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The Android Font: Roboto

developer.android.com

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Re: The Android Font: Roboto

#31

Post by rimantas »

ajross wrote: post #23
Steveism wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All I did was mention that I agreed with Gruber not that he swayed me one way or the other. I think the fonts in ICS along with the rest of the Android interface is just awful. And obviously saying that in a thread which would appeal to an android user would go over like a lead ballon. Just thinking for myself.

I'll put up good money that you couldn't tell the difference between Helvetica Neue and Roboto in a blind test. Calling a near clone font "awful" is just dumb, sorry.

Near clones have a big potential to be awful. Uncanny valley and all that.

Re: The Android Font: Roboto

#32

Post by mtts »

karl_nerd wrote: post #25
grantheaslip wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea how much you know about type design, but I get the sense that the vast majority of people disparaging Roboto don't actually know shit about typography, and are just parroting what's been said by a handful of bloggers (many of whom also aren't particularly well versed). If a lot of these guys were asked to rate a bunch of unnamed fonts without the benefit of the internet to tell them what they think abo…

Typographica featured a more educated slashing blogpost about Roboto: http://typographica.org/on-typography/roboto-typeface-is-a-f...

This is actually a very educational article. To my layman's eyes, at least, which found Roboto a bit "off" or "wobbly" but couldn't figure out why that was exactly.

Re: The Android Font: Roboto

#33

Post by snotrockets »

skeletonjelly wrote: post #20
grantheaslip wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gruber does seem to know a lot, thought I'm not sure that talking about type on your podcast or working for a company that develops a text editor exactly proves that. That said, he's clearly got a snarky agenda about Android, which makes me take anything he writes about it with a grain of salt. What annoys me is not so much Gruber or other bloggers having an opinion, it's the followers who take what they write as fac…

Gruber knows a lot according to Gruber. And his legions of fans.

It seems the word "only" was omitted from your comment.

Re: The Android Font: Roboto

#34

Post by cliffbean »

Steveism wrote: post #7

I'm not a Roboto fan. I think Gruber sums it up the best: http://daringfireball.net/2011/10/font_hipsters

I read a lot of font blog posts and find them impressive, yet ultimately unhelpful. They discuss similarities and differences with other fonts in extraordinary detail. They show images of individual glyphs enlarged beyond practicality and pick at the details. They talk about the people who designed the fonts and their reputations. They talk about the companies who funded them and their motivations. They throw about words like "casual", "rigid", "cheerful", "fresh", "clean", and "rhythm".

Has anyone done any A/B testing? How about controlled surveys? I'd like to see actual data collected from normal people who don't know Helvetica by name.

Re: The Android Font: Roboto

#35

Post by stewf »

cliffbean wrote: post #34
Steveism wrote: post #7

I'm not a Roboto fan. I think Gruber sums it up the best: http://daringfireball.net/2011/10/font_hipsters

I read a lot of font blog posts and find them impressive, yet ultimately unhelpful. They discuss similarities and differences with other fonts in extraordinary detail. They show images of individual glyphs enlarged beyond practicality and pick at the details. They talk about the people who designed the fonts and their reputations. They talk about the companies who funded them and their motivations. They throw about w…

I understand your frustration if you come from a field with a data-based approach. But one doesn't measure good typeface design by data alone. Sure, there are such things as readability studies that can inform a design, but typography is one of those many crafts that are measured by the eyes of experienced experts and discerning users, not A/B tests.
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