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In search of the perfect writing font

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Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#21

Post by pgt »

_xhok wrote: post #9

I used to tell myself I couldn't code or write without the perfect font. I'd spend hours looking for it, and end up not getting any work done. When I finally did get around to actually working, five minutes in and I'd forget about the font completely. I have a (rather lazy) friend who's been asking me to help him start a blog for years now. I've promised to after he produces his first block of content, and he keeps s…

I recently converted my dynamic DB-driven blog to a static website. I did not predict how badly the added latency between having an idea, writing down the first flawed paragraph, saving a draft, reading what I wrote, then revising and publishing would reduce my writing output. Sure, I can write in Google Docs, but because it's not on my site one click away from being "out there" I am far less compelled to write down my fleeting ideas. Over time I have learned that fleeting ideas are the best ones because they exist at the limit of your understanding. Maybe if you help set up his blog, he'll be more likely to write?

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#22

Post by chipotle_coyote »

chrismorgan wrote: post #14

For the last couple of years I’ve been using Triplicate as my standard monospace font, and it has a Poly variant which is proportional and works really well for code presentation (provided you aren’t trying to line things up with spaces). It makes things like i, j and space narrower , rather than things like w and m wider as this article discusses. I reckon narrowing some yields a more pleasing result than widening s…

I'm also using Triplicate for a lot of writing. I switch between Triplicate Code and Font Bureau's free Input Mono family for coding (and console display), but Triplicate Poly is terrific for prose writing. I suppose I feel some of the same psychological "draft vs. final" reasons that iA talks about in the linked article, but I just don't like iA's font choices very much.

Triplicate Poly does make the 'm' and 'w' characters a little wider, too, although not by the same amount. It's a true proportional font rather than "duospace."

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#23

Post by nabla9 »

_xhok wrote: post #9

I used to tell myself I couldn't code or write without the perfect font. I'd spend hours looking for it, and end up not getting any work done. When I finally did get around to actually working, five minutes in and I'd forget about the font completely. I have a (rather lazy) friend who's been asking me to help him start a blog for years now. I've promised to after he produces his first block of content, and he keeps s…

Most subtle ergonomic issues are weakly related of our preferences. Even if people consciously prefer one font to another, they may be more productive in the one they don't like. If there is actual difference, it should be measured not discussed.

Dual space fonts look and feel good for me, but I'm not sure if they have any value. Even aesthetic value may wear off and be just novelty.

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#24

Post by throwaway284534 »

Despite this article's length, there isn't a single full text example.

The author uses the phrase "duospace" font a dozen times before actually explaining what it is: a mostly monospace font. I find it ironic that an article about perfecting the art of writing is so devoid of content. Did we really need 3 pages of justification for a big reveal of... a font specimen?

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#25

Post by altair11 »

GuiA wrote: post #19
couchand wrote: post #12

It's painful to see an article this long discussing typefaces in detail that uses the word font incorrectly so many times. In casual usage I let the mistake by, but the author of this article really should know better. The visual design of the letterforms and spacing of text is a typeface, not a font. A font is the delivery vehicle for a typeface -- it's a file format.

A typeface is the design, a font is a specific incarnation of it. Helvetica Bold 12pt and Helvetica 18pt are two different fonts from the same typeface, Helvetica. This comes from letterpress days where “font” referred to a collection of lead characters of a given typeface, weight, and size.

No, couchand is right. Now a font is the file (you're almost right on it’s origin, it originates from steel punchcutting where each point size did need it’s own font). So a font is helvetica-bold.otf not Helvetica Bold. Helvetica Bold is a weight of Helvetica. (All of this is likely to alter slightly though with the advent of variable fonts.)

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#26

Post by altair11 »

couchand wrote: post #12

It's painful to see an article this long discussing typefaces in detail that uses the word font incorrectly so many times. In casual usage I let the mistake by, but the author of this article really should know better. The visual design of the letterforms and spacing of text is a typeface, not a font. A font is the delivery vehicle for a typeface -- it's a file format.

The author of this article—Oliver Reichenstein—does know better. He's even laughing at this thread on twitter. Your definitions are correct but not once does he mistakenly use the term font.

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#27

Post by erokar »

I disagree with iA'a philosophy. I like to write fiction with proportional serif fonts, often quite similar to fonts that would be used in print. Sometimes I change fonts to defamiliarize the text, which helps me read it with fresh eyes. The last couple years I've mostly been using the Mate font. https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/mate

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#28

Post by adiabatty »

pgt wrote: post #21
_xhok wrote: post #9

I used to tell myself I couldn't code or write without the perfect font. I'd spend hours looking for it, and end up not getting any work done. When I finally did get around to actually working, five minutes in and I'd forget about the font completely. I have a (rather lazy) friend who's been asking me to help him start a blog for years now. I've promised to after he produces his first block of content, and he keeps s…

I recently converted my dynamic DB-driven blog to a static website. I did not predict how badly the added latency between having an idea, writing down the first flawed paragraph, saving a draft, reading what I wrote, then revising and publishing would reduce my writing output. Sure, I can write in Google Docs, but because it's not on my site one click away from being "out there" I am far less compelled to write down…

His buddy isn't being blocked by a clunky workflow, though. His friend has trouble starting because he can't see his writing in a font that he likes.

I'd suggest that the friend write his first post in Word or somesuch with a font that he likes. Then, when he has a good first post, export it to the blog.

Re: In search of the perfect writing font

#30

Post by codeflo »

The goal here seems to be to have that "typewritery" look that people associate with writing drafts, but add a bit more readability than is possible in a monospace font. Fair enough, though I'm not sure why having exactly two character widths is preferable to having three, or five, or simply designing a proportional font with wider typewriter-style characters.

For programming, "duospace" works exactly like any other proportional font. The fact that some letters have the same width doesn't buy you anything in terms of alignment. Unless your style guide forbids the letters "m" and "w" in method names. ;)

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