Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, you are crazy and perhaps even entitled to think that you deserve the fruit of all font creator’s labour for nothing.
Google Fonts disagrees.
Show me where I can get Pragmata Pro on Google Fonts.
Helvetica Now Variable
151–160 of 197 posts
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
Both Netflix[0] and the company I worked at designed custom fonts to _save_ money. As other comment threads say, it's a standard practice to license by pageviews, and it can be difficult to negotiate. Alternative: just have your own custom font, exclusive and unlimited license. [0]: https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/21/17147170/netflix-sans-cus...
...but was it cheaper than just finding a suitable free font(s)? However, if a design team wants to make their own font and has the resources to do so I don't see why not. It's a strong branding move.
The problem is that for these companies, they're in danger of being burdened by copyright issues, as somehow everyone forgets that designs are copyrightable in Europe, and unlike programmers most designers don't really want legal uncertainties when it comes to their designs (because it's damaging in their circles). If they're designing from scratch, they hold those design copyrights and designers can rest easy knowing that they won't get sued.
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Shouldn’t bother using custom fonts on web pages anyway, use the standard web fonts and save custom fonts for print or graphic designs.
I'm sure you're a big hit at all of the design meetings! How dare the devs tell the marketing/graphics people what they can and cannot do. Becareful, or they'll shove GA/AMP down at you in response!
Fonts adversely affect page load speeds for no good reason, most users don’t even notice or care about these custom fonts. It’s far better for the bottom line to have a fast page.
So they can bitch all they want, but at the end of the day, code is king. So bend the knee.
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#154Helvetica just gives me warm feelings. For the other type freaks lost around here: https://www.hustwit.com/helvetica/
The fact that it’s nearly 70 years old and is still an influential “modern” font is amazing to me. It just feels right.
I feel the same for Futura, which apparently was created in 1927. The longevity is just crazy. “Hip” brands and designers still use it today just like Helvetica. And I can easily see these fonts still being used in the far future. I wonder if there are any other sans serif typefaces like these.
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
> you can't just buy it and use it, you have to renew the license annually The page you linked to says otherwise ("License: Pay Once"). In some cases the license is annual. > include in a web application that will be downloaded and installed by customers The page you linked to also includes this as a licensing option, no? ("App: for embedding in mobile applications")
I don't see "pay once" as an option anywhere on that page.
I do.
As soon as you click "Buying choices" it defaults to "Desktop" checked with "License: Pay Once" for "1-5 users".
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you elaborate? I'm comparing the two e.g. on MyFonts: https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/mti/helvetica-now/ https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/neue-haas-grotesk/ Or specifically for the medium text: https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/mti/helvetica-now/text-medium/ https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/neue-haas-grotesk/pro... Aside from the fact that they're scaled slightly differently, nothing whatsoever jumps out to…
They are very different fonts. I have used them both in apps, and they both have their quirks. I excepted Helvetica Now to be slightly better/modernized version of traditional helvetica, but it is not. It feels different (not better). Nue Hass Grotesk has its own issues. It has a very industrial feel, and make it great for single line of text as a display font. It fails if your text is over 2-3 lines (eg. news headli…
Again, just... not seeing it? Can you point to any actual visual difference, something objectively measurable, as opposed to subjectively "different" or "better"?
I'm feeling like I'm in crazytown, you're saying they're "very different" and the letterforms just look... virtually identical to me. Totally same personality and all.
I'd wonder if I needed higher resolution, but you're talking about using them in apps, so that's definitely not the case.
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
Shouldn’t bother using custom fonts on web pages anyway, use the standard web fonts and save custom fonts for print or graphic designs.
I'm sure you're a big hit at all of the design meetings! How dare the devs tell the marketing/graphics people what they can and cannot do. Becareful, or they'll shove GA/AMP down at you in response!
