This past weekend I visited a good friend who’s a first year at Ross Business School at University of Michigan. It was my first trip to Michigan and I had a great time despite how darn chilly it was. Indeed a harsh transition from summer to fall for me, weather-wise. The people were down to earth, and the air was fresh and plentiful.
On Saturday, I had a first time experience. We went to a Michigan football game… Go Blue. The stadium was packed — approximately 100,000 fans — and spirits were high. They beat Minnesota 58-0. This was followed by a very good excuse to celebrate. As someone who is used to Ivy League football games (my brother played four years at Brown), it was jaw-dropping to see a game on such a large-scale.
Seeing the jerseys, the football field, and all of the fan gear, made me think about the specific design — and typography — used for sports-related branding. Overall, it tends to be very bold, display fonts, usually with a number of outlines around the type — which outside of sports is slightly frown upon in design because it can quickly look gaudy. The type can range from serif or sans serif, so long as it will serve its purpose of being impactful.
Take a look at the Michigan “M” below… and some of the other pictures from my trip.
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