Everything you ever wanted to know about typefaces but were afraid to ask.
80
votes
11answers
3k views
Tips and sources for beginning designers
Thanks to the internet, graphic design and programming are becoming increasingly overlapping fields.
As a programmer, I constantly find myself needing basic knowledge of Graphic Design, but have ...
21
votes
5answers
12k views
How can I automatically determine fonts used in an image or PDF?
How is it possible to determine the fonts used by text in PDF and TIFF files?
13
votes
5answers
2k views
What does the size of the font translate to exactly?
I have a 40 pixel font that I'm trying to translate into custom images. I'm trying to match the size of the image exactly, but I'm having some problems getting exactly the right size. Basically, what ...
8
votes
5answers
8k views
Font (anti)aliasing in Photoshop
I'm using Photoshop for designing websites and whenever I compare a photoshop design with the live browser preview the fonts appear to be rendered differently.
Basically any anti-aliasing method I ...
30
votes
6answers
1k views
What are best practices for choosing and pairing fonts?
I've always found font selection to be a little bit of a mystery. What factors should be considered when choosing a font? How does one successfully incorporate two fonts into a design?
I realize that ...
4
votes
6answers
414 views
Modern design - What's that?
I am working on redesigning my website and iterating through fivesecondtests.
The overall feedback is improving but no matter what I change, several people have mentionned that my designs look ...
8
votes
5answers
5k views
Visually similar alternatives to Helvetica?
I'd like to use something similar-but-different for my poster project.
I've already ruled out:
Arial
Avant Garde/Futura - too geometric
Frutiger - too humanist
/'friendly'
I guess I'm looking for ...
14
votes
3answers
3k views
Do I need to license fonts included with my OS?
I've noticed that most custom fonts include a license.txt file that requests some amount of money for a commercial license.
I am interested in whether it is also necessary to license OS (Mac/Windows) ...
5
votes
5answers
9k views
Noteworthy: Web Font and Its (Possible) Alternatives
I am trying to use Noteworthy font (available on Mac OS X 10.7.2) for my web application. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it on MyFonts nor typekit; I mentioned these two sites just because so far they ...
3
votes
6answers
146 views
What font to enhance 1-2 words within block of Helvetica/Arial?
I'm trying to find an alternative to simply "bold/italic" words that I want to enhance within a continuous block of Helvetica/Arial text.
For example:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur ...
3
votes
7answers
1k views
PSD fonts and Html Page fonts
I am a web developer. What happens is that the Client sends a PSD (Photoshop designs) to the company. Then the designer needs to create a HTML page from the PSDs
What happen every time is that the ...
3
votes
2answers
458 views
What font can I use for a Japanese book?
I have a PDF book to be translated in Japanese, and what wondering which fonts to use. My main languages are French and English and I have no experience with asian fonts. I would not be able to say ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Can I manage the fonts that appear on Illustrator's Type drop down
On mac, I have many more fonts on my computer than I use daily. Is there a way to control which ones appear on Illustrator etc.'s menus?
I see that I can use Font Book to 'disable' the fonts. Is that ...
24
votes
7answers
1k views
What are good sources for Open-Source fonts?
What are good sources for Open-Source fonts?
Note that by "Open-Source" I don't mean only free, but truly "open, free to modify and published under an Open Source license" fonts. These are still very ...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
“Serifs improve fast, easy readability for long text” - myth or truth?
It's an old question, but an important one. Let's see if we can get a good, nuanced, ideally evidence-based answer.
So, old-school wisdom (certainly, how I was taught back in the day) says that serif ...
15
votes
6answers
21k views
Font-face loaded on Windows look really bad. Which fonts are you using that render better?
EDIT: The problem was that I did not have "Cleartype" turned on in my settings on Vista. This question may not have much meaning if you have Cleartype is installed/enabled on Windows OS.
A new ...
6
votes
3answers
530 views
FOSS Font editing or creation tools for windows
What are the best free or open source font editing/creation tools available for free on the Windows platform?
11
votes
4answers
2k views
What are the differences between Helvetica and Arial?
I've heard there are a number of slight differences between these two similar fonts, is one better than the other for different contexts?
7
votes
2answers
7k views
What is a good font for a CV?
A recent article in Nature discusses the effect of typeface on credibility, and points to another study suggesting that
resumes displayed in a high
appropriate typeface (Corbel),
resulted in ...
3
votes
3answers
278 views
I want to learn how to select appropriate colors and fonts for a new site
I'm developing a new site, and although I know enough basic programming to make the site, I'm not artistically inclined enough to make the site look nice. So, I was hoping I could get some suggestions ...
2
votes
2answers
287 views
What is the font used in the logo of Stack exchange beta sites?
I am quite curious.. I already have seen it elsewere and I like it.
11
votes
2answers
995 views
Optimum line height in relation to font size
Is there an agreement on the optimum mathematical proportion of line height and the size of a text? And if there is, is it the same for print and web?
4
votes
3answers
4k views
Is there a way to sort fonts inside Photoshop, as “serif,” “sans-serif,” “script,” etc.?
In my years as a graphic designer (and now web designer and developer,) I've acquired a great number of fonts; inasmuch as backing them up was a responsibility paramount attendant upon formatting my ...
3
votes
1answer
182 views
Anyone knows the fonts used in this Resume?
I found a really creative resume when I was surfing the web this morning, and it uses some awesome sans-serif typefaces, but I don't know the fonts. Has anyone seen them before? (WhatTheFont was no ...