- External fonts are blocked by security-conscious users (including every Tor Browser user who remembers to set the browser security level correctly) for a reason: they're a major attack vector
- External fonts are often purely cosmetic. Using what over time adds up to several megabytes of data for cosmetics is inconsiderate.
- inb4 "just disable remote fonts if you hate them": doing so breaks many websites that use icon fonts. Expecting users to have to manually configure 50+ websites (yes I did this, I count 54 websites on my exception list) is just insane.
- Many people need to use local fonts. Some dyslexic people actively choose a font that helps them read more easily. Asking someone to play the whack-a-mole game of "will disabling remote fonts break this site's icons or not" game on every site because of a disability just isn't right.
Just use sans, serif, and monospace for content. Let the user agent decide what that looks like, not your company's branding.
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are very different fonts. I have used them both in apps, and they both have their quirks. I excepted Helvetica Now to be slightly better/modernized version of traditional helvetica, but it is not. It feels different (not better). Nue Hass Grotesk has its own issues. It has a very industrial feel, and make it great for single line of text as a display font. It fails if your text is over 2-3 lines (eg. news headli…
Again, just... not seeing it? Can you point to any actual visual difference, something objectively measurable, as opposed to subjectively "different" or "better"? I'm feeling like I'm in crazytown, you're saying they're "very different" and the letterforms just look... virtually identical to me. Totally same personality and all. I'd wonder if I needed higher resolution, but you're talking about using them in apps, so…
There are differences between all the different remakes of Helvetica. Neue Haas Grotesk just happens to be one of the good ones, and even better, you can get it for free from Microsoft for your own use, it's part of one of the downloadable font packs from them.
I would add to that though, where something is being displayed matters too. If you're displaying on screen and you're not using anti-aliasing (I don't) then whoever did a better job hinting will display better on the screen.
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#159Fantastic font, now infinitely malleable! Unfortunately it is expensive, and you can't just buy it and use it, you have to renew the license annually. https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/mti/helvetica-now-variable?tab... And my use case isn't even covered: include in a web application that will be downloaded and installed by customers. My current choice is OpenSans https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Open+Sans
> you can't just buy it and use it, you have to renew the license annually The page you linked to says otherwise ("License: Pay Once"). In some cases the license is annual. > include in a web application that will be downloaded and installed by customers The page you linked to also includes this as a licensing option, no? ("App: for embedding in mobile applications")
Read the license. "Pay once and don't use it" would be a fair description.
Re: Helvetica Now Variable
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are very different fonts. I have used them both in apps, and they both have their quirks. I excepted Helvetica Now to be slightly better/modernized version of traditional helvetica, but it is not. It feels different (not better). Nue Hass Grotesk has its own issues. It has a very industrial feel, and make it great for single line of text as a display font. It fails if your text is over 2-3 lines (eg. news headli…
Again, just... not seeing it? Can you point to any actual visual difference, something objectively measurable, as opposed to subjectively "different" or "better"? I'm feeling like I'm in crazytown, you're saying they're "very different" and the letterforms just look... virtually identical to me. Totally same personality and all. I'd wonder if I needed higher resolution, but you're talking about using them in apps, so…
I did some investigation because I was curious as well.
I think one distinction is in the lowercase 'm'. Primarily around the left most stroke of the letter where the first arch of the 'm' meets. Neue Haas Grotesk's 'm' has a narrower starting stroke on the arch when it's leaving the first stroke. Whereas Helvetica has a mostly even width arch on the 'm'. This one I'm relatively uncertain on and it could be my monitor but it does seem like there's a mild difference in whatever that nook/cranny is called.
Another spot where I think the differences are apparent are with the lowercase 't'. Helvetica has an almost right angle change in direction on the inside of the base of the 't' whereas Neue Haas is smoother.
I would also look at the lowercase 'a' for differences if you really wanted to see it, Neue's is much curvier on the "belly" of the a.
Sorry if these aren't the right words, not entirely sure what to call the "parts" of a character in a font.