In the words of Beth Harmon “Let’s Play”
Okay first of all I’d like to acknowledge that I have not been doing this since 2018, so about 3 years have gone by since I’ve published anything here. This is enough time to realize I’d like to write more, look at more titles and analyze more typefaces. More, more and more... So let me jump right into it.
This year I would like to start with a banger series from last year. 62 million views in the first month. Costume and production design deserving an Emmy nomination. And a new title designer crush.
All that is The Queen’s Gambit.
The Queen’s Gambit end title sequence
I truly could write about this show for paragraphs and paragraphs on without ever finding an end. If I was in school I would write a dissertation on the whole thing. But for now I'm only going to concentrate on the type.
The deliberate positioning of the title card with a simple dark teal type on the black background in the beginning of each episode is an opening worth your attention. Everything about this series is incredibly thought through and well designed. Any of the articles written in the aftermath of the series going viral (forgive my gen-z language) have already stated and reiterated in every way possible that having a title card and not a sequence is a way for the creators to bring the audience straight to Beth, the main character, and let the viewer dive right into the time capsulated world of chess, fashion and addiction. I could go on and argue about the importance and impact of the opening sequence on many shows and provide a multitude of examples but I won’t argue here with the creator's choices. Partially because I actually see a line of logic in it and partially because I want to concentrate on something else here.
A type choice.
Opening title card
Given the fact that it is a new show and not enough people have done investigation into the typeface choices yet, I had to rely on the storehouse of all questions and answers - Reddit. The few who have inquired, and when I say few I really mean it, have pointed me to Prohibition.
After a letter by letter examination my eyes and I have come upon the same conclusion that it is in fact a typeface by Matox Shuler from Fort Foundry.
Prohibition typeface sample
This edgy sans serif is the perfect display typeface that one might see on industrial union posters, if one lived in the beginning of twentieth century. However, placed in the context of a TV series that takes place in the 1960-70s and was created in 2020, one might wonder if it actually works here. The intent however is clear to me - visualizing reasoning and arithmetics. As Saskia Marka points out in her interview with the Art of the Title, the concept behind the end sequence was to make it abstract and with a hint of geometrics that allude to chess, but to leave the interpretation to the eye of the beholder. And the type is that sprinkle on top of the ice cream to this concept. The modern, sharp look of Prohibition is serving exactly that purpose.
A screenshot from the end title sequence
Marka addresses the legibility question with an almost too easy of an answer. Yet it is the one that works here beyond the need of explanation. It works on many levels and once again sends the audience into their own questioning spiral. Is it evocative of chess? Or redacted documents? The show is beautiful on many levels and deserves a watch from all of you. But remember the beauty that awaits you at the finish line. You won’t regret waiting for it ;)