Barbara Kruger & Kim Kardashian on W

W Magazine, November 2010 featuring "Untitled, 2010" by Barbara Kruger, courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery. Creative Director: Jody Quon. Photo: Mark Seliger. Other type includes Benton Modern Display by Dyana Weissman and Richard Lipton

Esquire, May 1992 by Barbara Kruger

W magazine made quite a stink last month with their November issue featuring Kim Kardashian wearing nothing but the words of feminist artist Barbara Kruger. No doubt it's a provoking juxtaposition. And a fitting sequel to Kruger's 1992 cover for Esquire featuring Howard Stern.

The problem with these covers — if you care at all about type — is that they don't use the professionally drawnFuturaBold Oblique featured in most of Kruger's predigital work. Whoever set the Futura type for W (perhaps Kruger herself?) slanted it instead. Or they used the egg-shaped Adobe version, which is essentially the same thing.

Need a proper Futura italic for your own work — or for copying Kruger's? Go Scangraphic (as is) or Neufville (with tighter letterspacing). Bitstream's redrawn Futura is an interesting alternative. It's not quite as Futura as the others but it performs better when clarity and readability are key.

"Untitled (I Shop Therefore I Am)" by Barbara Kruger, 1987

"Untitled (Your Body Is a Battleground)", Barbara Kruger, 1989

"Untitled (We don't need another hero)", Barbara Kruger, 1987