chrisc5094
Welcome to RUclips.
Yes!!!
I always thought the ramen font should be Times New Ramen.
Nice one 😁🖒
🤣🤣🤣
Yeah it should
There's a font named Times New Ramen actually, It's like the ramen, twisted version of the original Times New Roman font.
Clap
The effort that goes into the visuals for these videos is amazing. Always quality
I loved this video, probably because I love letters. Typography is such a subtle art that so few recognize even though they may see it every day. I'm definitely looking forward to viewing all of your font videos. Many thanks!
I was really interested in this video until a few minutes in when i realized, its 5am and im watching a video about fonts.
Designers: *JOIN US*
India it's 6.57pm
@@harithakt8890 I miss India.
Lol 😂 I hear You! I couldn’t pass this video by without watching. Compelling viewing of niche information ℹ️ More intellectually stimulating than watching reality shows I guess 😉🙂✌️✅
same but 3am so far. "so you're saying there's a chance of sleep?"
I'm really starting to like Estelle as a video creator, her sense of "interesting" and general taste seem to line up with mine very neatly. :-)
Oh yeah, definitely the inadequate white person who needs to find something obscure to obsess over to feel fulfilled. A very common occurrence found all over the Western hemisphere
O K
K racist. Bye bye
@@Vanguardkl Boomer
@@Vanguardkl New heights of sensitivity are being reached. Keep climbing, godspeed.
I absolutely _adore_ these mini documentaries about typefaces. Please do more!
major props to the animation and editing of the video -- so informative, precise, and convincing
its my fave font, but we dont use it that often in Poland bc it does not have polish signs
Czyżby? W latach 70tych i 80tych była bardzo powszechna np. plakaty filmowe, kolorowe magazyny itd. 😉
to racja, ale teraz np. w wordzie nie napiszesz ,ą’ i to często sprawia, że czcionki się nie używa :3
@@lurji Whatever lol... Why would anyone even care? 😉😎
What’s weird is that on an english keyboard on iPhone you can type every Polish letter such as ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż and ź but not ą.
@@jeshkam usydywh ustshha uteddrh yrrua :3
the editing is everything.
I love how with old footage from the 50s it feels like there’s a film reel for just about anything
Oh man, this kind of video is so satisfying to watch. Love design and typeface specifically, so this is wonderful.
Vox: Why this font is everywhere
Me: InTeReStIng
lol
Haha
mood 😂
Twoset?
Indeed it's intersting for me lol
Vox: what can we do to illustrate the weird O?
6:15 POOP
ah yes, "cooper black"
or as my friends call it
"The Odd Future font"
change friends
@@futrey9353 Keep your friends
I call it the Goblin font
"The old timey chocolate font"
@@ticklemytush same thing
What a fantastic video. I loved learning about one of my favorite typefaces! Thank you all so much!
Me: Oh, I've seen it recently... I wonder where.... uhm... * I look down, it's the font of the t-shirt I'm wearing RIGHT NOW *
Marina, formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds came out with "Electra Heart" in 2012 also using the Cooper Black font!
Which is how I recognize the font 🤣I remember making a bunch of fan edits on 2012 with this font.
Came here to make this comment. I’m glad someone else did!
yesssss! i was just about to say
oh my god I clicked on this video just because of that!
A fellow diamond! What’s uuuuuup?!
Ive never really been that much into fonts, but I enjoyed everything about this essay. good job! :)
Thank you, Vox, for continuing on making the content I love!
It's so interesting that something like font can have so much history and significance and The Vox is so passionate about random things lol
Me: *has to study, watches a video about type face*
Also me: *is studying to be a graphic designer so this is technically studying*
I've been using this font in my designs because it is generally pleasing and easy to use. I did not know that it was designed that way!
I’m an artist and I wish I could understand this stuff as well as GD majors! It’s Greek to me 😤
@@gremlinwithstickyhands3704 I've actually seen my personal art improve a lot while studying gd!!! It's a hard trade to get into with all the programs and terminology but I've found it so worth it :D
Same
This was a great dive into the history of that type font. Thank you for inspiring me to use it for my project.
As a print operator and graphic designer, I could nerd out about this all day!! Love this!! Great work Estelle!
It might just be me but I always misread the font as “Copper Black” instead of *Cooper Black*
Omg same
samee
This lockdown is giving Vox some weird ideas, and I'm loving it.
Visual component and editing is great. It was a pleasure to watch.
these design videos are always a treat
I dream to create visuals on my channel like vox, I love the way their edit their videos, especially the motion graphics, it’s like having a eyegasm
haha ya thats truee,, u seem passionate abt it !!! well good luck with that mate' hope u manage to don it :)
Abeni Louisa ohh I will, just check my channel out
they seem so fluid and seamless. their graphics are the reason why their videos are more interesting to watch. Best of luck to you for your dream
After looking at your channel I think upgrading you mic should be a priority.
