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The article diplomatically doesn't show any examples of the terrible typography foisted on other watches, but it doesn't take much browsing around Hodinkee to f

The article diplomatically doesn't show any examples of the terrible typography foisted on other watches, but it doesn't take much browsing around Hodinkee to find examples. Like the stretched SAT DEC on this Patek Philippe: https://hodinkee.imgix.net/uploads/images/cf044e7b-7239-44a7-a3b6-ca0e0cd3d9ec/PTK-LBSF2D-4.jpg https://hodinkee.imgix.net/uploads/images/cf044e7b-7239-44a7... Or this 'Word Art meets Mickey Mouse' Omega: https://hodinkee.imgix.net/shop/images/bf1f83ff-b964-4a98-a971-68a221298d6c/OME-G14RPN-3.jpg https://hodinkee.imgix.net/shop/images/bf1f83ff-b964-4a98-a9... (edit:) Here's another good piece on the same subject: https://watchesbysjx.com/2015/08/editorial-why-fonts-and-typefaces-matter-in-watch-design.html https://watchesbysjx.com/2015/08/editorial-why-fonts-and-typ... Lots of lovely typography at the top, but search the page for "questionable" to find a real horror.

kijin 6y ago
Very few watchmakers, even at the top of the range, seem to get typography right when it comes to day/date/month windows. They just print whatever gets the information across and call it a day. At best, they might match the color and add a border around the window. It's almost as if they only care about designing the top layer of the dial. The only well-known brand that consistently seems to get it right is A. Lange & Sohne, which totally makes sense because prominent numerical displays are one of the distinguishing features of their style. Japanese brands are even worse. Take any complicated Citizen watch and you'll instantly recognize the "Eco-Drive" label in italic Arial/Helvetica with awkward kerning. Every element is printed in a random font that looks suspiciously similar to one of the Windows default fonts. The margins are all over the place, too. Seiko is somewhat better, but only because they usually don't print as many letters and numbers on the dial.
- Guest19023892 6y ago
  This article already mentions Nomos, but they always nail their date windows. https://i.imgur.com/xxsxruT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xxsxruT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/MPPtITv.jpg https://i.imgur.com/MPPtITv.jpg
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  Japanese brands are even worse. It's polarizing, but a lot of people (including me) absolutely love the "wall of unnecessary text" on some Casio models. I can't defend it on any logical level, but I'm certainly not alone. https://www.watchuseek.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=1920,fit=scale-down//media/casio-a168-a168we.14391161/full https://www.watchuseek.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror... https://bladereviews.com/images/casio/img-casio-dw-5600-01.jpg https://bladereviews.com/images/casio/img-casio-dw-5600-01.j... Take any complicated Citizen watch and you'll instantly recognize the "Eco-Drive" label in italic Arial/Helvetica with awkward kerning. I agree, and I think it's just so baffling and frustrating. Their use of solar (quartz) movements means that a lot of enthusiasts have no interest in them, but I think they make a lot of the best watches under $500USD. However that Eco-Drive logo is just so basic. A minor tweak to that Eco-Drive logo alone would do wonders for their brand, I think. I wonder if the suits in charge of Citizen realize how bad/boring that logo is. I think they honestly may be blind to it, just as Western suits might be blind to typographical issues when they look at kanji characters.
  - kijin 6y ago
    At least Casio is consistent. Notice how all the text in your photos is set in the same typeface, despite the variation in size, color, and styling. You could call it "Casio Sans". It probably comes attached to a detailed style guide. It's so much better than the soup of random fonts that Citizen and Seiko tend to use.
  - ValentineC 6y ago
    > It's polarizing, but a lot of people (including me) absolutely love the "wall of unnecessary text" on some Casio models. I can't defend it on any logical level, but I'm certainly not alone. For people who grew up wearing the famous low-cost Casio F-91W [1], I'm guessing it might have something to do with nostalgia. I know I chuckled when I clicked on those image links and saw the abovementioned "wall of unnecessary text". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W
pkd 6y ago
I love that Omega dial.
TacticalCoder 6y ago
> The article diplomatically doesn't show any examples of the terrible typography It even shows a picture of the all-so (all too?) common Rolex Submariner which bears, after decades of refinements, one of the finest typography out there IMO.
jw1224 6y ago
> 'Word Art meets Mickey Mouse' Whilst that made me chuckle, there's a lot of history behind this (very intentional) typographic style. They're called "Breguet numerals", and are much sought-after by watch collectors. I think they look gorgeous on some of these examples — https://www.italianwatchspotter.com/breguet-numerals/ https://www.italianwatchspotter.com/breguet-numerals/ — although the Omega example you gave is a slightly more contemporary interpretation of them.

