There’s an interesting article at the Wichite State University website that deals with how a font choice in your email can change your recipient’s perception of your email. A sample email message was presented in three fonts (Calibri, Comic Sans, and Gigi). The three chosen fonts represented a high, medium, and low level of congruency for email [...]

There are many reasons why Helvetica is so widespread. The most obvious being that a few weights have been bundled with the Mac OS for years. It is arguably the most respectable of the ‘default’ fonts. But it’s also used because it’s a safe, neutral choice. For many purposes, typography is more about content than [...]

Once there was a typeface called Helvetica. It was extremely popular. Later came a software company called Microsoft. They ‘borrowed’ Helvetica for their operating system and called it Arial. This inferior typeface is now on millions of desktops all over the world. Can you tell the difference between the original and the rip-off in these [...]

There is a new wicked typography website that allows designers to submit an original design using a font of their choice for a specific date. After submitting the artwork, public voting determines the winning entry which is then added as part of a month’s calendar and appears in the homepage. It all happens at This [...]

It has now been 50 years since Helvetica was introduced. Even if you’ve never heard its name before, you would be bound to recognize the typeface, because you’ll have seen it so often without knowing. We live in such a bloated visual culture that a typical Western consumer is said to see - as opposed [...]

Apple and Microsoft have always disagreed in how to display fonts on computer displays. Today, both companies are using sub-pixel rendering to coax sharper-looking fonts out of typical low resolution screens. Where they differ is in philosophy. Apple generally believes that the goal of the algorithm should be to preserve the design of the typeface [...]

Ugly fonts, cutesy fonts, unreadable fonts, bad fonts . . . they have terrorized us for far too long, infiltrating our homes… this article presents the seven worst fonts-and the people who use them. Read more…

Better known today for being Apple’s main font on their website, iPod and more, Myriad is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Robert Slimbach (born 1956) and Carol Twombly (born 1959) in the period 1990-92 for Adobe Systems. Myriad is a multiple masters face that works with an intelligent software "engine" to allow the user [...]

When Linotype acquired the Helvetica family it was in disarray - two different names for the same version, variations in design features. To make order out of it all they redrew the entire Helvetica family and dubbed it Neue Helvetica (New Helvetica). They also added a numbering system to help identify all the many styles [...]

We’re seeing change in font use and designs in Web 2.0, but these changes aren’t just aesthetic but functional too. So I thought I’d share some insights we’ve had while discussing these trends. Eventhough I’ve narrowed it down to font usage, the trends I see in this artcile obviously apply to all design elements. The last [...]

From the company that popularized Arial, here are three examples of bad typography in Microsoft Word. Bad typesetting in Word finds its way into resumes, business plans, research papers, government documents, even published books. These small inconsistencies and imperfections may be un-noticible in small doses, but paragraph-after-paragraph they stack up - resulting in ugly, visually-incohesive [...]

By my best estimation, at least 1,800 new commercial typefaces were released in 2006 alone. This count does not include freebies, custom and proprietary commissions, or even individual weights. It is a rough tally of the number of new font families released by the major resellers and exclusive foundries last year. If we take this [...]

We recently tested a great new utility called Genopal PRO - it’s an easy and intuitive software that helps you pick up complementary colors for your projects in a snap. The software is loaded with great features, such as an easy to use color picker, preset palettes, drag and drop swatches and much more. Contrary to [...]

I have spent the last month searching, stumbling, noting, bookmarking and analysing in a quest to find 15 Excellent examples of Web Typography. I’ve chosen them because they make excellent use of type. Some of the examples mimic the typography of print, while others actually leverage web technology, smart CSS and delicious HTML to make [...]

Every now and then designers stumble upon the very same problem: the choice of a unique and beautiful typeface which manages to fulfill three basic tasks. Support the corporate identity, enrich the visual appearance and is compatible with the overall design. However, usually there are simply too many options you can consider, which is why [...]

The main advantage of excellent typography lies in its ability to be both attractive and functional at the same time. Although images communicate more vividly, text presentation can impress visitors with its sharpness and precise geometrical forms and curves. Consequently, chosen wisely and used carefully, it can be very effective - and there are dozens [...]

It took three years and three designers to develop FF Meta® Serif. All through the ’90s, Erik Spiekermann made several attempts at designing a counterpart for his groundbreaking FF Meta®. Fans of Meta frequently asked him which serif face would best complement it. He recommended Swift, Minion, FF Clifford, and others, until he realized that [...]

If one aspect of design has suffered most in its transition to the Web, it is the art of typography. For years, Web typography involved little more than choosing a typeface and font size. Unstyled Times New Roman was the norm, and the integration of established typographical techniques and rules was unimagined. But times change. Since [...]

Typography is a significant issue for designers. On many projects, finding just the right font, size, spacing, etc. can require considerable time and attention. In addition to typography, color is also a major factor in the success of the design. What is sometimes overlooked is the combination of color and typography and the effect that [...]

Ever seen a typeface (font) you like but couldn’t identify it? I once knew an Art Director who seemed to be able to identify just about any typeface I showed him. However, in recent years, even he responds with, I don’t have a clue. So where to turn? Well, rather than publishing my Art Director friend’s [...]

You can’t believe how many times a week I get the question what the font’s name is that I use for my titles on this site. So high time for an introduction to Rene Albert Chalet, the designer of the lovely Chalet typeface. Rene Albert Chalet could easily be one of the most underappreciated [...]

Recently I received through the post something large, yellow and weighing 3kg. No, not a genetically modified banana, but FontShop’s FontBook, the encyclopaedia of type. This book really should come with a health warning: my postman almost had a hernia delivering it, and very nearly sprained his wrist attempting to hold it in one hand [...]

Unless you’ve been avoiding television, newspapers, and all other forms of mass media for the past few months, you’ve probably seen Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s ‘Change We Can Believe In’ and ‘Stand for Change’ banners. The typophiles among you have realized that the ‘change’ font Obama’s campaign uses is Gotham, designed by Hoefler & [...]

Can there be such a thing as a hit in typography? A blockbuster? The surge in the popularity of Rockwell must have come from somewhere. The Times Magazine’s use of the face goes back at least to 2001, though it has been used more prominently since 2004. One might think that Apple’s decision to bundle [...]