Web 2.0 Fonts

i just got an email from gap today that was plastered with VAG Rounded. Also (if you’re not offended by gay publications) check out Genre magazine.

Of course this is a digression, but VAG Rounded was half of the working method behind Dead History. The other half was Centennial.

I take it you know that the V.A.G. stood for Volkswagen Automobile Gessellschaft?

These days it seems VAG Rounded is being used in pretty much every textbook for kids in kindergarten through about third grade. I don’t know if you could get your hands on any of those?

http://www.t-mobile.com/

Via Flickr tags:
VAG Rundschrift
VAG Rounded

VAG stands for “Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft”… Aktiengesellschaft, or AG, is sort of the German term for a company on the stock market. So, if you go back far enough (late 70s? 80s?) you should find VAG Rounded in VW ads or other printed material.

Ooops! Thanks Dan for the correction there. Apologies to all truly fluent German speakers out there.

I just remembered - Canadian Tire’s print campaign for their financial services uses VAG. Their website uses Futura though.

- Lex

Tate Gallery

http://www.tate.org.uk/shop/

Tate’s is not VAG, but a custom by Practise.

look at t-mobile as another current campaign in vag.

The Tate typeface was designed by Wolff Olins I believe ... it is just often customized by Practise.

> The Tate typeface was designed by Wolff Olins I believe … it is just often customized by Practise.

Afraid not… Practise designed it. The book is in my office so I can’t check, but I believe they and it feature in Type Specific: Designing Custom Fonts for Function and Identity (RotoVision) 2005

100% vag

Worth a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAG_Rounded which suggests that GE Inspira was influenced by VAG Rundschrift. Interesting comparison illustration. Might be worth a mention.

Great link.

“Many experts in brand research and graphic design believe that VAG Rounded was the inspiration…” — I think a monkey could call that one. Is this taboo comparison?

Just for the record, Zachary’s correct: I’ve messed around with the Tate font on occasion but it was designed by Miles Newlyn and Wolff Olins as part of their identity system for all the Tate galleries.

Thanks for the clarification, James. I was the misinformer.