Manson/Mason^189
Jonathan BarnbrookOn the surface, the spiky roman typeface
Manson, reminiscent of medieval
inscriptions and replete with crucifix-
ated Ts and Os, exudes a kind of
mysterious Gregorian atmosphere. But
Jonathan Barnbrook’s typeface is more
than a family of quirky letterforms, it is
a case study of how and why typefaces
are named, and the relationship that a
user has to both the name and face.
Christened after mass-murderer Charles
Manson, according to Barnbrook in
Emigre (No.23, 1992), this is merely a
“different way of looking at the naming
of a typeface.” Shortly after it was
introduced, Manson was criticized not
for its form, but its name. One of the
letters to Emigreread: “In a time of
random violence, individual, organized,
and institutionalized, why are you naming a typeface after Charles Manson?
As part of our media culture, in fact a well-respected one, what kind of
humor are you projecting? What kind of responsibility are you neglecting?
This is no subtle joke. We are shocked at your inhumanity and callousness.”
Although Barnbrook’s description of Manson in Emigredid not
sufficiently address the reason for celebrating this particular criminal, he
did offer this: “While reading the word Manson, associations with other
words such as mason and mansion might be evoked, names that do not
relate somewhat to the elegant look of the typeface. The surname Charles
also sounds quite sophisticated. But then you realize that it’s the name of a
mass murderer and you re-assess your attitude to the typeface.” Barnbrook’s
doublespeak may not do justice to his seductive medievalized Roman
derived from his 1991 design of Exocet, based on a primitive Greek stone
carving. Nevertheless, taken at his word, this is not merely a novel or
gratuitously named typeface, but rather a test of what motivates someone
to choose a particular type.
The name Manson forces the user to address a fundamental