ITC WacWakOoops!
Quite often, a typeface’s name tells you something important: who designed the face, what inspired the design, or even how the font should be used. Then there’s ITC WacWakOoops! The name may lack literal meaning, but it perfectly conveys the anarchic spirit of this design by Carol Kemp.
If Bugs Bunny were a typeface, he’d be WacWakOoops! Fearlessly irreverent (who ever heard of putting serifs on capitals but not the lowercase?), with lots of movement but no rhythm, WacWakOoops! is both eccentric and engaging. The odd proportions, slight forward slant, top-heavy caps and bottom-heavy lowercase only add to the design’s cartoonish demeanor.
WacWakOoops! may be a whimsical typeface, but Kemp is a serious designer. “I usually approach a typeface design as spontaneous hand lettering, but always end up editing and reworking the shapes so that they function as a typeface,” she explains. “If I also bring a feeling of life and energy into the designs, I count myself successful.” The playful feel of WacWakOoops! is achieved by carefully rendered strokes and character shapes that have been finely honed.
Kemp graduated with honors from Exeter College of Art and Design in England, and is currently the principal of a busy freelance lettering and design studio in the UK. Her solutions for clients in the packaging, publishing, television, and music industries are creative and varied.
Kemp is an artist, but not all art is serious. WacWakOoops! skips merrily along the path between distinction and versatility with a confidence that reveals the sensitivity, accomplishment and talent of its designer.