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Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

pcaro.es

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Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#71

Post by bluedino »

rustc wrote: post #21
jamesaguilar wrote: post #2

It's hard for me to imagine ever finding anything better than Ubuntu Mono, but for those who haven't found a love of their font-life, now might be a helpful time to relink to the one slant article I ever saw: http://www.slant.co/topics/67/~what-are-the-best-programming...

Don't know if it's only me, but I keep changing/cycling fonts and color schemes of my terminal every few weeks or so. Currently using Source Code Pro with ZenBurn. Will give Ubuntu Mono a try tonight.

I resist making any changes to my fonts/themes. I can spend hours sitting there tweaking them instead of just sticking with something I know (Menlo + Monokai for instance) and then just getting to work.

Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#72

Post by leokun »

gocard wrote: post #54
collyw wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain to a font ignoramus like me what is wrong with it?

It's a serif font, which makes it noisier in my opinion. It's also a relatively thin font, making it more difficult to read.

The l has a serif, but other characters do not.

Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#73

Post by lowboy »

chasing wrote: post #23

I don't think it's perfect, but I respect the attempt. One quick note, though. One header in that write-up boldly states: "I am not a designer." Have some self-esteem! You're totally a designer. You're taking the steps that real designers [should] take when creating functional designs. You have design principles and goals and are aiming to satisfy those with a little ingenuity and creativity. You're a designer. Own i…

I appreciate your positive attitude toward expanding one's skillset, and I agree that he should remove "I am not a designer". But I believe the creator when he says that he is not a designer, and I don't think it would be appropriate for us to say that he is a designer at this point.

I like cooking, and I can make some tasty meals, but I am not a chef.

I like drawing things in my notebook here and there, but I am not an artist.

I enjoy the occasional minor home improvement/repair project (renter) and woodworking challenge, but I am not a contractor nor a woodworker.

I've been making web sites and apps for a decade now, and I am a developer. I've been taking photos for a good part of that decade as well and I am a photographer (mostly amateur, though I have made some money from it).

Declaring yourself "a ______" in this way implies that you have achieved some level of experience, or at least that you are devoting or have devoted a significant chunk of time to the pursuit. I just don't know if the creator has put in this time, or considers it a significant enough pursuit to call himself a designer.

Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#74

Post by kbenson »

asolove wrote: post #30
crazygringo wrote: post #20

> a font for programmers, by a programmer > Every glyph was carefully planned and calculated, according to defined principles and rules. For this reason, Hermit is coherent and regular. I hate to say this, but a font by a programmer makes as much sense as a database library by a font designer. Good font design is not about calculations or following principled rules; it's about what looks good to the eye, and it takes…

It's important not to oversell the touchy-feely/what-looks-good side of this. Font design is certainly about planning and calculation, it's just that those calculations need to be based on optics rather than geometry. Instead of perfect circles, we use a shape that is taller than it is wide; instead of splitting the space in half, cross-strokes should be higher than the middle; different strokes need to be different…

What about the difference in use? Do you know of any work that examines whether there is a difference in the importance of attributes depending on whether it's for programming or reading?

I know different things are important to me when viewing programming text than reading. A simple, somewhat contrived example would be whether 'r' and 'n' together are easily discernible as 'rn' or 'm' (which is mostly a non-problem with mon-spaced fonts). When reading text, I can infer from context what the word most likely should be, but when programming, that's an error waiting to be found at some point.

To expand on this, different programming languages may stress different qualities of a font. From experience, I find when parenthesis look like curly braces in a font, it increases my frustration as it causes ambiguity where there should be none. This may be less of a problem in a language that uses fewer braces.

Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#76

Post by hnriot »

bitwize wrote: post #38
crazygringo wrote: post #20

> a font for programmers, by a programmer > Every glyph was carefully planned and calculated, according to defined principles and rules. For this reason, Hermit is coherent and regular. I hate to say this, but a font by a programmer makes as much sense as a database library by a font designer. Good font design is not about calculations or following principled rules; it's about what looks good to the eye, and it takes…

It literally looks like a font designed by an engineer for a plotter, not something designed for the human eye or legibility. Plotter fonts are intended to exactly communicate important technical information. They are designed to be highly legible, irrespective of whether you think they look nice. It's the same with old-school pixel fonts, which had to exactly communicate easily confusable glyphs, instantly, on a low…

* Plotter fonts are intended to exactly communicate important technical information.

Actually, plotter fonts are optimized for pen movements, not legibility.

Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#77

Post by smrtinsert »

crazygringo wrote: post #20

> a font for programmers, by a programmer > Every glyph was carefully planned and calculated, according to defined principles and rules. For this reason, Hermit is coherent and regular. I hate to say this, but a font by a programmer makes as much sense as a database library by a font designer. Good font design is not about calculations or following principled rules; it's about what looks good to the eye, and it takes…

Way too negative. This font looks like an excellent font to complement my inner circle of Courier and Terminus.

Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#78

Post by tekacs »

alipang wrote: post #36
crazygringo wrote: post #20

> a font for programmers, by a programmer > Every glyph was carefully planned and calculated, according to defined principles and rules. For this reason, Hermit is coherent and regular. I hate to say this, but a font by a programmer makes as much sense as a database library by a font designer. Good font design is not about calculations or following principled rules; it's about what looks good to the eye, and it takes…

Wow, that's a boring attitude. I think it's great this guy is interested in typography and crafting his own fonts, and that the results are quite nice, professional or not, with the right principles or not. Just don't get why it's on the front page before release though. I guess for comments, but add a place where I can sign up to be notified when it's done or something...

It's on the homepage because it reached the top of /r/programming on Reddit about 24h ago? :P

Re: Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer

#80

Post by Kurtz79 »

"but a font by a programmer makes as much sense as a database library by a font designer."

"a bridge for pedestrians, by a pedestrian".

I wonder why when a designer kind of guy tries to get into programming he generally gets encouraged and when a programmer tries to do some artsy/design stuff he gets slammed down ?

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