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I disable web fonts, because the most legible font is the font you're most used to reading. Fancy typography is the graphic design version of loudness war music
by mrob 11y ago
I disable web fonts, because the most legible font is the font you're most used to reading. Fancy typography is the graphic design version of loudness war music mastering - something to gain attention and seem attractive in the short term, but unpleasant in the long term. In both cases there's a tragedy of the commons situation. People compete to stand out and make things worse for everybody. Blocking web fonts helps prevent this market failure.
- grey-area 11y agoLegibility is important, but it's not the only reason to choose a font. The form of words (font, colour, size, context) also helps tell you what they mean. I agree the reader should be able to override appearance when it suits them, but there's nothing bad about content creators using form as well as content to communicate. Feel free to block web fonts, but you should recognise you are losing something more important than mere decoration by doing so.
- mrob 11y agoI agree that the form of the words can be a good way to convey information. That's why we have bold and italic. There's no need to change the entire font when you could use those standard variations of a familiar font. You're also losing something important (familiarity) by allowing designers to change fonts at will, and I argue that's a greater loss.