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National Park Typeface
- SamWhited 7y agoAUR package for easy install on Arch: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ttf-national-park/ https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ttf-national-park/
- Freak_NL 7y agoThe coordinates in that site's header take you to the Rocky Mountains National Park; a nature reserve in the United States: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=10/40.3428/-105.6836 https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=10/40.3428/-105.6836
- GuiA 7y agoThe kerning on “NATIONAL PARK” feels quite loose, even given the context (normally wouldn’t comment this on HN, but given that this is expressly a typography related website...)
- Freak_NL 7y agoLooks fine in the demonstration area for the various weights below. There has to be some space between the lines if you were to use a router to make a wooden sign with these (the stated design inspiration).
- dfc 7y agoWhy would there have to be some space between the lines if you used a router?
- dmckeon 7y agoDepending on the wooden sign material, and the desired life expectancy of the sign, close kerning might leave a narrow bit of word that could warp and chip away after a few years of exposure to the elements.
- dfc 7y agoI guess I was hung up on the "use a router" bit. This is a problem with making a sign out of wood not about the use of a router.
- hughes 7y agoIt's especially noticeable around the T - the visual area between A and T feels like about twice that between T and I.
- mc32 7y agoSpecially the A-T-I part feels like it could be better.
- seanalltogether 7y agoAlso the first image with the quote, GLORIOUS is off between the L an O
- ygra 7y agoKerning in general seems off in many examples. Either the webfont lacks kerning adjustments or that part is a bit unfinished.
- jt2190 7y agoThis feels relevant here: "National Park Service Typefaces" https://www.nps.gov/subjects/hfc/nps-typefaces.htm https://www.nps.gov/subjects/hfc/nps-typefaces.htm
- DenisM 7y agoERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS
- blacksmith_tb 7y agoStill cached though: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mmYmdNSX8hAJ:https://www.nps.gov/subjects/hfc/nps-typefaces.htm+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mmYmdN...
- bsimpson 7y agoThe National Park Service commissioned a font, and it's not public domain? That's total bullshit.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- m463 7y agoThis kind of stuff is too common. Maybe overpass will warm your heart: http://overpassfont.org/ http://overpassfont.org/
- ZeroGravitas 7y agoIf you do "ab" in the lightest weight it seems a bit off, seems okay in the other versions though, could be a bug?
- asher 7y agoCool, thanks for making this. This is basically the Roman Simplex font used in CAD packages, and included in the Hershey fonts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hershey_fonts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hershey_fonts Hershey and CAD fonts are stroke-based, so line weight and endcap style influence the appearance. Here's a JSONized version as part of the textlines tool: https://github.com/wildsparx/textlines/blob/master/fonts.json https://github.com/wildsparx/textlines/blob/master/fonts.jso... Of course CAD fonts can be used at different aspect ratios - Roman Simplex is often used at 0.85 and that may be what National Park captures.
- charliepark 7y agoIn case your brain is thinking "wait; I thought it'd be that cool scripty typeface on the oddly-angled signage?", you might be thinking of the USDA's logotype for National Forests. Unfortunately, there isn't an available font for that exact face. Some cool specs, though, in the Forest Service's design guide: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3810021.pdf https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd381002... Section 1-18 (page 24) of the linked PDF has examples of the "National Forest", "National Monument", etc. logotype; Chapter 8 has some more signage specs.
- projektfu 7y agoThat’s exactly what I was expecting.
- chrissnell 7y agoIt's remarkable how difficult it is to find a cursive font like that. I think it looks a little like Dom Casual if Dom Casual were cursive.
- Loughla 7y agoThose are the exact fonts I'm looking for, for an in-lay woodworking project I'm finishing. Any ideas at all what the fonts listed on 1-18 would be called?
- DoubleCribble 7y ago"Logotypes are drawings and have not been created from a standard font." - OP Section 1-17
- davidw 7y agoSee my comment below, referencing a StackExchange post. It lists the font the Forest Service uses for their signs.
- Kiro 7y agoNo, you're talking about something else completely. Check page 1-18 in the linked document for an example.