kijin 6y ago

Very few watchmakers, even at the top of the range, seem to get typography right when it comes to day/date/month windows. They just print whatever gets the information across and call it a day. At best, they might match the color and add a border around the window. It's almost as if they only care about designing the top layer of the dial. The only well-known brand that consistently seems to get it right is A. Lange & Sohne, which totally makes sense because prominent numerical displays are one of the distinguishing features of their style. Japanese brands are even worse. Take any complicated Citizen watch and you'll instantly recognize the "Eco-Drive" label in italic Arial/Helvetica with awkward kerning. Every element is printed in a random font that looks suspiciously similar to one of the Windows default fonts. The margins are all over the place, too. Seiko is somewhat better, but only because they usually don't print as many letters and numbers on the dial.

Guest19023892 6y ago
This article already mentions Nomos, but they always nail their date windows. https://i.imgur.com/xxsxruT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xxsxruT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/MPPtITv.jpg https://i.imgur.com/MPPtITv.jpg
JohnBooty 6y ago
Japanese brands are even worse. It's polarizing, but a lot of people (including me) absolutely love the "wall of unnecessary text" on some Casio models. I can't defend it on any logical level, but I'm certainly not alone. https://www.watchuseek.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=1920,fit=scale-down//media/casio-a168-a168we.14391161/full https://www.watchuseek.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror... https://bladereviews.com/images/casio/img-casio-dw-5600-01.jpg https://bladereviews.com/images/casio/img-casio-dw-5600-01.j... Take any complicated Citizen watch and you'll instantly recognize the "Eco-Drive" label in italic Arial/Helvetica with awkward kerning. I agree, and I think it's just so baffling and frustrating. Their use of solar (quartz) movements means that a lot of enthusiasts have no interest in them, but I think they make a lot of the best watches under $500USD. However that Eco-Drive logo is just so basic. A minor tweak to that Eco-Drive logo alone would do wonders for their brand, I think. I wonder if the suits in charge of Citizen realize how bad/boring that logo is. I think they honestly may be blind to it, just as Western suits might be blind to typographical issues when they look at kanji characters.
- kijin 6y ago
  At least Casio is consistent. Notice how all the text in your photos is set in the same typeface, despite the variation in size, color, and styling. You could call it "Casio Sans". It probably comes attached to a detailed style guide. It's so much better than the soup of random fonts that Citizen and Seiko tend to use.
- ValentineC 6y ago
  > It's polarizing, but a lot of people (including me) absolutely love the "wall of unnecessary text" on some Casio models. I can't defend it on any logical level, but I'm certainly not alone. For people who grew up wearing the famous low-cost Casio F-91W [1], I'm guessing it might have something to do with nostalgia. I know I chuckled when I clicked on those image links and saw the abovementioned "wall of unnecessary text". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W

pkd 6y ago

I love that Omega dial.

TacticalCoder 6y ago

> The article diplomatically doesn't show any examples of the terrible typography It even shows a picture of the all-so (all too?) common Rolex Submariner which bears, after decades of refinements, one of the finest typography out there IMO.

jw1224 6y ago

> 'Word Art meets Mickey Mouse' Whilst that made me chuckle, there's a lot of history behind this (very intentional) typographic style. They're called "Breguet numerals", and are much sought-after by watch collectors. I think they look gorgeous on some of these examples — https://www.italianwatchspotter.com/breguet-numerals/ https://www.italianwatchspotter.com/breguet-numerals/ — although the Omega example you gave is a slightly more contemporary interpretation of them.