Comments on: Expand Your Web Typography

By: Scott Lenger

Scott Lenger — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:53:48 +0000

Not so fast! I can’t speak for arial, but Verdana and Georgia were specifically created for reading on screen, which, though somewhat limiting, gives them a certain superiority to other fonts. For headings and other large type items I completely agree that the traditional web font libraries should be expanded, provided appropriate CSS fall backs are in place.

Paul: It’s not the “constraints of HTML” but the default browser display properties. Indenting began as a result of the prior limitations of desktop publishing software which I guess carried over into the early browser market.

By: Dcypher

Dcypher — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:38:03 +0000

Very interesting article. Web typography is a much overlooked subject.

By: Kyle Meyer

Kyle Meyer — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:43:32 +0000

Robin: That is indeed an excellent resource, thank you.

By: thepanda

thepanda — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:55:05 +0000

Great article! Thanks, web typography is so often ignored. Thanks!

By: Robin Jakobsson

Robin Jakobsson — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:52:31 +0000

A little bit OT: This is quite a resource if you want to adapt your typography for Linux-users -> MondayByNoon.com - Linux Fonts Equivalents. Thank you for a great read.

By: Eli

Eli — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:41:39 +0000

I meant to write ‘now’ instead of no in my above comment… I’m going to widen my selection of fonts on the web now

By: Kyle Meyer

Kyle Meyer — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:25:11 +0000

Rett: I’m a big fan of sIFR as its far more accessible than any image replacement technique could be. I’ve used it on a few freelance sites to good effect, and plan on continuing to use it for headlines.

By: Rett

Rett — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:30:38 +0000

Great post Kyle! In print design and when working on identities I spend a lot of time on typography, however for web copy it tends to be an after thought. Thanks for pointing out a few more options that we have as well as reminding us that you always have the font-families as a backup.

Curious what you think of SIFR and other replacement techniques for use in headlines?

By: Scotty

Scotty — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:13:06 +0000

Very interesting article. In my endeavors as an amateur web designer I have spent countless hours searching for a font that I thought would flow with the rest of the page as well as not being overused.

In my very early attempts I was a fan of Trebuchet for things such as navigation tabs, headlines, and even occasionally for offset information boxes. As I grew in familiarity with design concepts I noticed it, too, was somewhat overused. I migrated away from it some time after that.

I’d also like to note your point on Arial Narrow. While it is a fine font, it can look very odd on different resolutions. I noticed this while I was forced to work on a friend’s mini-notebook. After reaching my design I realized how exaggerated the font looks on such a small screen.

I too am a sucker for Georgia and Helvetica. However many times they are used, it does not change that they are beautiful fonts and tend to make your page come together.

Thanks for the article, Kyle. Very informative.

By: Kyle Meyer

Kyle Meyer — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:55:20 +0000

Ian: I know what you mean, in fact if you look closely all of the tags on this site are using Georgia because Palatino doesn’t render well at that small of a size due to similar complications. So while Century Gothic would be nice for some elements you may need to use Verdana or Arial at smaller sizes.