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San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

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Re: San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

#41

Post by 72deluxe »

nodata wrote: post #36
vl wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yosemite is clearly first version fully optimized for Retina, potentially at expense of non-retina users. Every time I unlock my MacBook Pro I think "wow, this is gorgeous" (I have another one at work not updated to Yosemite, so I see difference every day). Unlike controversial iOS 7 update, Yosemite clearly looks better than the predecessor.

But very time I open my Air , I think "oh god what have they done".

Why?

I open my MacBook and think "the menu font is badly aliased, yuck" whereas the Mac Pro at work on Mavericks is still a joy to read. And trying to work out where a file is within Xcode is still as simple as right-clicking on the titlebar of the window (like all windows within Mac OS) but on Yosemite, how the heck do I do that????? The titlebar has gone!

Re: San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

#42

Post by sammularczyk »

mfkp wrote: post #19

Looks like a straight up knockoff of Google's Roboto font: https://twitter.com/jm_denis/status/534802341770186752 Only big difference I can see is the 'Q'.

At first glance, they look very similar. However, in use there's a big difference between the two.

San Francisco is squarer which makes its x-height seem higher. The minor variations in lettering make a massive difference when used in application.

100% not a knockoff of Roboto. They're really, really different.

Re: San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

#43

Post by sammularczyk »

72deluxe wrote: post #40

Does anyone here have a "low res" (like 1440x900) MacBook? I do - it's from 2012 and was the last to have a CD drive so that I could write CDs for bandmates, plus it has a dedicated Ethernet port instead of a mass of external adapters (useful for AVB testing). Anyway, since Yosemite the font for the menu bar has been a bit "bitty" and not smooth which contrasts sharply with the rest of the shininess seen everywhere -…

I just installed it on my Air, and it seems a lot smoother than Helvetica ever was. YMMV though

Re: San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

#45

Post by lcmatt »

72deluxe wrote: post #40

Does anyone here have a "low res" (like 1440x900) MacBook? I do - it's from 2012 and was the last to have a CD drive so that I could write CDs for bandmates, plus it has a dedicated Ethernet port instead of a mass of external adapters (useful for AVB testing). Anyway, since Yosemite the font for the menu bar has been a bit "bitty" and not smooth which contrasts sharply with the rest of the shininess seen everywhere -…

2010 model (1280x800) here and the menu bar / general font looks fine for me.

Here's the bar for me: http://i.imgur.com/oKnD674.png

Re: San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

#46

Post by nodata »

72deluxe wrote: post #41
nodata wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But very time I open my Air , I think "oh god what have they done".

Why? I open my MacBook and think "the menu font is badly aliased, yuck" whereas the Mac Pro at work on Mavericks is still a joy to read. And trying to work out where a file is within Xcode is still as simple as right-clicking on the titlebar of the window (like all windows within Mac OS) but on Yosemite, how the heck do I do that????? The titlebar has gone!

You've written why: the badly aliased fonts.

Re: San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

#47

Post by 72deluxe »

X-Istence wrote: post #32
LastZactionHero wrote: post #30

After looking over the Yosemite change logs, as a non-iPhone user, it looks like a new font was all I had to look forward to. Every other update seems to concern sharing content between the desktop and iOS devices. And now I'm finding out this new font- my only real reason for a 5GB update- is so unpopular that a hack to replace it is front page on HN.

There is a lot more to Yosemite than just a font change. 1. Calendar/Contacts are cleaned up further from what they used to be. 2. The little green button no longer leaves you wondering what it does, it simply full screens now on a single monitor 3. There seems to be better consistency across many different applications when it comes to look and feel, and all of the partial see-through/blurriness actually feels prett…

Issue 2 you mention is an issue for me. If I am in Safari or Xcode and click that green blob, I get a full screen window. Now, what if I want to use Calculator to calculate something related to the webpage or code I am viewing? I use cmd-space to open Spotlight and type "calculator" and press Enter. Now, I get a calculator but on an entirely different desktop because fullscreen apps and non-fullscreen apps cannot share the same desktop space. It's STUPID.

I know you can hold down alt or whatever to make it behave like it used to, but I wish they'd put an option in to make it behave like it used to as the DEFAULT.

Re: San Francisco system font replacement for Yosemite

#50

Post by pi-err »

doomlaser wrote: post #26
DigitalSea wrote: post #10

I might not be in the majority, but I actually like the new system font Helvetica Neue. I am a huge fan of it and on a Retina Display it makes so much sense. Understandably those who do not have the luxury of a Retina Display, I can understand the frustration, but having said that, I think the whole system font change thing has been blown out of proportion. Even though I like Helvetica Neue, I really dig the new San…

The trend of using ultrathin fonts everywhere will be short-lived and date interfaces quickly. It's a trend inspired totally by the mere fact that high dpi displays can render them without pixelated artifacts, and not because they make sense for design or readability on a fundamental level. Thin weight type has uses in good design, but the way it's being applied ad nauseum today is a gimmick.

The screenshots on github use the thin variant of San Francisco - the equivalent to the current Helvetica Neue would be regular San Francisco. I also suspect they use the "Display" instead of "Text" version, which makes the kerning look strange.

San Francisco seems to work best at (very) small sizes, where Helvetica breaks. It proves further that Apple thinks of each screen size as a distinct UI - clearly the biggest difference with Google's approach to UI. Off topic: the 2 screen sizes for Watch show they don't want accidental developers for this platform, only fully committed ones.

I do find Helvetica works better on my Mac screen than SF (I tested in Mail.app).

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