Stencil (BT) is a font designed by Gerry Powell in 1937.
This font consists of only capital letters, this creates the impression of it being a more hostile, in your face type of font, almost as if somebody is shouting the words. This is similar to how upper case letters are used to show extreme emotions through text messages, “WHAT?” could be an expression of excitement, surprise or annoyance.
Similarly this type of font is usually used in army related things which this font is suitable for because of its rough look and traditional making method. In the army when on a mission soldiers might not have time to neatly write things so spraying words using a stencil might be a quicker alternative. In addition stencil is a good font for warning and attention signs which again would be appropriate for the army environment. But most importantly the way the letters are so eye catching, especially because of the thickness of the strokes, gives the words a sense of urgency, which reinforces the sense of danger in the warning sign.
On the other hand, upper case letters are generally more difficult to read because of it being harder to differentiate between letters since we rely on the shape of the letters and words when reading, this causes us to have to focus more on the word, which may get in the way of efficiently transmitting the urgency of the warning.
Apart from the hostile nature of the font and its a association with the army, there is also a sense of rebelliousness. The smooth round edges of the typeface noticeably the terminal of the J, reduces the aggressiveness and allows it to appear easy going which would not be the case if this typeface had sharper edges. The attributes of being easygoing and rebellious points to a different social group from the first army association, this time the font is appealing to teenagers that don't want to conform to mainstream society and join other groups such as skaters and rockers where a practical yet expressive font would represent more their identities as opposed to more formal fonts such as Arial.
This font consists of only capital letters, this creates the impression of it being a more hostile, in your face type of font, almost as if somebody is shouting the words. This is similar to how upper case letters are used to show extreme emotions through text messages, “WHAT?” could be an expression of excitement, surprise or annoyance.
Similarly this type of font is usually used in army related things which this font is suitable for because of its rough look and traditional making method. In the army when on a mission soldiers might not have time to neatly write things so spraying words using a stencil might be a quicker alternative. In addition stencil is a good font for warning and attention signs which again would be appropriate for the army environment. But most importantly the way the letters are so eye catching, especially because of the thickness of the strokes, gives the words a sense of urgency, which reinforces the sense of danger in the warning sign.
Apart from the hostile nature of the font and its a association with the army, there is also a sense of rebelliousness. The smooth round edges of the typeface noticeably the terminal of the J, reduces the aggressiveness and allows it to appear easy going which would not be the case if this typeface had sharper edges. The attributes of being easygoing and rebellious points to a different social group from the first army association, this time the font is appealing to teenagers that don't want to conform to mainstream society and join other groups such as skaters and rockers where a practical yet expressive font would represent more their identities as opposed to more formal fonts such as Arial.
http://www.identifont.com/similar?264
