What’s your type of lover? How fonts could help you find the perfect date

Jake Wallis Simons, CNN
Updated 1:20 PM EDT, Mon June 29, 2015
If food is the language of love, what font do you use? That might sound like an impossibly multi-faceted question. But Sarah Hyndman, a British designer specializing in typography, has been researching the connection between our taste in food and our taste in fonts and, believe it or not, what this might all mean for our love lives.
Are fonts the food of love? —
If food is the language of love, what font do you use? That might sound like an impossibly multi-faceted question. But Sarah Hyndman, a British designer specializing in typography, has been researching the connection between our taste in food and our taste in fonts and, believe it or not, what this might all mean for our love lives.
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman
Some fonts, she says, are naturally associated with particular tastes or textures. She demonstrates this by making certain fonts into foods; for instance, these jellied sweets are made in the shape of the font Burlingame, which has a "jellyish" feel.
Are fonts the food of love? —
Some fonts, she says, are naturally associated with particular tastes or textures. She demonstrates this by making certain fonts into foods; for instance, these jellied sweets are made in the shape of the font Burlingame, which has a "jellyish" feel.
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman
The dignified Baskerville font was designed in 1757, which was the era in which tea became very popular in England. To reflect this history, Hyndman bakes Baskerville Earl Grey tea biscuits, which she uses in events like her <a href="http://www.londondesignfestival.com/events/typetasting-sarah-hyndman" target="_blank" target="_blank">Typetasting workshop at the London Design Festival</a>. The history of a font, she believes, influences our perception of it.
Are fonts the food of love? —
The dignified Baskerville font was designed in 1757, which was the era in which tea became very popular in England. To reflect this history, Hyndman bakes Baskerville Earl Grey tea biscuits, which she uses in events like her Typetasting workshop at the London Design Festival. The history of a font, she believes, influences our perception of it.
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman
She also bakes water biscuits in the shape of the font Helvetica. She believes that the neutrality and plainness of water biscuits closely resembles the characteristics of this "un-flashy" and functional font.
Are fonts the food of love? —
She also bakes water biscuits in the shape of the font Helvetica. She believes that the neutrality and plainness of water biscuits closely resembles the characteristics of this "un-flashy" and functional font.
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman
"Comedian, novelty, and friendly" were the words most commonly used to describe Comic Sans, the typeface everybody loves to hate.
Are fonts the food of love? —
"Comedian, novelty, and friendly" were the words most commonly used to describe Comic Sans, the typeface everybody loves to hate.
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman
Maintaining the culinary comparisons, Hyndman offered her take on a selection of corporate fonts, taken from the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Forbes top 10 list</a> of the world's most valuable brands. "The chunky but carefully sliced Nokia logo looks savory and filling," she says. "This is solid and thick sliced; the stuff of hearty sandwiches but made with machine like precision giving you the confidence that each mouthful will taste the same."
Are fonts the food of love? —
Maintaining the culinary comparisons, Hyndman offered her take on a selection of corporate fonts, taken from the Forbes top 10 list of the world's most valuable brands. "The chunky but carefully sliced Nokia logo looks savory and filling," she says. "This is solid and thick sliced; the stuff of hearty sandwiches but made with machine like precision giving you the confidence that each mouthful will taste the same."
Courtesy of ANTTI AIMO-KOIVISTO/AFPGetty Images
"The Google letters suggest a bag of home made iced gem biscuits made with the kids," she says. "Each one a small crunchy bite carefully smothered in different flavored sweet, fruity icing."
Are fonts the food of love? —
"The Google letters suggest a bag of home made iced gem biscuits made with the kids," she says. "Each one a small crunchy bite carefully smothered in different flavored sweet, fruity icing."
Courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
She even sees the CNN logo in culinary terms. "The round letters promise to be sweet with a slight crunch at the ends on first biting into it," she says. "Once the outer layer has melted a chewy inner core is revealed which gives a satisfying depth of texture."
Are fonts the food of love? —
She even sees the CNN logo in culinary terms. "The round letters promise to be sweet with a slight crunch at the ends on first biting into it," she says. "Once the outer layer has melted a chewy inner core is revealed which gives a satisfying depth of texture."
Courtesy fo Ethan Miller/Getty Images
What about the iconic IBM logo? "It layers up unexpected textures of soft minty freshness between solid layers that give it structure and create a brittle and satisfying crunch to bite into," says Hyndman.
Are fonts the food of love? —
What about the iconic IBM logo? "It layers up unexpected textures of soft minty freshness between solid layers that give it structure and create a brittle and satisfying crunch to bite into," says Hyndman.
Courtesy of Tim Boyle/Getty Images
"The free flowing letters of the Disney logo look like runny honey drizzled across the page. They look sweet and full of childhood memories of lazy summertime picnics."
Are fonts the food of love? —
"The free flowing letters of the Disney logo look like runny honey drizzled across the page. They look sweet and full of childhood memories of lazy summertime picnics."
Courtesy of Tim Boyle/Getty Images
"...and you know at a glance that the McDonald's logo tastes of melted processed cheese."
Are fonts the food of love? —
"...and you know at a glance that the McDonald's logo tastes of melted processed cheese."
Courtesy of MLADEN ANTONOVAFPGetty Images
As part of her Typetasting workshops, she creates Fortune Font Bags, which reveal a summary of your personality when opened -- along with some carefully-shaped font sweets.
Are fonts the food of love? —
As part of her Typetasting workshops, she creates Fortune Font Bags, which reveal a summary of your personality when opened -- along with some carefully-shaped font sweets.
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman
The connection between fonts and foods, she says, is not as crazy as it sounds. Consider your reaction to these different cans. What does each choice of font tell you about what they might contain?
Are fonts the food of love? —
The connection between fonts and foods, she says, is not as crazy as it sounds. Consider your reaction to these different cans. What does each choice of font tell you about what they might contain?
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman
Helvetica, which was developed in Switzerland in 1957 by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann, is the ultimate neutral font. Hyndman has carried out numerous surveys to study our responses to different fonts. The three words most associated with Helvetica are "everyman", "conventional" and "neutral".
Are fonts the food of love? —
Helvetica, which was developed in Switzerland in 1957 by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann, is the ultimate neutral font. Hyndman has carried out numerous surveys to study our responses to different fonts. The three words most associated with Helvetica are "everyman", "conventional" and "neutral".
Courtesy of Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Gill Sans, which was designed by Eric Gill in 1928, is also seen as "everyman", as well as "authoritative" and "credible". It is quintessentially British, inspired by the London Underground typeface and used by the BBC.
Are fonts the food of love? —
Gill Sans, which was designed by Eric Gill in 1928, is also seen as "everyman", as well as "authoritative" and "credible". It is quintessentially British, inspired by the London Underground typeface and used by the BBC.
Courtesy of Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Times New Roman, which was was commissioned by The Times and designed by Victor Lardent and Stanley Morison in 1932, is perceived to be "intellectual", "conventional" and "neutral". "Fonts influence our unconscious minds far more than we appreciate," Hyndman says.
Are fonts the food of love? —
Times New Roman, which was was commissioned by The Times and designed by Victor Lardent and Stanley Morison in 1932, is perceived to be "intellectual", "conventional" and "neutral". "Fonts influence our unconscious minds far more than we appreciate," Hyndman says.
Courtesy MIGUEL MEDINA/AFPGetty Images
How to find your type of lover

