More Meaningful Typography We have all heard of the golden mean (also known as the golden ratio or golden section): the self-replicating page with a proportion of 1:1.618 that is said to be found in everything from the design of ancient Greek architecture to the growth patterns of plants. Article Continues Below This and other meaningful ratios rooted in geometry, music, nature, and history can be expressed as modular scales and put to work on the web. Fig 1: A simple modular scale: 10@1:1.618 Fig 2: Our example page, designed using a modular scale. A modular scale is a sequence of numbers that relate to one another in a meaningful way. By using culturally relevant, historically pleasing ratios to create modular scales and basing the measurements in our compositions on values from those scales, we can achieve a visual harmony not found in layouts that use arbitrary, conventional, or easily divisible numbers. Let’s start by looking at what modular scales are, and how they apply to web design. Conclusion#section5
19 top fonts most preferred by graphic designers from around the web | BonFX – Logo Designer & Freelance Graphic Designer By Douglas Bonneville on September 9, 2009 Out of the huge number of fonts used by graphic designers, there really is quite a small pool of fonts consistently chosen over and over again by graphic designers as their “most used”. I took some time to search out as many “top fonts for graphic designers” search results (plus variations) that I had time to visit. I spent several hours visiting blogs, forums, magazine websites, etc.. I tallied up the top typefaces in people’s lists. The list was about 40 fonts long after the first hour, but could have easily been 100 fonts if I kept at it. NOTE: Because people generally favor the term “top fonts” over “top typefaces” according to Google, I’m using the term font. What we have left is 19 top fonts that met the criteria of being mentioned at least certain number of times. BTW: The Big Book of Font Combinations wants you to stop by and check out its samples. There you have it! More Top Fonts resources:
Beautiful Web Types with Google Web Fonts As web designers were always limited to use selected typefaces for websites because of the limited availability of fonts for the web. We used to use alternatives as images & JS libraries to give some styles to websites and web applications. However, these alternatives resulted in an increase in the http request and loading time, as well as site efficiency. Google came up with a solution that I think all web designers are thankful for. Google Web Fonts are viewed more than 1 billion times every day across the web, on more than 100 million web pages. Why to use? Uniqueness – if you use fonts other than Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman, Helvetica – fonts from Google library give your website a unique look. Few Examples How to use? Standard – This is a standard stylesheet link that you will add in the head section of your HTML. Useful Links: Google Web Fonts Library Google Web Developer Examples
Typographer’s typefaces The 25 most admired... | Type Worship The 25 most admired typefaces by typographers, type designers and letterers. Selecting the right typeface makes all the difference to effective design and communication. But with over 100,000 font families to pick from it can be a daunting task. There are some excellent guides on how to choose a typeface and helpful methods for pairing typefaces but in order to apply these principles it’s important to be familiar with a broad range of quality typefaces. Wouldn’t it be great to start with a short list of typefaces, hand-picked by designers in the type industry? In each issue of 8 Faces magazine we asked eight leading designers from the fields of typography, lettering and type design itself: If you could use just eight typefaces, which would you choose? We’ve counted the number of times each typeface was selected and found consensus with the top 25. 1. Matthew Carter, 1993. “A gorgeous technical achievement.” 2. Tobias Frere-Jones, 2000. “Each character just feels ‘normal’ and ‘right’”. 3.
Typography Deconstructed | A comprehensive guide to the anatomy of type. MyFonts: Webfonts & Desktop Fonts A Crash Course in Typography: Principles for Combining Typefaces Apr 11 2011 When combining typefaces, there are a couple of important principles you’ll need to keep in mind, namely contrast and mood. Effectively combining typefaces is a skill best learned through practice, and trial-and-error. Once you’ve mastered the principles covered here, you’ll have the tools you need to try out combinations while making educated guesses about what will and won’t work together. Here, we’re mostly covering combining two typefaces, as you would for body copy and headlines. Contrast Contrast is one of the most important concepts to understand when it comes to combining typefaces. But first, what exactly is contrast? Weight The weight of a typeface plays a huge role in its appearance. You’ll want to look for typefaces that have noticeable difference in weight, without being too extreme. Style and Decoration The style of a typeface has a huge impact on how it’s received. Style and decoration can also be used to create contrast within a type family or typeface. Structure
New High-Quality Free Fonts (2012 Edition) - Smashing Magazine Advertisement Every now and then, we look around, select fresh free high-quality fonts and present them to you in a brief overview. The choice is enormous, so the time you need to find them is usually time you should be investing in your projects. We search for them and find them so that you don’t have to. In this selection, we’re pleased to present Homestead, Bree Serif, Levanderia, Valencia, Nomed Font, Carton and other quality fonts. Free Fonts HomesteadHomestead is a very distinctive Slab Serif typeface that leaves a lasting impression with its geometric forms and a modern, progressive look. Bree Serif RegularThis typeface is the serif cousin of the playful, charming and versatile type family Bree which was designed by Veronika Burian and José Scaglione back in 2008. LavanderiaLavanderia is a script font based on lettering found on Laundromat windows of San Francisco’s Mission District. JuraJura is an elegant serif typeface with narrow proportions and distinguishing details. (vf) (il)
Establishing a Hierarchy of Goals for Everything You Design What one thing above all else makes for a great design? Where should your focus lie? More importantly, is it possible or even desirable to focus on a single goal at the expense of others? Today we’ll take a look at why goal-oriented design is good design and discuss how being a designer means weighing several competing factors. We’ll also discuss how to decide which goals are the most important and how establishing a hierarchy for each project will make for a better experience for the client, the user and the designer. The Magic Formula There’s constant debate in the design community over what the primary idea, principle or tactic is for creating “great” designs. I don’t possess such a formula, nor do I believe one even exists. Accepting this premise still doesn’t get us very far. Design is Like Golf This problem is a lot like that of hitting a golf ball and having it land anywhere near where you want it to (which I’m incapable of doing). Design is the same way. Stakeholders Lead to Goals
The Journal of Urban Typography 5 More Typography Do’s and Don’ts Everyone Should Know Yesterday we brought you part one of our ten do’s and don’t for working with typography. Today we’ll wrap up with five more! Read on to see if you’re guilty of any of the following blunders and how to make sure you never do it again. Don’t: Put Text Over a Busy Background I bring this problem up frequently simply because it’s something that countless people struggle with. Like many designers, I tried my best to make this text stand out on its own merit. At this point, it’s pretty easy to get frustrated and set off in search of a better photo, or worse, give into the “good enough” mentality. It turns out, you can combine text with almost any image in a minute or less with one simple, stylish trick. Do: Give Text a Containment Device In the example below, I still used my crazy photo. It’s important to note that the example above is a generalization: one possible and typical solution of many. Be wary of becoming a one-trick pony and always resorting to the same old design fixes. Conclusion
Beautiful Type