2012-12-11

font Musings

Font and Typography Musings

Normally, I like to write my own content, but some subjects are clearly better served by other experts.  Take the case of font and typography.  One would think the battle was won by Ariel (Helvetica) and Times New Roman.  These people think otherwise and they will show how fonts can speak. 



Main Site:
An enjoyable site with history, reasons, design and commentary.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com



Selected Articles that occupied my time:

What Font should I use, by Dan Mayer
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/12/14/what-font-should-i-use-five-principles-for-choosing-and-using-typefaces/

Typographic Etiquitte
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/08/15/mind-your-en-and-em-dashes-typographic-etiquette/


Throughout the site, they have a variety of free fonts, such as:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/08/02/new-high-quality-free-fonts/

Geeky Font Stuff:
http://ilovetypography.com/2009/01/14/inconspicuous-vertical-metrics/



For Fun:
Each of these san-serif fonts were printed at the same size, default kerning and tracking (variable leading).  Fonts pulled from a Windows 8 computer.  Can you spot differences?


Can you see the Differences?  Click for larger view

Anatomy of a Font / Character - Click for Larger View


I like serif fonts and two spaces after my periods.  However, to my dismay, this blogging tool enforces its own preferences.

Other Resources: Open Source / Free Fonts
keyliner: Google Fonts

Vaguely related articles:
keyliner: Word Perfect - Review - A word processor that won't frustrate you
keyliner: Word Perfect - Setting up School Papers
keyliner: WP Hanging Intents, Paragraph Headers