Font Library: Fantasy Maps

[xoxos]

i wonder if there are any condensed sources of information regarding the application of fonts -

once i read a post from someone who was font wise and wrote things like "if you want to impress american college educated people, use ----, for british people, use ----"

it's obvious to me that there are a class of fonts that are used in media and then there are a class of fonts that are given to end users online. eg. at the google link above (thanks!) half of those fonts are available for free under several different names.

i do believe diversity and non-standardisation is good, but while corporations are using standardisation to influence ideas, i want to have access to those semantics (admittedly for the point of whittling away at consumer obeisance..)

(i'm also amused by the way that masonic, evil google corp chooses to use the longer "grumpy wizards" preview instead of the more concise and decidedly more pleasant quick brown fox.. maybe it's the white/brown thing...)

[Midgardsormr]

i wonder if there are any condensed sources of information regarding the application of fonts -

once i read a post from someone who was font wise and wrote things like "if you want to impress american college educated people, use ----, for british people, use ----"

it's obvious to me that there are a class of fonts that are used in media and then there are a class of fonts that are given to end users online. eg. at the google link above (thanks!) half of those fonts are available for free under several different names.

i do believe diversity and non-standardisation is good, but while corporations are using standardisation to influence ideas, i want to have access to those semantics (admittedly for the point of whittling away at consumer obeisance..)

There are any number of books about typography with useful information in them. I can share a bit of what I learned from my art school classes, although my typography class itself was a joke.

Regarding the technical merits of a font, serif fonts tend to be easier to read in large blocks, which is why newspapers commonly use variants on Times, a font that was designed for the New York Times to make it as easy to read as possible. Book publishers often use Garamond or something similar for the same reason. These fonts need to be very well designed, with kerning pairs and ligatures that aid in readability, and glyphs for a variety of languages.

The other main concern with font selection is the emotional reaction, which you refer to above. Sans serif fonts (sometimes called grotesque, amusingly) usually feel more modern and clean. Helvetica and Arial are the headliners in this category. They have a more forward-looking personality thanks to their association with word-processing and the Internet. People often think that serif fonts have a slightly retro look, but they also evoke a sense of professionalism and stability. A lawyer will be drawn to serif fonts, especially the type with angular serifs like Times, because they lend a certain sense of authority to words written with them.

Slab serifs, which have large serifs that don't taper, are also called Egyptian because they arose around the same time that everyone was getting excited over Tutankhamen. The association stuck, and they frequently evoke the 18th and 19th centuries. Use a slab serif to sell an industrial revolution advertisement or theater poster. Due to their overly strong serifs, they are very confident fonts.

I could probably go on a while longer, but I need to get back to work!