Live the Language

EF (Education First) produced a series of videos advertising their study abroad programs which are a perfect combination of great advertising and unique use of typography. EF is an international travel company known for their language training and educational travel programs. Live the Language Campaign was created by Camp David, a Swedish agency and the lucky typographer hired was a Stockholm based art director and designer Albin Holmqvist - they do a wonderful job of conveying the language and culture through typographic treatment. These are beautifully shot videos that sell the city without getting too cliche. They employ very catchy music, fantastic imagery, and most importantly, typography that highlights what you will experience if you study abroad in one of these cities. (Ignore the cheesy romances in some of the videos!)

So far, they have produced videos for Vancouver, Paris, Beijing, Sydney, Los Angeles, London, and Barcelona. I absolutely love the ones for Barcelona and Paris. Notice how differently the type is used between the two cities. Holmqvist uses script fonts, art deco style fonts, and decorative motifs for Paris which are unique and appropriate for only Paris - these fonts would not work in Los Angeles or Vancouver. Albin got his fonts from many different type foundries including Lost Type, Hoefler & Frere-Jones, House Industries, and Sudtipos. The typography clearly illustrates the local language and new vocabulary that each of these travelers experience during their study abroad experience.

This campaign makes me want to pack by bags and hop on a plane to any one of these incredible destinations. Barcelona, here I come!

Here are my favorites. You can view the rest on vimeo here.

PARIS

BARCELONA

VANCOUVER

This is a video is just for fun (only design nerds like us will understand) - a monologue from the perspective of the most hated font out there: comic sans.

I'M COMIC SANS, ASSHOLE