--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unlike painting, sculpture, or music…" description: "\"Unlike painting, sculpture, or music, typefaces must be useful to someone. Fortunately for designers, the digital age has produced new problems to solv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/virginia-postrel-2867_age_unlike-painting-sculpture-or-music-typef_1487135.jpg" --- # Unlike painting, sculpture, or music, typefaces must be… ![“Unlike painting, sculpture, or music, typefaces must be useful to someone. Fortunately for designers, the digital age has produced new problems to solve - developing typefaces that work on mobile phones, for one - and enabled better solutions to old problems.” quote by Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/virginia-postrel-2867_age_unlike-painting-sculpture-or-music-typef_1487135.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/virginia-postrel-2867_age_unlike-painting-sculpture-or-music-typef_1487135.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/virginia-postrel-2867_age_unlike-painting-sculpture-or-music-typef_1487135.jpg) > “Unlike painting, sculpture, or music, typefaces must be useful to someone. Fortunately for designers, the digital age has produced new problems to solve - developing typefaces that work on mobile phones, for one - and enabled better solutions to old problems.” [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Designers must make typefaces functional, especially for new digital contexts like mobile. **In simple terms:** Typeface design must be useful and adaptable. Key Takeaway Prioritize usability in design. Themes design technology usability Mood thoughtful forward‑looking Type design technology When to use this quote - mobile app UI - web typography - branding Key Concepts human‑centered design digital adaptation Questions to Reflect On - How can designers balance function and aesthetics? - What new tech will reshape type design? A Different Perspective Functionality may limit artistic expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Designers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designers/) [Developing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developing/) [Developing Typefaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developing-typefaces-5432255/) [Digital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital/) [Digital age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital-age/) [Fortunately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortunately/) [Mobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mobile/) [Mobile Phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mobile-phone/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Typefaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-typefaces-5432256/) [Must](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/must/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Produced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produced/) [Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture/) [Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions/) [Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve/) [Someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/someone/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Typefaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typefaces/) [Typefaces Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typefaces-useful-5432253/) [Typefaces Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typefaces-work-5432254/) [Unlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlike/) [Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. 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That's a pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/it-was-stone-carvers-in-ancient-rome-scribes-in-the-middle-ages-all/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [I make solutions that nobody wants to problems that don't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-lustig/i-make-solutions-that-nobody-wants-to-problems-that-don-t-exist/) [Alvin Lustig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-lustig/) > [If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-i-had-never-dropped-in-on-that-single-course-in-college-the-mac/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“One of my colleagues is convinced that having a wide range of types to choose from is a complete waste of time. He swears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-my-colleagues-is-convinced-that-having-a-wide-range-of-types/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Virginia Postrel > [The low point for neon came in 1982, when Holiday Inn did away with its signature 'Great Sign,' replacing the neon extravaganza with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-low-point-for-neon-came-in-1982-when-holiday-inn-did-away-with/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > ['The Matrix' is a movie that is all about glamour. I could do a whole talk on 'The Matrix' and glamour. 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It was an impractical ambition, especially since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-i-was-in-college-i-wanted-to-be-editor-of-reason-when-i-grew-up/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [A lot of consumers actively enjoy advertising, especially fashion print ads and clever TV commercials. The nostalgic cable channel TVLand features not only vintage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/a-lot-of-consumers-actively-enjoy-advertising-especially-fashion/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [“Functionality still matters, of course. 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He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Unlike painting, sculpture, or music, typefaces must be useful to someone. 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