Theft yes indeed
one of my favorite fonts, odd future introduced me to it
This is a beautifully made video vox, awesome work
Cooper Black has also been used as the credit font for TV series such as "M*A*S*H", "The Odd Couple", "The Price is Right", "Romper Room", the british sitcom "Dad's Army", "The Bob Newhart Show", "Soap" and its spin-off "Benson", "Diff'rent Strokes", the closing credits of "Good Times" (the final season), "Sanford", "Cheers", "Valerie" (season 2), “Eek! Stravaganza” (the 5th and final season), "Everybody Hates Chris", "What's Happening Now!!!" a sitcom sequel of the 1970's sequel "What's Happening!!", the 1992 "Married... with Children short-lived spin-off "Vinnie & Bobby", "Louie", "The Problem Solverz", "Derek", "F is for Family", the italian dub of "Spongebob Squarepants", "The Conners" (in addition to being the logo font for parent series "Roseanne") and "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh".
I've legit been looking for this font for my thumbnails and Vox just made a whole video for it. Thank you.
I figured this out when I needed to steal the font from the Brothers album cover as a 14 year old and realized Cooper Black was pretty much the 4th place font to Times New Roman, Arial, and Helvetica
Love the expanding animation. Great doc. A+
The editing is beautiful.
Steven Heller and Bethany Heck? That has to be an intentional selection.
Just a happy accident.
I recently digitalized a typeface that was otherwise lost in history. There is another version of it, but it's not the original, and I wanted the original. So I took a photo of my design-book where the typeface was featured. I cleaned it up in Photoshop and used Fontself to make it a digital font. The original is by a danish architecture called Gunnar Biilmann Petersen. *_You should really do a video on this typeface_* using old pictures and stuff because it's amazing, and I feel like it needs to see the light of day, again.
I absolutely loved this video. So interesting and super entertaining to watch!
Loved how you guys edited this video! :)
Yep. I love Cooper Black. It's one of the fonts that I know by name when I see it.
love this series 🤩🥰
cool
@@RobertNeDlroAGREED
Thank you Vox, you are the star of my RUclips favorite list, great video!
This is fascinating. Keep up the great work
As a child in the late 80's I had a set of this font for a toy alphabet kind of thing. It was a little magnetic desktop on a hinge and inside the desk was all the Cooper Black letters in bright colors with tiny magnets set into them. Calling this font ubiquitous is an understatement.
Genuinely happy to see a video about my favourite font
great little video! Who would have thought a video on Cooper Black would be so intresting.
As a Canadian, it was the "Roots" font to me until now. 😲
i immediately looked down at my sweatpants and i was like :O
I honestly love the Cooper Black font. It’s everywhere but I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that until watching this video. It’s a naturally satisfying font.
This is a really fun video concept and it led me to the Font Review Journal website, which is equally interesting. I love Vox videos that explain the history and context of little things that are everywhere in our world but fade into the background.
You went on a walk a few days ago and that's the quality of video yall produced?! That's incredible!!
Typography is so interesting!
Pet Sounds is one of the best albums of all time
Agreed
No, Sgt Pepper's is. Change my mind.
@@qfdhvhjj7487 sgt. Pepper's is great too, but I prefer Pet Sounds. For some reason my soul seems to love the music of the Beach Boys.
@@qfdhvhjj7487 Sgt Pepper's wouldn't exist without Pet Sounds. McCartney and George Martin said as much
@@cabben7310Revolver was more a response to Pet Sounds than Sgt. Sgt Pepper would have eventually happened, with or without the Corny Boys.
I absolutely loved this video!
I own a few of Steven Heller’s
books and find typography to
be an art form of great cultural
importance!!
I love being made aware of things like that. Things that are so ubiquitous that I don't bother to think about them at all, but actually have supremely interesting stories behind them (Like the monobloc chair) - Thanks Vox!
I clicked instantly because of Pet Sounds tbh
@@qfdhvhjj7487 Only because he didn't release Smile in time. Would've turned the music world on its ear!
..Revolver is a stronger album than Pepper anyway.
I think I'm falling in love with this font
This was so engaging for something I had never known or cared about before
Beautifully produced video, enjoyed it very much!
"A typeface doesn't reach it's full potential until it is put into somebody else's hands." Wow. Okay. Worldview adjusted. Thank you.
Also, this video is packed with so many cool poster and covers and generally pieces of good art. I was pausing at like, each second to take in the art on the screen. Great Job Vox!
Atleast it's not Comic Sans
If so, then that would be a cast-astropy HA!
HiiighAsAKite it’s also great for non-English students trying to learn English.
what's wrong with comic sans???
Hey, comic sans is great for comics. Blame the misusers not the font 😜
Exactly!!
I dig EVERYTHING about this! LOVE Steven Heller! LOVE Cooper Black! LOVE listening to people passionate abt type!
THANK YOU i always thought everyone just used this typeface because it's pretty- which it is, but the history and the little details always got me curious