Fonts

This section contains more information about fonts, more specifically about the technical aspects of typefaces and their use in prepress and printed publications.

Font basics

Learn about the different font formats, what weird characters such as # are called or dive into the history of font formats.

Interesting typefaces

This section contains short descriptions of 30 interesting fonts, including examples of what they look like, their history, and recommended usage. Next to my own list, there is also an overview of what an international jury considered to be the most important typefaces of all time as well as a list of the most hated fonts. The pages on the history of prepress include a ‘font of the year’, starting from 1966.

Free fonts

Suggestions for links are welcome. The tricky part is to find a site that offers high-quality free fonts. After all, I cannot recommend using just about any free font after telling you on another part of this site to stay away from those do-it-yourself amateur fonts 🙂

• Dafont seems to be a pretty popular site.
• Fontsquirrel offers typefaces for the web as

Font related resources

Websites & blogs

• Typographica.org reviews typefaces and lists interesting ones for each year
• Typewolf focusses on trends and web fonts
• The type snob is a funny and informative article covering typography basics
• Extensis PDF guide to best font practices in OS X
• An overview by Apple about font support in OS X Tiger
• Scroll down on this page for pages that compare various font management tools
• The Microsoft typography site
• I love typography
• Typblography
• InDesignSecret’s list of their favorite sites
• Lists of the most popular fonts for print.
• The non-typographer’s guide to practical typeface selection

Books

I quite like ‘The Non-Designer’s Type Book’ by Robin Williams which is a clear and well-written book about typography. I haven’t read ‘Stop Stealing Sheep (and find out how type works)’ by Erik Spiekermann and E.M. Ginger yet, nor ‘About Face: Reviving the Rules of Typography.’ Both frequently are recommended in font-related discussions. ‘Types Best Remembered – Types Best Forgotten’ from Robert Norton is apparently a very funny book.

On my iPad, I like the ‘FontBook’ app, which shows off the typefaces that FontShop offers.

Musea & old books

Allow me to be a bit of a chauvinist: the most beautiful museum there is about typography, bookbinding and printing is the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium. It is only a short tram ride from where I live.

I’ve also created a page about the Tsgrooten Antiphonary, a Flemish liturgical songbook from the 16th century.