futura vs. verdana

images via idsgn

apparently, the cult-like following of ikea has been worked into quite a frenzy recently when the company changed the font of their yearly catalog from the tried-and-true futura to the supposedly-rogue verdana. as i was reading, i could not help but staring at the "before" and "after" pictures from this year's and last year's catalogs. it harkened back to the days of "spot the difference" puzzles that i would obsess over. even if you think the ikea followers are overreacting a smidge though, you cannot deny the different image put forth based on the font and what an influential element of design it can be. the article in the ny times links to the idsgn blog, which frequently posts about typeface developments (who knew?). i must admit i am glad blogspot only offers a handful of font choices, but this has made me think about what font i would use for some of the following tasks:

writing a book (i love how most books document the typeface used toward the end)?

a welcome sign for your door?

road signs?

scrabble?

anything else?