Story highlights

New font-based personality quiz can help you identify your perfect partner

British designer Sarah Hyndman believes our taste in fonts can be very revealing

Try the test and see if you can find your type of lover

CNN  — 

What kind of font are you? Which do you find most attractive? And how can this help with your love life?

This might sound like copy from a cheap dating website. But according to Sarah Hyndman, a British designer specializing in typography, our taste in fonts reveals more about us than we’d expect.

“Fonts form a kind of language of their own, and we are all unconsciously fluent in it,” she says when I visit her studio in Hackney, north London.

“Each font gives a different message and atmosphere, and we instinctively understand that. Typefaces have a deep significance for everyone.”

In other words, they may reveal who we really are. And what we desire.

Smelling fonts

Hyndman recently gave a lecture at the London Design Festival that explored the complex network of associations triggered by different fonts.

By way of demonstration, she lines up three bottles on the table, next to a sample of three fonts: Comic Sans, Times New Roman and Helvetica.

As bizarre as it sounds, my job is to match up the bottles and fonts using only my sense of smell.

The first bottle, when opened, smells of bubblegum. There’s no question that this is Comic Sans. The second gives out the aroma of coffee: Times New Roman. And the last one contains a neutral, Helvetica odor.

It was surprisingly easy. “More than 80% of people give the same answer,” she says. “This shows how deeply typography is embedded in our psyche.”

Hyndman is working with scientists at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University to establish the links between certain fonts and our senses, including taste, hearing and smell.

“We’ve found that rounded fonts are commonly associated with deep reds and sweet tastes,” she says.

Helvetica water biscuits
Helvetica water biscuits
Courtesy of Sarah Hyndman

“Jagged, angular typefaces evoke salty or sour tastes, and harsh sounds.

“This may be based in evolution. When our ancestors were foraging, sweet, sugary foods were the supreme energy source. And they used all their senses to identify them.”

Finding love

How can all of this be applied to the game of love?

To illustrate, Hyndman takes out another collection of props: candy bags with different fonts pinned to the outside.

This time, my job is to choose the one that best reflects my personality, and the one that would represent a desirable partner.

I think for a moment, and decide that Gill Sans is the most “me”.

Inside the bag – in addition to font-shaped candy – is a description of my personality.

“You are a traditionalist, your news comes via the BBC and you use correct grammar in texts and tweets,” it says. “Your ability to communicate clearly and in a friendly tone of voice will being future opportunities your way.”

This analysis is based on the cultural context of the Gill Sans font, which was created in 1926 by Eric Gill, who was inspired by Edward Johnston’s iconic London Underground typeface.

It was quickly adopted by British Rail and Penguin Books, as well as the BBC. So the fact that I was drawn to it, apparently, indicates that I’m an establishment kind of guy.

To which I respond: meh.

What about my ideal partner?

I dither for a moment, then plump for Caslon. It seems elegant, characterful and balanced, somehow.

The perfect type?

My ideal woman, I discover, has “strong ties to [her] home but has travel in [her] future. [She] will be influential in the Americas”. This is because Caslon, though invented in Britain in the 18th Century, became extremely popular in America.

It was Benjamin Franklin’s favorite font, and was used both on the Presidential Seal and the Declaration of Independence.

Now, my wife has no significant connections to the United States. But I do write for CNN (whose logo, Hyndman says, is “sweet with a little bit of savory, a little twist of crunch”).

Perhaps my choice of fonts actually describes my employer? Either way, it is a good idea to try out Hyndman’s online font-based personality test.

Admittedly, it’s not completely watertight. But it might just increase your chances of finding someone that is just your type.

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