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Typography, to me, is one of those things that’s simultaneously incredibly boring and completely fascinating. On the one hand, it’s something you experience (wh

Typography, to me, is one of those things that’s simultaneously incredibly boring and completely fascinating. On the one hand, it’s something you experience (whether consciously or not) for a large part of your day, and each font you read in your day has been meticulously chosen for all the supposed qualities it gives off. But on the other hand - it’s just a bloody font.

dirtyid 5y ago
The sheer breadth of typography experimentation in latin alphbet is also astounding. Also personal impressed by how much Japanese typographers managed to keep up with trends and culture. Not many scripts out there with good steam / cyberpunk options. Chinese pretty close. Korean seems to be lagging despite hangul being alphabet. Arabic + Hindi... very disappointing (though default beautiful). But that's just cursory exploration.
outworlder 5y ago
Just a bloody font, the choice of which can greatly enhance your experience (or detract from it). I would recommend https://practicaltypography.com/ https://practicaltypography.com/ EDIT: mind you, typography is much more than 'just fonts'.
- NikolaNovak 5y ago
  I've started reading it. I'll finish it. But it's subjectively the worst font (or layout, or kerning, or aliasing, or something - I'm extremely not an expert:) I've seen since... mid-90's? I don't know HOW they made it look that bad; I checked if they were accidentally-enlarged images, but nope. In addition to letters looking (subjectively) bad, it also looks strange. Kernings looks slightly off, and the "Small but necessary interruption" feels like it has another 3 fonts in there. Perhaps They're just lighter or narrow variations (again, not an expert), and then the user-added ALL CAPS with different spacing yet... it feels I'm reading 19th century print. Which is quaint, might be precisely what author is looking for (I once spent an hour trying to get letters on a CD look JUST the right amount of offset and wobbly :P ), but feels a bit... old school. https://practicaltypography.com/typography-in-ten-minutes.html https://practicaltypography.com/typography-in-ten-minutes.ht...
  - BitAstronaut 5y ago
    Any suggestions on good reading to learn?
  - throwdecro 5y ago
    Yeah it's strange, the content is about typography, but something about it is really hard to look at, at least on Mozilla Firefox. On some pages e.g. the typography-in-ten-minutes page it looks like the first paragraph is slightly, but not obviously, larger than the subsequent paragraphs. Everything seems stretched vertically, and the stuff in all-caps is borderline A E S T H E T I C with the horizontal spacing.
    - outworlder 5y ago
      Interesting, it does look different on Firefox (vs Chrome-based browsers).
    - achairapart 5y ago
      It's not ALL CAPS but sᴍᴀʟʟ ᴄᴀᴘs[0]. The author uses them as links, perhaps to illustrate this very difference. See also 14, 15 from "Summary of key rules"[1]. Sorry for the nitpick, but at the end that's actually what 90% of typography is all about, tiny details. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_caps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_caps [1]: https://practicaltypography.com/summary-of-key-rules.html https://practicaltypography.com/summary-of-key-rules.html
  - outworlder 5y ago
    No problems with kerning on my device, that I can see. The fonts used, just like in books, each have their purpose - https://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html https://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html Also, you can change the body text font by clicking the font name at the bottom.
    - NikolaNovak 5y ago
      I've tried it on iPhone and chrome and looks ok. Firefox in 27" still looks significantly off
KineticLensman 5y ago
> it’s just a bloody font. Obligatory http://wondermark.com/650/ http://wondermark.com/650/
- 600frogs 5y ago
  Heh, first time I’ve seen this. I’m of the opinion that as long as you’re not using something wildly out of place like papyrus or comic sans in a professional setting, it’s not hugely impactful what font you choose. You can spend hours comparing the subtle differences between helvetica and ariel but does it really make a difference? Also unrelated but the shocked dude in the last pane looks way too much like Elon Musk for my liking.
  - KineticLensman 5y ago
    I think fonts can make a difference where readability or accessibility is important. One example of a bad font choice in the UK is on the signs placed on roads after fatal accidents which ask witnesses to provide information. The contact number is written in a font that looks like a seven-segment display and that is virtually unreadable when you are driving past. The designer must have thought it looked good but it is unreadable. (Elon Musk lol)
  - myself248 5y ago
    When someone leaves their computer unlocked in my presence, I don't give them new wallpaper. Okay sometimes I still do, but mostly I've moved beyond that. I change their Outlook signature to Comic Sans. Someday I will get my comeuppance.
    - gbrown 5y ago
      > Someday I will get my comeuppance. May they throw the CFAA at you, villain.
- Xavdidtheshadow 5y ago
  see also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ
MengerSponge 5y ago
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-comic-sans-asshole https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-comic-sans-asshole
bierjunge 5y ago
A designer friend explained it to me with this image: https://i.redd.it/38jjcgaqu1g11.jpg https://i.redd.it/38jjcgaqu1g11.jpg Yes, the font you use to communicate with others matters. It's like the tone of your voice and your body language in a personal conversation.

