Cooperstown is Matt’s own original typeface inspired by and named for Newhouse professor Brad Horn
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For my original typeface, the person assigned to me was Brad Horn, a Professor in Public Relations at Syracuse University. Initially, I met with Professor Horn over Zoom. After gathering some context to his upbringing and adult life, I narrowed down my theme centered around baseball. More specifically, vintage baseball cards and the typefaces and design often seen on Topps baseball cards. After the initial meeting, I would often follow up using email. I would send Professor Horn various baseball cards from the 1980s to identify specific typefaces that appealed to him. Before designing my typeface, I had one last meeting over Zoom with Professor Horn and a few more follow-up emails. My typeface, Cooperstown, is much inspired by my muse Brad Horn. Brad's specialties include Sports communications, public presentation, Web site management, and more. Cooperstown's main inspiration is Brad's loyalty to the game of baseball and extensive experience within Major League Baseball's corporate operations. Brad worked at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and the Assistant Director of Public Communications for the Texas Rangers. Cooperstown's design is primarily inspired by the typography used on the baseball cards that Brad collected as a kid.
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I considered typefaces from Topps Baseball Cards between the years 1980 and 1985. However, the typeface most intriguing to me was the 1984 Topps Houston Astros card because of the characters' legibility, uniqueness, and ties to Brad's Houston upbringing. The panels that I designed are inspired by the hierarchy and template design of the 1982 Topps Baseball Card. I chose to use the colors directly related to Syracuse University's colors, orange and blue, which Brad both currently teaches and attended as a student.
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To an audience that does not necessarily know the inspiration behind Cooperstown before viewing it, the typeface would portray a somewhat vintage yet modern aesthetic as well as a nostalgic yet unique feel. The typeface would likely make a person think of a time where they have seen a typeface like it before. However, my prediction would be that each person who attempts to compare Cooperstown to another typeface would find vastly different comparisons. I believe that that is what makes Cooperstown so unique. Its ability to spark memories while maintaining a never before seen, individual style.
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Two significant challenges that I faced in translating the qualities of Professor Horn's childhood interests and adult experiences into form were learning an utterly foreign software, Glyphs Mini 2, and focusing on a project over a long period while completing many other design projects simultaneously. Glyphs Mini 2 was a challenge that was not overwhelming, rather, more tedious. Learning new software for me is always a great example of the saying, "you only know what you know." I like to keep this mantra in mind while learning new design software to ground myself and remind myself that I don't know everything yet, but I am getting there. In the end, I feel that I now "know" how to use glyphs Mini 2 enough to make my typeface, but more importantly, this project put me in a proficient enough position using the software to learn on my own and "catch my own fish."