6
votes
1answer
187 views
Looking for a japanese font to match Garamond
Question:
I'm currently taking a Japanese History course, and typing up (what I believe to be) a very pretty set of course notes. However, I'm having trouble finding an appropriate font. I'm currently ...
5
votes
2answers
755 views
Do all monospace sans-serif fonts look the same?
I am trying to find a very good monospace sans serif font to meet the requirements of a client.
However, despite there being a number of them out there, such as Deja Vu, Droid Sans Mono, Cousine, ...
5
votes
5answers
553 views
Guidelines for logos using multiple typefaces
I was wondering there were any helpful guidelines and/or tips for designing logos with multiple fonts. It seems to be a dangerous area to enter into, but can lead to some great results.
Often times ...
3
votes
1answer
496 views
Anticipating problems with a Google Webfont's rendering cross-platform
Web fonts can sometimes look great on one machine, but awful on another, due to differences in rendering not just between browsers, but also with the same browser between operating systems.
Most ...
3
votes
3answers
293 views
How to identify fantasy fonts
I can clearly identify wacky fonts like this one:
to be of the "fantasy" type, but some fonts look almost like regular serif or sans serif fonts only with some strange things going on. As an ...
3
votes
3answers
319 views
TTF and other “modern” font systems, and font size differences
I have no formal (and precious little informal) graphic design training.
Fairly famous Computer Science person Dr. Donald Knuth long ago developed a font description system called Metafont. In and of ...
3
votes
1answer
308 views
Thick “Initial” font, with a particular “S”
I want wondering if anyone knew of any commercial-free fonts where the "S" doesn't curve down, but instead the ends go horizontally? I'm having a hard time searching for something with that kind of ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Popular serif and sans-serif browser compatible font combinations?
I was curious as to which combinations of serif and sans-serif fonts are preferable to use that are compatible with most browsers.
While I am aware that with the introduction of CSS3 importing ...
2
votes
1answer
955 views
free 'Helvetica Neue' alternative
Does anyone know any other fonts similar to Helvetica Neue (free for commercial use)? I'm working on a big website project where 'Helvetica Neue' is used heavily. I need a font that looks almost the ...
1
vote
3answers
11k views
Folder to put fonts for Illustrator CS6 without having to install fonts in system
I remember there used to be a folder I could just put fonts in and they would work for Adobe InDesign. I thought it was a folder called fonts in the same directory the InDesign document was. I tried ...
5
votes
2answers
131 views
After purchasing fonts, what further “permissions” are necessary to use them in commercial design work?
There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding font "licensing" and "permissions". Isn't the license to design with it what we are purchasing when buying the font? For basic commercial design work, ...
5
votes
5answers
11k views
EAN-13 Barcode Font
I've googled for over 30 mins now, I can't find a free barcode font for EAN-13. Anyone know of any? fontsquirrel have none, Dafont have a few, But none of them are EAN-13 (as far as I know).
4
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I embed Google Web Fonts into an SVG?
I'm new to SVGs, and just made my first decent graphic in Illustrator. I've embedded it into a page (using the ) with the GWF script for the Ubuntu font in the tag, but as it turns out, the Ubuntu ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
Creating a list of favourite fonts in Photoshop
I do a lot of design work, and I'm constantly using different fonts. Therefore I've built up a list of over 200 fonts in my directory.
Is there a way in Photoshop of creating a favourites short list ...
4
votes
3answers
3k views
How to create a new glyph = letter + ogonek in InDesign
I've got a font, which doesn't have polish diacritic chars which I need. I'm trying to construct them, by merging two glyphs - a letter and ogonek or acute accent, which are provided by my font.
I ...
4
votes
1answer
157 views
In What Situations Am I Required to License Fonts From Its Original Creator?
In what situations am I required to license fonts from its original creator? For example, if I design a poster or a card for personal use and I use a font I have downloaded online or have paid for the ...
3
votes
2answers
80 views
Does anyone know a good pixel font 7px tall?
I'm looking for a pixel font which I'll use later on to convert/use on an lcd type of display and the maximum height is 7px.
I've started by checking out dafont's bitmap fonts, but it takes quite a ...
3
votes
2answers
298 views
Is there no such thing as OCR-B font in bold?
I have been looking for a good monospace font in order to meet the criteria of a client.
One I found that I think has suitable qualities is OCR-B.
However, as near as I can tell, it only comes in ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
Rules for adding colors to a black and white palette in web
I am working on a fashion website for my own portfolio, that allows users to have their own account where they save fashion related items. A sort of Pinterest for fashion items.
Now, I know that the ...
1
vote
1answer
152 views
Vector pasting in wrong spot / Font Lab and Illustrator
I built out some shapes to test out a font icon idea.
I drew them in Illustrator. I set my art-board to pt at 1000 x 1000.
I filled the objects and moved the ruler so that 0 was the baseline.
From ...
0
votes
1answer
4k views
How to change PDF text encoding ? (ANSI to UNICODE)
I have this problem with a PDF I am trying to copy the text from... I have this text in a pdf and I need to insert in into a HTML page, the problem is that when I copy the text some of the letters(the ...
0
votes
3answers
580 views
Font suggestions for a church site [closed]
Do you guys have any font suggestions for a ministry website (for headlines, logo etc.) ?
So far I found this one:
-1
votes
2answers
318 views
How do I create text with a sense of depth?
I like the appearance on a button used by this site. Here is an example:
Is this effect achieved graphically or are there fonts available? If there are fonts like this, what search terms should I ...
-2
votes
1answer
171 views
