I'd like to highlight Google Noto Fonts, which seem to have been made with an entirely different purpose - i.e. not brand recognition:
Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
121–130 of 205 posts
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#122Because it's cool as hell.
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#123Typography is awesome and I like how this article conveys the functional aspect of it. Does anyone know of any good readings about typefaces (specifically about ratios that letters should adhere to?)
Try "Stop Stealing Sheep" [1] or "The Elements of Typographic Style" [2]
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#124I've been to a talk about the new Lufthansa CI in Frankfurt a few weeks ago and asked this very question — why move away from Helvetica? The answer was, first, Helvetica's readability on screen is apparently not very good, and second, Lufthansa had to pay massive licensing fees in order to use Helvetica.
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The artistic aspects deserve respect and attention not just from the practitioners but also from their users. As a developer and sysadmin: Let me know how that works for you. End users will rarely if ever recognize your contributions; will only really notice your contribution when it doesn't work. Sorry.
I worked in graphic design before I made my way into programming full time. My first job was building desktop apps with a team of programmers with very little design sensibilities. As such, there was lots of plain grey, haphazard interfaces. While they functioned fine, they left nearly everything to be desired aesthetically. I received immediate, positive feedback on my initial contributions. Applying basic design to…
agreed. the opportunity for huge gains are only available when the starting point is really bad, so then the change is huge and thus obviously recognizable. when you're already operating at near the top of the game, differences are very small. but those small differences are what make the difference between really good and insanely great. and its worth striving for that.
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you still use a 1024 x 768 monitor or what?
> Do you still use a 1024 x 768 monitor or what? No, I have some nice, large 16:10 monitors. However, that brings up a good point: if you're designing your stuff to only look good on a MacBook's retina display, you're doing it wrong.
Most of the brands in the linked blog post are actually designing for iPhone retina displays, most likely.
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The artistic aspects deserve respect and attention not just from the practitioners but also from their users. As a developer and sysadmin: Let me know how that works for you. End users will rarely if ever recognize your contributions; will only really notice your contribution when it doesn't work. Sorry.
> Sorry. Thanks, but no need for the phony apology. Typefaces, like other graphic elements, might not be felt to the point of the reader explicitly "recognizing" these contributions. Their impact is real albeit subtle. Designers are aware of that but still work really hard anyway.
How can you demonstrate or prove that the impact is “real”?
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The artistic aspects deserve respect and attention not just from the practitioners but also from their users. As a developer and sysadmin: Let me know how that works for you. End users will rarely if ever recognize your contributions; will only really notice your contribution when it doesn't work. Sorry.
I worked in graphic design before I made my way into programming full time. My first job was building desktop apps with a team of programmers with very little design sensibilities. As such, there was lots of plain grey, haphazard interfaces. While they functioned fine, they left nearly everything to be desired aesthetically. I received immediate, positive feedback on my initial contributions. Applying basic design to…
The biggest problem is that after this initial, high value work is done the designers are still on the payroll and they still need to demonstrate their value/be doing something. That’s how you get un-necessary UI redesigns and, arguably, custom typefaces.
IMHO, designers just don’t know when to stop.
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#129Typography is awesome and I like how this article conveys the functional aspect of it. Does anyone know of any good readings about typefaces (specifically about ratios that letters should adhere to?)
Try "Stop Stealing Sheep" [1] or "The Elements of Typographic Style" [2] [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/0201703394 [2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/0881792128
I will say that “The Elements of Typographic Style” is still the standard and probably one of the most ‘Textbook’ typography books, it’s still primarily concerned with book typography. It does go into computers and how they have affected typography, but still largely in terms of book layout engines and such. Bringhurst doesn’t even get into other forms of print typography like posters, let alone apps and websites.
Re: Why are tech companies making custom typefaces?
#130I’m curious why Ubuntu as a font was included on this list. While it technically is a font, it’s a font shipped with an OS. There is no mention in the article about problems with default fonts shipped with windows or macOS.
I assume it's to underline the "smaller" argument. Working at Canonical, none of the other companies on that list is "small". I think AirBnB is the smallest that isn't us, and it's got over a thousand.
I don't know how big it was when it made the font though.