who

The name’s Joe Nyaggah – recent graduate of the lauded design program at the prestigious California State University at Fullerton [shout out to Drew and Theron] – but most importantly, I am one half of the absolutely scrumptious design sandwich pv&j, obstinately bent on changing the world, one sandwich at a time.

what

Badplate is my Peripatetic quest to establish, as the tagline so succintly puts, just how evil Copperplate is (I’ll explain below). It’s a grand undertaking, this, but the scope of the subject is rather narrow, and as such, this quest is terminal. At some point, it must end. Appetence for enlightenment without the promise, nay, the veritable achievement of satiation, I would argue, is rather pointless.

why

This could get protracted. If you have things to do, I’d strongly advice that you attend to them first.

Ego, pride and narcissism, a good designer make

So the saying goes, anyway.*

These characteristics are unequivocally intrisic in all good designers. Subtle though they might be in some, and ill-advisedly obfuscated by humility in others, they are nevertheless inherently present.

Discriminating tastes (of all things design) and philosophical proclivities towards specific design movements and thought schools, on the other hand, are acquired or learned. Much akin to my love for American micro-brew India Pale Ales. (I’m looking at you Stone)

My design professor at said prestigious institution of higher learning had such an inordinate hatred for Copperplate (Frederic W. Goudy’s Gothic typeface, not the oft-impressively luxuriant English round hand), that he deemed its use so atrocious that sight of it, in an even mildly decent design, immediately prompted violent retching, as though it had left a disagreeably nasty taste in his mouth.

There was no redemption from such an atrocity. After he was done castigating your obscenely terrible choice of typeface, he became (for the next few moments, at least) utterly disconsolate. Like a concerned father his incorrigibly iniquitous son, he felt responsible for this monumental failure.

You had failed. He let you know it. ‘Twas forever your scarlet letter.

Thus, afraid of the reaction, one avoided the use of Copperplate, grew even to abhor its usage.

So, now I absolutely hate Copperplate, refuse to use it anywhere and routinely deride any designers worth their salt for using it.

I say all that to say this:

I hate Copperplate but I don’t know why.

Badplate is my quest to either legitimize my hatred or otherwise, armed with facts to prove the contrary, change my opinion.

While I may not know exactly why I hate Copperplate I do know a few things that make me quite uncomfortable about it. See them here