- Freak_NL 7y agoTangentially related: there are quite a lot of good quality free software fonts out there. Some — like this typeface — are suited for display purposes, signage, and lettering. Others offer a full family of weights for typesetting body text. I have my own shortlist of long-time favourites. To name but a few: Gentium Book Basic is a delight to read in print; Titillium adds a nice touch to technical drawings; Hack traces its monospaced code font lineage back to Bitstream Vera (through DejaVu Sans Mono), which back then kicked off a whole new period of free software desktop look-and-feel. But I've never really found a site that collects these free software licensed fonts with curated reviews and use-cases. Sites like FontSquirrel offer a rough index, but contain no easy way to filter on more complex queries, and don't really show each typeface's strengths and weaknesses. Does such a site or community exist?
- matt4077 7y agoGoogle Fonts has at least Gentium and Titillium.
- microcolonel 7y agoGoogle fonts tends to have a lot of the really popular open license fonts.
- Silhouette 7y agoBut I've never really found a site that collects these free software licensed fonts with curated reviews and use-cases. There's not much out there, I'm afraid. It looks like you're already aware of the sites that just list a million fonts and maybe let you try out rendering some sample text interactively. You might find sites like Typewolf[1] and Fonts In Use[2] interesting if you haven't come across them before. There's a little more curation and organisation there than on something like Google Fonts. But really, for free fonts, there's not a lot of detailed commentary in my experience. If you have specific questions or want advice about suitable fonts for a specific project, you could also ask on the Typography subreddit[3], which is fairly active and has a few people who know what they're doing around. [1] https://www.typewolf.com/ https://www.typewolf.com/ [2] https://fontsinuse.com/ https://fontsinuse.com/ [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/typography/ https://www.reddit.com/r/typography/
- grogenaut 7y agoWhen editing the typeface samples it'd be great if the text pivoted to each style instead of getting set to "type here"
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- justinator 7y agoDoes the website for a typeface really need to break the back button on my browser?
- cbsmith 7y agoYou lost me at "the website for a typeface".
- gjreda 7y agoHaving recently road tripped across the country for a move to SF, I found myself admiring the design of national park signage. It feels very timeless and iconic. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/13/76/e2/1376e2e56907197016893061cdf4edcb.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/13/76/e2/1376e2e5690719701689...
- astura 7y agoThat's national forest signage, not national park signage. National forests are managed by the U.S. Forest Service and national parks are managed by the National Park Service and they have different uses/purposes. https://www.doi.gov/blog/americas-public-lands-explained https://www.doi.gov/blog/americas-public-lands-explained
- jedberg 7y agoThis website is making my brain hurt. When I loaded it up, on my fairly wide monitor, it looked like this: N A T I O N A L P A R K You'd think a website by a typeface designer would not have this problem...
- 0xffff2 7y agoI can't reproduce this at any window size on Firefox, Chrome or Edge on Windows 10. I can hardly fault a typeface designer for not being an expert web developer who can build a consistent user experience on every conceivable browser configuration.
- jedberg 7y agoThis is in Safari. It's a pretty popular browser.
- pluma 7y agoTo reflect the snark right back: If you think Safari warrants primary support, ask Apple to provide ways to test in Safari without paying Apple for the privilege. Microsoft got this one right when they released free Windows VMs for various combinations of Windows and IE versions. Now, yes, it's fairly likely OP is already using macOS and they just didn't bother testing Safari, but if you want to be snarky about browser testing, be snarky to Apple first. They're intentionally making it difficult to test in Safari.
- moate 7y agoReproducible in Chrome. I have a portrait monitor set up, and it was where I default landed. That said, I think it's one of a very select set of perimeters that breaks it. Now the "Download" at the top, he's got some explaining to do... (Agree with your point about expert web dev. Someone who designs fonts =/ someone who designs websites. Totally different skills. Some people might do both, but assuming that would be rather bold)
- 7y ago
- OliverJones 7y agoLeroy lettering lives!
- Wistar 7y agoExactly. I had a Leroy lettering set given to me at some point. I know they were eye-wateringly expensive to buy but is a very cool thing. Super high quality manufacturing.
- dreamcompiler 7y agoI still have my Leroy. This font immediately made me think of it.
- dsr_ 7y agoDoes anyone else think that the lowercase b and d have an excessive x-height?
- kazinator 7y ago> MIMIC THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE SIGNS THAT ARE CARVED USING A ROUTER BIT That's trivial though; you use a path with a circular pen, a most rudimentary thing in 2D graphics.
