4 ms·

I'm not really commenting on your taste or the article, but the manner in which you criticized the article. I agree that the article lacked substance and isn't

by blehn 16y ago

I'm not really commenting on your taste or the article, but the manner in which you criticized the article. I agree that the article lacked substance and isn't deserving of so many upvotes. However, your comments about specific fonts were made in a matter-of-fact way that suggested you were a designer or typography expert. It gets a bunch of upvotes, and the programmers on here come away from the comments thinking that Clarendon and Avant Garde are irrelevant, etc., when the truth might be the opposite. My comment regarding your website was only to make the point that, suspect as the OP might be, your comments should be taken with a grain of salt as well.

tptacek 16y ago
Yeah, not so fast, font geek. Defend your argument. Seriously, you think Clarendon is a great "back pocket", "top of my tool drawer" typeface for designers to be using? Because Pitchfork and Ruby Tuesday use it? Put a bevel on Ruby Tuesday's mark and you could add a cowboy hat and a lasso to complete their thought. Is there a Clarendon revival I'm missing, or are you just jumping on me because you think I'm bashing the typefaces and not the author of this post? You obviously are an expert, and should have no trouble setting me straight.
- blehn 16y ago
  Seriously, you think Clarendon is a great "back pocket", "top of my tool drawer" typeface for designers to be using? If I'm theoretically limited to only 25 typefaces, there should be room for a few slab-serifs, and I don't see why Clarendon couldn't be one of them. It's a classic slab-serif in the same way that Helvetica and Akzidenz are classic sans-serifs. I don't think it's great because Pitchfork and Ruby Tuesday use it, I'm saying that it's more relevant than you suggested. Designers, somehow, ARE using it. Maybe there is a Clarendon revival. Don't forget that trends are a big part of graphic design, as they are in any design industry. Helvetica, Avant Garde, Clarendon go in and out of style just like tapered jeans, Ray-Bans, and plaid shirts.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - tptacek 16y ago
    And in 25 typefaces with a few slab serifs, you'd do Clarendon before Archer, PMN Caecilia (best ital ever), Joanna, or Chaparral? More to the point --- bringing it back to the post --- if the other slab you were stuck with was Rockwell, you'd use Clarendon as your backup? Two faces that would both look at home on a WPA-era wrought iron factory gate? What parts of my criticism are wrong? I'm sure there's lots wrong, and I'm happy to be called out, as long as I'm going to learn something from it.
    - blehn 16y ago
      That's a purely subjective matter. I might like the typefaces you mentioned more than Clarendon, but I don't think it's absurd for someone to think Clarendon is a good one to have. Why did Pitchfork and Wells Fargo and Ruby Tuesday choose Clarendon instead of those fonts? I'm not sure, maybe they just decided it was a better fit. Erik Spiekermann thinks Helvetica is terrible — is he right? I don't know...some people love it. Maybe Clarendon and Rockwell are redundant in the context of the article, but you said that Clarendon was "terribly out fashion", and "really?". That's what I was responded to. The parts of your criticism that are wrong are the ones that are either not based in reality, or personal opinions stated as fact.
      - tptacek 16y ago
        It's funny to me, because I originally wrote (Optima, Rotis) and re-read the post 5 minutes later after re-reading the post and edited Clarendon onto the list. I went out of my way to annoy you! I may have an irrational hatred of Clarendon. Glad to hear we may agree about Rotis, though.
- slashclee 16y ago
  Uncrate's logo (http://uncrate.com http://uncrate.com) is set in Clarendon. :)

by blehn 16y ago

tptacek 16y ago

Yeah, not so fast, font geek. Defend your argument. Seriously, you think Clarendon is a great "back pocket", "top of my tool drawer" typeface for designers to be using? Because Pitchfork and Ruby Tuesday use it? Put a bevel on Ruby Tuesday's mark and you could add a cowboy hat and a lasso to complete their thought. Is there a Clarendon revival I'm missing, or are you just jumping on me because you think I'm bashing the typefaces and not the author of this post? You obviously are an expert, and should have no trouble setting me straight.

blehn 16y ago
Seriously, you think Clarendon is a great "back pocket", "top of my tool drawer" typeface for designers to be using? If I'm theoretically limited to only 25 typefaces, there should be room for a few slab-serifs, and I don't see why Clarendon couldn't be one of them. It's a classic slab-serif in the same way that Helvetica and Akzidenz are classic sans-serifs. I don't think it's great because Pitchfork and Ruby Tuesday use it, I'm saying that it's more relevant than you suggested. Designers, somehow, ARE using it. Maybe there is a Clarendon revival. Don't forget that trends are a big part of graphic design, as they are in any design industry. Helvetica, Avant Garde, Clarendon go in and out of style just like tapered jeans, Ray-Bans, and plaid shirts.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- tptacek 16y ago
  And in 25 typefaces with a few slab serifs, you'd do Clarendon before Archer, PMN Caecilia (best ital ever), Joanna, or Chaparral? More to the point --- bringing it back to the post --- if the other slab you were stuck with was Rockwell, you'd use Clarendon as your backup? Two faces that would both look at home on a WPA-era wrought iron factory gate? What parts of my criticism are wrong? I'm sure there's lots wrong, and I'm happy to be called out, as long as I'm going to learn something from it.
  - blehn 16y ago
    That's a purely subjective matter. I might like the typefaces you mentioned more than Clarendon, but I don't think it's absurd for someone to think Clarendon is a good one to have. Why did Pitchfork and Wells Fargo and Ruby Tuesday choose Clarendon instead of those fonts? I'm not sure, maybe they just decided it was a better fit. Erik Spiekermann thinks Helvetica is terrible — is he right? I don't know...some people love it. Maybe Clarendon and Rockwell are redundant in the context of the article, but you said that Clarendon was "terribly out fashion", and "really?". That's what I was responded to. The parts of your criticism that are wrong are the ones that are either not based in reality, or personal opinions stated as fact.
    - tptacek 16y ago
      It's funny to me, because I originally wrote (Optima, Rotis) and re-read the post 5 minutes later after re-reading the post and edited Clarendon onto the list. I went out of my way to annoy you! I may have an irrational hatred of Clarendon. Glad to hear we may agree about Rotis, though.
slashclee 16y ago
Uncrate's logo (http://uncrate.com http://uncrate.com) is set in Clarendon. :)