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 ...
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 ...
26
votes
16answers
88k views
Web Safe Alternative to Myriad Pro Font?
Is there any font that I can use in my font stack that is more or less similar to Myriad Pro and web safe?
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 ...
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?
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 ...
16
votes
1answer
633 views
Why do some fonts make I, l, 1 look the same?
Why do some fonts make the I,l,1 characters look identical?
There are fonts where they don't just look similar - they are the same exact pixel locations.
Why were they ever created?
I'm guessing ...
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 ...
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) ...
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 ...
13
votes
1answer
569 views
What are standard ratios for typography on the web?
In laying out a web design, I often try to make sure that my typography is proportional and consistent. However, I haven't been able to find any definitive articles or resources on what ratios and ...
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?
11
votes
2answers
205 views
How do I know if my downloaded font is legal
My graphic designer has specified Gotham Thin for the font in the iOS app that I'm writing. I googled around and found a site that will sell it to me, and I found some sites that just will let me ...
11
votes
1answer
151 views
What considerations are there in designing pixel fonts?
I'm designing monospace pixel fonts for a game, and so far I've only been able to work with extremely small sizes (largest I've managed is 5x9) because those ones are the easiest to try and err with. ...
11
votes
2answers
953 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?
10
votes
6answers
4k views
How are Serif and Sans-serif fonts different, and when should one use one over the other?
What is the difference between these fonts, and what are some typical examples of why one might be used over another?
10
votes
2answers
650 views
Why are fonts from the 19th century not in the public domain?
(This is probably more a "copyright" question than anything, but I have not found an appropriate StackExchange site for this kind of question.)
Why are fonts like Akzidenz-Grotesk, that were made way ...
10
votes
1answer
41 views
Is it ok to mix fonts in Japanese documents?
If careful, reading, understanding, and form can be improved when mixing fonts carefully. For example, using carefully matched sans-serif fonts for titles with serif-fonts for text can achieve a ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
Do a lot of freelance designers buy fonts?
A lot of the fonts I see are pretty darn expensive, of course you can find some awesome ones for free, but do freelance designers usually buy fonts? Or is buying fonts a practice reserved mostly for ...
9
votes
1answer
104 views
Justification and hyphenation without proper time and tools?
In my computer science studies we are being forced to write a report every now and then. I have a background in web development and have worked closely with both print and web designers for many years ...
9
votes
4answers
679 views
How to manually identify a font when the automatic services fail?
A common problem: Designer has spotted a delicious font being used on/offline, but there are no references what is the name of the font. The designer either gets unsatisfactory results from automatic ...
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 ...
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 ...
8
votes
2answers
209 views
Ascender and descender heights: all equal?
Are all ascender and descender heights typically equal in well-designed typefaces? Does using identical ascenders and descenders increase readability, or is it not an issue at all?
7
votes
2answers
379 views
Help me find a font that looks something like this…
Ok, this is a horrible drawing I know but looking for font recommendations that might get me close. Basically I am looking for a font that uses 3 stripes to create connecting letters. The letters in ...
7
votes
1answer
191 views
Font design and typographic choices for dyslexic readers?
I recently stumbled on a font designed specifically for dyslexic readers (OpenDyslexic). It explains how it works like so:
Letters have heavy weighted bottoms to add a kind of "gravity" to each ...
7
votes
2answers
130 views
Establishing the real copyright owner of a font
An increasing collection of fonts are being released for free, but the majority of fonts require a license. For any given font, it's possible to find many versions online, both legal and not. There ...
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 ...
7
votes
3answers
209 views
The selection and use of typefaces for the non-designer
I am looking for a short, concise resource that will help me better choose and use typefaces.
I think the ideal resource would have a thoughtfully chosen list of about a dozen of the most important ...
7
votes
3answers
136 views
How can I represent a country with a font?
I am working on a multilingual book about some European Union countries. The selected are: Poland, Greece, Spain, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic, Austria, Turkey anb Estonia.
I wish to write a ...
7
votes
3answers
127 views
How to find open source alternatives to commercial fonts?
What is the best way to find an open source alternative to a commercial font? I was thinking as some service as alternativeto.net or a whatthefont.com that would spit out fonts that are similar to the ...
6
votes
4answers
32k views
Helvetica Neue Equivalent on Google Web Fonts
Does anybody know a font on google web fonts that is very similar to Helvetica Neue?
6
votes
3answers
527 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?
6
votes
2answers
709 views
Which cut of Gill Sans is it that is included on a Mac?
Like many classic fonts, there are several different cuts of Gill Sans by various publishers. Monotype distribute it as 'Gill Sans MT', and Adobe and ITC have their own versions.
Which version is the ...
6
votes
4answers
152 views
Is it “legal” to use copyrighted fonts without a license for non-profit projects?
It is? I just want to use some specific fonts for a non-profit project. I'll never sell or get any money (not myself or anyone related) with this. Not myself or anyone or the makers of those fonts ...
6
votes
1answer
77 views
Font copyright when used in images (Helvetica)
I have a specific Helvetica font that I use for text within graphics I am creating for my website, i.e. buttons, pictures.
Do I need a licence or is it sufficient just to have purchased the specific ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
Fonts for technical reports
I'm building an MS Word template for my reports. I am not sure what to use for fonts. I see lots of reports from clients and others using Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Calibri, Cambrai, ...
6
votes
1answer
186 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
7answers
571 views
Building hand-written fonts for lettering
I am looking to build a custom font from my handwriting for lettering a comic.
what professional tools exist to build such a font and export it into one of the mainstream formats (TTF, OpenType, or ...
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).
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Newspaper Title Font?
Does anyone know of a font for the title of a newspaper? The type that's used for the first letter of a chapter of a book, and is so calligraphic, you can't tell if it has serifs or not. Something ...
5
votes
4answers
21k views
DIN Font free alternative
I need a websafe alternative to DIN font. Obviously it needs to have a free copyright. Anyone know of a good one?
Thanks!
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 ...
5
votes
2answers
390 views
Which angles look good
A friend of mine had a poster made for his business. Here is a segment of it:
I can't tell for sure, but I think the angle of the logo is not quite right... (I don't mean any pun with the ...
5
votes
5answers
550 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
528 views
Which hand-drawn/calligraphic style font is used in this restaurant logo?
I need some fontphiles!
Which font is being used for the restaurant name? Any ideas?
I'm sorry the image is so small, it's the best one I could fine.
Apologies if this is not the right SE to ask ...
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
2answers
112 views
Is this an effect or a type of font?
I have seen a lot this type of fonts (the ones in the bar). It is a relief effect or the font is just like that?
5
votes
2answers
504 views
What makes a font a “gothic” font?
This seems like simple question... but I cannot track down any useful answers.
It's easy to find lots of fonts with "gothic" in their names. But what makes a font a "gothic" font?
5
votes
2answers
730 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, ...
