Type Style Finder

Baby boomer type styles run the gamut from the neutral and professional-

looking—owing to the proliferation of corporations, the burgeoning “identity”

industry, the International Style of typography, and general social conformity—

to the remarkably quirky and stylized, created in large part by the advertising

industry to promote the exciting new consumer products and automobiles

flooding the market. In the former category, neutral faces such as Univers,

introduced by Monotype in 1958, exemplify the International Style’s goal

of systematizing and objectifying visual language across the world. In the

latter category, many typefaces are exaggerated script faces with angular,

geometric construction—rather than round and fluid. Squared curve forms,

angular and tapered strokes joined abruptly in quasi-italic or script presen-

tation, are common, as are cartoonish sans serifs that are exceptionally bold

and extended and show a disconnect between outer and inner contours, as

though the counters have been shifted out of their usual position. Some of

these faces combine upper- and lowercase characters in one set—a popular

stylistic conceit of the late 1950s and 1960s.

An unbridled optimism and an explosion of consumer culture inform

the styles of the period after the Great Depression and World War II

and on into the early 1960s. The beginnings of rock n’ roll, TV dinners,

and suburban living are evoked in a range of playful typefaces and a

cartoonlike palette of colors.

Poster top, and detail, bottom

Johnny V. Design

Johnny Vitorovich

Alexandria [VA] USA

Baby

Boomer

Time

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Context

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Slack Casual Medium

Stylized Sans Serif |

Extra Condensed |

Erratic Baseline |

Device

www.devicefonts.co.uk

[e-mail]

44 (0) 7979.602.272

Bello Script

Moderate Contrast | Bold

Weight | Moderate Slope |

Underware

www.underware.nl

[e-mail]

31 (0) 70 42 78 117

P22 Daddy-O Hip

Stylized Serif | Pronounced

Contrast | Erratic Weight |

Erratic Posture |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

Bordello Bold

Modified Wedge Serif |

Uniform Bold Weight |

Erratic Posture |

Device

www.devicefonts.co.uk

[e-mail]

44 (0) 7979.602.272

P22 Sniplash

Stylized Sans Serif | Mixed

Case | Moderate Contrast |

Erratic Posture |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

MVB Pedestria Regular

Stylized Sans Serif | Lighter

Medium Weight |

MVB Fonts

www.mvbfonts.com

[e-mail]

510.525.4288

Type Style Finder

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Time

+

Context Baby Boomer

MVB Pedestria Bold

Stylized Sans Serif |

Bold Weight |

MVB Fonts

www.mvbfonts.com

[e-mail]

510.525.4288

P22 Sparrow

Stylized Serif | Lesser

Contrast | Light Weight |

Pronounced Serifs |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

Elevator Boy

Stylized Sans Serif | Erratic

Bold Weight | Erratic Posture |

The Chank Company

www.chank.com

[e-mail]

877.GO.CHANK

Bingo

Graphic | All Caps with

Alternates | Black Weight |

Device

www.devicefonts.co.uk

[e-mail]

44 (0) 7979.602.272

Parkway Motel

Stylized Sans Serif |

Script Ligatures | Uniform

Medium Weight |

The Chank Company

www.chank.com

[e-mail]

877.GO.CHANK

LTC Swing Bold

Script | Uniform Medium

Weight | Moderate Posture |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

TD

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Sample Color Combinations

Type Style Finder

Baby Boomer Color

The postwar, baby-boomer consumer culture is embodied in a color

palette that is at once stylish, uplifting, and cartoonish. Candy

apple red, bright orange, sea foam green, chartreuse, pale lemon

yellow, pink, mauve, and sky blue are the predominant colors in

the baby-boomer scheme. Pink, in particular—in the form of toned-

down fuchsia and very pale cotton candy hues—is an important

player in the baby-boomer palette. Though black and most neutrals

are notably absent, a number of cool grays in different values form

a neutral backdrop for these happy colors. Toward the later part of

the period, into the 1960s, desaturated versions of these colors, as

well as the introduction of olive and ochre, mark a shift in outlook

and a more sophisticated aesthetic in development.

0 C

70 M

100 Y

0 K

>

30 C

0 M

38 Y

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22 C

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56 Y

5 K

>

55 C

0 M

0 Y

0 K

>

0 C

40 M

0 Y

5 K

>

0 C

15 M

0 Y

0 K

>

5 C

0 M

0 Y

20 K

>

0 C

4 M

43 Y

25 K

>

0 C

32 M

64 Y

27 K

>

15 C

100 M

71 Y

0 K

>

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