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Subject:Re: Font Peeves From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 24 Jan 1998 22:24:59 -0500
"Martin, Chuck" <chuckm -at- EVOLVESOFTWARE -dot- COM> wrote:
>
>fonts evoke a past era. I like my documents to look more >"modern"--without being *too* sleek. The "Wired" look goes too >far for documentation.
One thing I'd like to add to that: it's amazing how many companies and
designers, trying to look modern, reach for fonts like Futura or
Avant-Garde - fonts which represent the Twenties' or Thirties' idea of
the future. Instead of looking futuristic, these fonts have a retro-look
to them.
>Some of the newer body fonts seem to have a "cleaner" look; >they're designed for high-resolution, high-quality printing. >Some of them are even designed to look good both in print and >online.
A lot of fonts designed in the last fifteen years or so also have fewer
kerning problems, because they were designed for the computer, rather
than lead blocks. It's also easier to produce variants with subtle
changes in the proportions at smaller point sizes, although many
designers don't bother.
An excellent example of these modern fonts is the Stone family: Stone
Sans, Serif and Informal.
"Rain and hard religion, gifts of a northern youth
We make a mess of tenderness, we make you have the truth,
There are days when we're almost human, times when it's shout or bust,
The roughest kind of harmony, we sing because we must."
--Oyster Band