The Perceived Impact of Different Types of Ice-Themed Typography on Users

Typography research in the past has focused on the properties of the typeface itself, such as bold, serif, sans-serif, and so on. However, there is still much room for in-depth exploration of the cultural context and user perception of typography. To fill this research gap, this study focuses on the impact of different ice and snow-themed typography on user perception in the context of ice and snow culture, aiming to enhance the dissemination of ice and snow culture through this study. In the study, we chose three ice and snow-themed font designs, including the author's original “Ice Sports Imagery” font, other designers’ ice and snow-themed font, and regular bold font, and presented them on the same web banner. The three font types were evaluated by using 15 pairs of adjectives, and participants’ perceptions of the different font types and designers were collected through a questionnaire. The results of the study showed that there were significant differences in participants’ perceptions of different ice-themed fonts. When web banners were presented using fonts that were considered inappropriate, participants perceived the fonts as unserious and unprofessional in personality. On the contrary, the author's “Ice Sports Imagery” typeface received positive feedback in the banner presentation. From the semiotics point of view, “Ice Sports Imagery “font successfully extracts the trajectory of ice and snow sports, which is full of dynamics and can fully express the imagery of ice and snow sports, and successfully integrates the imagery of “ice and snow” with the glyphs, which improves the function of ideograms. And from an imagery point of view, the typeface evokes the association of sliding snow and ice for an immersive experience. This strong image experience comes from the clever shape of the strokes and the organic rhythm between the strokes, which can form emotional resonance.