Fonts

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

A pile of type

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 🙂

Font related resources

Websites & blogs

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.

The press room at the Plantin-Moretus museum

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

6 thoughts on “Fonts

  1. Wondering if anyone out in the design and print world is already experiencing issues with Adobe and stopping its support of Postscript Type 1 fonts? Searching for answers as to what others are doing about this.

  2. In or @ 1994 or 1995 I was able to go into Microsoft and input a “Font” and titled it Latha. When did this process stop?

  3. This is a great Site, as a lover of all fonts it is great to have a site/resource to flick through!
    quick question I have found one of my old cd’s with a lot of my old favourite system 9 fonts on it. Do you know a program or site where I can convert them to modern formats please?

  4. “familiarity breads contempt”

    2nd bullet on list of “Most Hated Fonts”

    Proofreaders are still essential!

    🙂

    1. Yes, they are but I am having trouble finding any willing to work for a share of what visitors pays for reading my content.

  5. Don’t forget about Simon Garfield’s wonderful “Just My Type”, an in-depth and entertaining history of typefaces and their uses.

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