dirtyid 5y ago

The sheer breadth of typography experimentation in latin alphbet is also astounding. Also personal impressed by how much Japanese typographers managed to keep up with trends and culture. Not many scripts out there with good steam / cyberpunk options. Chinese pretty close. Korean seems to be lagging despite hangul being alphabet. Arabic + Hindi... very disappointing (though default beautiful). But that's just cursory exploration.

outworlder 5y ago

Just a bloody font, the choice of which can greatly enhance your experience (or detract from it). I would recommend https://practicaltypography.com/ https://practicaltypography.com/ EDIT: mind you, typography is much more than 'just fonts'.

NikolaNovak 5y ago
I've started reading it. I'll finish it. But it's subjectively the worst font (or layout, or kerning, or aliasing, or something - I'm extremely not an expert:) I've seen since... mid-90's? I don't know HOW they made it look that bad; I checked if they were accidentally-enlarged images, but nope. In addition to letters looking (subjectively) bad, it also looks strange. Kernings looks slightly off, and the "Small but necessary interruption" feels like it has another 3 fonts in there. Perhaps They're just lighter or narrow variations (again, not an expert), and then the user-added ALL CAPS with different spacing yet... it feels I'm reading 19th century print. Which is quaint, might be precisely what author is looking for (I once spent an hour trying to get letters on a CD look JUST the right amount of offset and wobbly :P ), but feels a bit... old school. https://practicaltypography.com/typography-in-ten-minutes.html https://practicaltypography.com/typography-in-ten-minutes.ht...
- BitAstronaut 5y ago
  Any suggestions on good reading to learn?
- throwdecro 5y ago
  Yeah it's strange, the content is about typography, but something about it is really hard to look at, at least on Mozilla Firefox. On some pages e.g. the typography-in-ten-minutes page it looks like the first paragraph is slightly, but not obviously, larger than the subsequent paragraphs. Everything seems stretched vertically, and the stuff in all-caps is borderline A E S T H E T I C with the horizontal spacing.
  - outworlder 5y ago
    Interesting, it does look different on Firefox (vs Chrome-based browsers).
  - achairapart 5y ago
    It's not ALL CAPS but sᴍᴀʟʟ ᴄᴀᴘs[0]. The author uses them as links, perhaps to illustrate this very difference. See also 14, 15 from "Summary of key rules"[1]. Sorry for the nitpick, but at the end that's actually what 90% of typography is all about, tiny details. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_caps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_caps [1]: https://practicaltypography.com/summary-of-key-rules.html https://practicaltypography.com/summary-of-key-rules.html
- outworlder 5y ago
  No problems with kerning on my device, that I can see. The fonts used, just like in books, each have their purpose - https://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html https://practicaltypography.com/how-to-use.html Also, you can change the body text font by clicking the font name at the bottom.
  - NikolaNovak 5y ago
    I've tried it on iPhone and chrome and looks ok. Firefox in 27" still looks significantly off

KineticLensman 5y ago

> it’s just a bloody font. Obligatory http://wondermark.com/650/ http://wondermark.com/650/

600frogs 5y ago
Heh, first time I’ve seen this. I’m of the opinion that as long as you’re not using something wildly out of place like papyrus or comic sans in a professional setting, it’s not hugely impactful what font you choose. You can spend hours comparing the subtle differences between helvetica and ariel but does it really make a difference? Also unrelated but the shocked dude in the last pane looks way too much like Elon Musk for my liking.
- KineticLensman 5y ago
  I think fonts can make a difference where readability or accessibility is important. One example of a bad font choice in the UK is on the signs placed on roads after fatal accidents which ask witnesses to provide information. The contact number is written in a font that looks like a seven-segment display and that is virtually unreadable when you are driving past. The designer must have thought it looked good but it is unreadable. (Elon Musk lol)
- myself248 5y ago
  When someone leaves their computer unlocked in my presence, I don't give them new wallpaper. Okay sometimes I still do, but mostly I've moved beyond that. I change their Outlook signature to Comic Sans. Someday I will get my comeuppance.
  - gbrown 5y ago
    > Someday I will get my comeuppance. May they throw the CFAA at you, villain.
Xavdidtheshadow 5y ago
see also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

MengerSponge 5y ago

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-comic-sans-asshole https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-comic-sans-asshole

bierjunge 5y ago

A designer friend explained it to me with this image: https://i.redd.it/38jjcgaqu1g11.jpg https://i.redd.it/38jjcgaqu1g11.jpg Yes, the font you use to communicate with others matters. It's like the tone of your voice and your body language in a personal conversation.