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First sample: TIMES, a serif font.

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The process whereby a typeface is viewed and its visual characteristics and impact have an effect on, and are evaluated by, a person. A more scientific name for this may be «typeface psychology.» The end purpose of type savoring is not the classification of a typeface, but, rather, an appraisal of its aesthetic attributes (primary) and emotional impact (secondary). Type savoring may often be a lengthly and complex process. It is certainly a very poorly-understood, rarely studied, and little-discussed aspect of typography. There may be an extensive set of underlying scientific principles governing type savoring.

Type savoring may reach completion or fruition only after a period of time and a number of viewings. The process usually proceeds in a number of phases.

Initial Viewing - Phase 1
The eye and brain evaluates a design for basic stand-alone (macroscopic) characteristics: type color, ornamentation, stroke contrast, letterform proportion, letterform design consistency, and possibly other characteristics. Sometimes, if any of these characteristics are notable, emotional impact is generated.

Recognition - Phase 2
The eye and brain focus on the individual letterforms, and attempt to relate their shape (microscopic) characteristics to similar letterforms (of another typeface perception or mental image). Subliminal impact of letterform design makes its mark at this stage.

Bargaining - Phase 3
The eye and brain, having evaluated the typeface design both macroscopically and microscopically, go through an appraisal phase, intermediate between recognition and comprehension. This could also be termed an « acceptance/ rejection » phase, where the brain, having made comparisons to other perceived typefaces, attempts to decide (letterform by letterform, word by word, and overall) whether the design is good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, acceptable or unacceptable. This is termed a « bargaining » phase, because the brain may be performing a trade-off study between acceptable and rejectable design points. It should be noted that subliminal and emotional impact is not generated during this phase, but rather this phase is driven by subliminal and emotional impact uncovered or generated in previous phases.

Comprehension - Phase 4
The eye and brain then parses the text. If the purpose of the viewing is type savoring, then this process is merely another test. If a typeface design presents difficulties in comprehension performance, this is detected in this phase.

Aftereffects - Phase 5
During or after comprehension, perception and impressions form, stemming from viewing the typeface design. These impressions may include more of the subliminal or emotional impact uncovered in previous phases, along with new impressions. These new impressions may take the form of subliminal or emotional impact, or concepts, characterized by words like: attitude, prim, elegance, mechanical, happy, joyful, sad, adamant, permissive, peculiar, etc.

Retention - Phase 6
This phase relates to the information the brain remembers about the typeface after the viewing concludes—its last impressions. The information may consist of all or part of what was discovered or uncovered in previous phases; or it may actually be innacurate or erroneous impressions. This phase is crucial if the typeface is to be selected again (say, for design) based on memory alone.

Subsequent Repeated Viewing
If a familiar typeface is viewed again, phase 1 does not occur. In fact, the brain my jump to phase 2, then phase 4. It may occasionally go through phase 5, reinforcing or modifying its experiences, but it probably never skips phase 6.

It is interesting to observe that once a person develops an opinion on a particular typeface, the opinion very often never changes. What is also interesting is that the subliminal impact of a typeface never changes, and is very often the same for many people, whether or not their opinion on a particular typeface design is favorable or not. This is why typeface design and selection is such a compelling factor in advertising design.