Hermit: a font for programmers, by a programmer • Hacker News Board

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

#81

Post by dubcanada » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:26 PM UTC

Besides picking apart small issues like the u and m and proportions, I think my main issue seems to be that your website does not showcase the font anywhere besides screenshots at the very bottom.

People don't care about your story, updates, information, etc (as much). They want to see your font. Make it shown at the very top so I don't have to scroll 3 pages to see a screenshot link. Take a look at how other font people showcase their fonts, something like a nice picture like http://blogs.adobe.com/typblography/2012/09/source-code-pro.... is all you need. But showcase it!

Overall though, I actually really like it. I think I'll give it a try when it comes out.

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

#82

Post by nkuttler » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:26 PM UTC

More open source fonts are great! But as somebody who doesn't know too much about fonts my first thought was.. I could as well code in Comic Sans. I don't mean belittle any work, it's just what crossed my mind.

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

#83

Post by perlpimp » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:26 PM UTC

Ok I hate being likbaited into wondering about a page hunting for a download link, only for a link to be bogus and then there is no font. You know what I mean.

I also like fonts that look great without anti-aliasing. There are no examples of that there. And that is where it is the hard work begins(in making fonts). Font kerning is a sucha nitpicky process. Especially when you consider many font sizes and have excellent rendering for each on of them (without antialiasing.)

There is no opinion about the font from me - there as there is no font and I can't try that. Probably better compose a font and then ask for opinion.

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

#84

Post by pekk » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:27 PM UTC

When you release this, please release source files under a permissive license (like inconsolata has) so that others can make their own variations.

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

#85

Post by dubcanada » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:27 PM UTC

ratherhost wrote: post #66

Bitstream Vera Sans is better than Hermit IMHO, since it already exists and has no 'Cons', only 'Pros'. Consolas and Bitstream Vera Sans are unbeatable!

Try Source Code Pro, by Adobe.

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

#86

Post by csense » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:28 PM UTC

This looks like a monospace version of Comic Sans to me! Is this a joke?

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

#87

Post by ericgoldberg » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:29 PM UTC

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…

I think the font is decent, but I won't use it in its current iteration for the following reasons:

1. The lowercase 'm' is muddled and looks bad without anti-aliasing, downright horrible with anti-aliasing. 2. The lowercase 'k' is "too unique" and distracting (personal taste) 3. The lowercase 'e' is too squished and doesn't read well at small point sizes.

Overall, this font is not horrible. But with every "programmer-centric" new font that gets a bit of buzz, I always end up going back to non-anti-aliased Monaco within a day or two. It just seems like one of those perennial non-problems people keep having a go at.

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

#88

Post by fyolnish » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:29 PM UTC

Kind of looks like a bitmap font that had hq2x applied to it

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

#89

Post by gocard » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:30 PM UTC

leokun wrote: post #72

gocard wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

On Courier New? Mmmm, a lot of the characters have serifs.

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

#90

Post by bolder88 » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 6:30 PM UTC

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…

Possibly related, the fact that when you hang a door, the gap between the top hinge and the top of the door, should be smaller than the gap between the bottom hinge and the floor.

This makes the door spacing look equal from our usual standing position.

What sounds good on paper/design (Make the spacing equidistant) can often look terrible in practice.

I think the font looks ok, but the "d" looks bad to me. And I'm not convinced about the "t". Maybe they make sense on paper, and have very nice mathematically correct proportions, but they still don't look right to me.