Fonts and the Web
I just got done reading the SiteProNews Newsletter, which this month features an article on Fonts and market branding. I won’t deny that there’s great information here, and in general the content is high quality. But it’s just as obvious to me that Erin Ferree, the author, is first and foremost, a print weenie. What do I mean by that? If you read the article and you know what font sizing and selection “best practices” are for Web Development based on W3 guidelines and the limitations on which fonts are commonly installed, you’ll know that the information on using fonts for the web was written without this knowledge.
People who design for print are used to having control of a grid that fits in a specified dimension and always has the same dimensions and proportions. Working for the web, using xhtml/css best practices, there is no such thing as a grid, and there is no such thing as static dimensions. You need to allow your design to adjust to whatever the user agent and device viewing the design can throw at it. On desktop units alone the resolutions range from 640 in width up to 1680 (and with the advent of internet on TV screens that range will get broader.) Then there are the pocket pcs, cellphones, etc. And a fixed font size that looks fine on one device with one resolution set may look like mousescribbles on another.
Allowing fonts to scale proportionally to the device and resolution being used is paramount in importance on today’s web, and will grow in importance as more and different types of devices access the web.
Though Erin did mention that not all fonts are installed on all computers, she didn’t stress it enough in relation to web font choices. This becomes even more critical when you realize that different fonts come standard on different operating systems, and that single font you chose looking at the page on windows won’t render in Linux or Mac. Choosing a Font Family with this in mind becomes very important if you want your webpages to be legible on all platforms. And any font family chosen should have, as the last choice, a “generic” specified, usually either “serif” or “sans-serif” so that if none of the specific fonts are installed the page will still be readable.
The web is a totally different medium than print, and, like the difference between working with clay and working with paint in the arts, should be dealt with taking into account the differences that exist.
Technorati Tags: Web Font Best Practices