- lvh 7y agoThat also identifies the typeface, since there’s only one typeface the National Parks use that is carved using a router bit. (Even then, you’d still need to have the stroke data, which seems like the hard part?)
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- kazinator 7y agoYou certainly don't need the detailed stroke data just to "mimic" the appearance of a really simple typeface like this.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- URSpider94 7y agodid you really come here to say that someone else's work of creating a production typeface package with multiple styles and weights is "trivial"?
- kazinator 7y agoIt doesn't look like a production typeface to me. Looking at it I feel that I could make something like it, even though I haven't done it before, simply by putting in the required time. (This is not some idle thought; I definitely do not feel that way about any other font I've seen in the last 20 years.) It has nothing but straight lines and rudimentary curve segments and arcs, using a fixed stroke width with rounded ends. There seems to be no attention to kerning, so chances are I wouldn't have to learn anything about that topic to make a font like this. The kind of variation seen here among the multiple styles and weights looks like something that can be cranked out by varying some generic global parameters.
- werds 7y agolove this free font, also an honorable mention to Optician Sans: https://optician-sans.com/ https://optician-sans.com/ which is a free font based on the classic eye test letter cards from opticians offices.
- davidw 7y agoRelated, and interesting: https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/13781/what-font-is-used-in-these-wooden-trail-signs/92647 https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/13781/what...
- kebman 7y agoWell, at least it's not Comic Sans.
- rozab 7y agoIt's basically Arial Rounded MT Bold which is even worse imo
- OutsmartDan 7y agoThis is great. Not gonna lie though, took me like 3 minutes to find the Download button.
- btmiller 7y agoInteresting that not all trail signs at our NPs use this font exactly. For example, I wonder if this is a separate font carved by a router: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmmACyogjEe/?igshid=12jeudc1pasus https://www.instagram.com/p/BmmACyogjEe/?igshid=12jeudc1pasu...
- justusthane 7y agoIs that a wooden sign? Looks more like a painted metal sign to me.
- btmiller 7y agoShoot. Guess I’ll have to go back and verify :)
- hybrids 7y agoI can't be the only one that really wants a monospace version of this. Although I suppose Inconsolata is good enough...
- jasonhansel 7y ago> Our National Parks belong to the people, so this typeface should too. An excellent choice. Wish other firms would follow the same policy when building on public sector work.
- tspike 7y agoInterestingly, the National Park logo is a registered trademark and may not be used freely. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/partnerships/arrowhead-requests.htm https://www.nps.gov/subjects/partnerships/arrowhead-requests...
- mistrial9 7y agothis is likely part of a US Federal program to bring "innovative business ideas" to the National Parks system under former Sec. Ryan Zinke .. which is nice-speak for privitization. You nerds get to look at the typeface, dont worry about development leases, collecting rent or mineral rights.. thats not your affair..
- mattkrause 7y agoIt’s someone’s homage to the National Park signage, nothing more.
- rocky1138 7y agoFrom the website, I gather this is for US national parks.
- nitrogen 7y agoSuggestion on mobile site: either let me pinch to zoom (really frustrating when document-oriented sites disable this) or make the individual weights' previews bigger.
- ravenstine 7y agoI love stuff like this, even if I never end up using it.
- vagab0nd 7y agoOT: what does it take to design a font? I've always wanted to make my own. Is it a reasonable thing to do for an average person with an okay design taste, if I'm willing to put in the work?
- fimdomeio 7y agoIt can be done, but it's not easy. There's a lot of characters (uppercase lowercase numbers...) even if you're doing only ascii and making every character look balanced with all the others seems to me like a crazy amount of work. Then you also have spacing between character pairs. I never really attemped other than the simplest logo characters to be printed in a pen plotter, but if I ever would I would probably start at https://www.prototypo.io/ https://www.prototypo.io/
- Zobat 7y agoYou could use a parametric font tool, like https://spectral.prototypo.io/ https://spectral.prototypo.io/ There are others just the first I found.
- coleifer 7y agoAwesome to see the university of Kansas being repped. I saw the blurb showing "KU" and thought...no way! Great job by some talented people. Thanks for sharing.
- vladsanchez 7y agoThanks for sharing your typeface, but you should not claim ownership/creation for a typeface conceived in the LEROY Lettering system. My dad used LEROY as a draftsman in the 50s through 70s so I find their claim pretentious. Please research before stating your claims. Thanks.