QotD: Fonts
Posted March 16th, 2005 @ 02:34pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Question: Which of Microsoft's six new fonts do you like the most? Why?
My Answer: Like Todd, I like Corbel and Calibri. I think they'd make excellent text for websites (like The Sand Trap, which currently uses Trebuchet MS), if Microsoft sees fit to release them in a way that guarantees at least 50% of the computer world has them, including multiple platforms. We shall see, I suppose… I won't get my hopes up.
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Posted 16 Mar 2005 at 7:02pm #
The font I like the most is Consolas. Don't get me wrong, I like Calibri a lot too, but it just doesn't get me excited. There are already so many variable width fonts, and these fonts are nothing that new. In contrast, monospace fonts are scarce and the ones we have are ugly. With Consolas, I feel I could finally quote code in style. That is, of course, if Microsoft makes it open to the whole computer world, which I wouldn't consider likely.
Posted 17 Mar 2005 at 12:10am #
Corbel, followed by Consola and Cambria.
Posted 17 Mar 2005 at 1:30pm #
There is not enough information to answer the question. The world of displaying fonts with a pixel height of less than 20 involves hand tuning by the designer of the font. (Contrary to what people who just learned what a spline is will tell you) The most readable small fonts don't even use antialiasing.
My favorite screen font for buttons and labels in a software program is Tahoma Normal & Bold, which uses no antialiasing. I have no objection to using AI, except those screen fonts usually look fuzzy or out of focus if done wrong (see: Linux Desktop).
The samples of those 6 Microsoft fonts are point 50, so you can't possibly have any clue how they look in normal screen use.
Posted 17 Mar 2005 at 9:08pm #
Microsoft Typography has done some wonders with making fonts easy to read on CRTs and LCDs (instead of just pretty). I have no doubt they'll look great on screen. Apple, Adobe, and Microsoft have been working well together for the past few years (Type 1 in XP, OpenType) so I think it's extremely likely these will end up on the Mac.
But hey, if not, it's high time us Windows users get some elegance of our very own! 🙂