Exploring webfont possibilities

Downloadable webfonts are not just about replacing Verdana with a fancy freeware font.
Here is an example where a certain text phrase is automatically replaced with a scalable vector glyph from a downloadable font. The underlying text stays untouched, so indexing and copy&paste work like a charm.

See the full article here: http://opentype.info/blog/2008/05/14/exploring-webfont-possibilities/

Edit: changed “graphic” to “glyph”

survey about @font-face embedding (web designers only)

Web designers,
please take part in this short survey about @font-face embedding (as introduced with Safari 3.1):

www.befrager.de/befragung.aspx?projekt=6743

free fonts for web embedding

Typographic variety is coming back to the Web. With the release of Safari 3.1 for MacOS and Windows, Apple’s web browser now supports font embedding for websites. Now millions of web users can view websites the way they were intended to be.

Safari 3.1 for Windows and Mac supports the embedding of “sfnt fonts” (TrueType, OpenType PS, OpenType TT) using the font-face declaration. Technically the fonts are not embedded in the website, but they are simply linked like an image file. Thus the fonts need to be stored on a public server. Since you cannot upload commercial fonts to a public webserver, you are limited to freeware fonts.

Rare Type Specimens

I switched my weblog to English. Feel free to have a look:
http://opentype.info/blog/

Don't install 10.5.2 if you are using FontExplorer X

Dozens of website report that Mac OS 10.5.2 is not compatible with Linotype FontExplorer X. When FontExplorer is running most apps won’t start and the dock will freeze. So be warned!

The world of fonts in 1991

This 1991 episode from »Computer Cronicles« looks at the »fascinating and sometimes frustrating world of fonts« in the early years of desktop publishing. You can see the introduction of scalable fonts, the Adobe Type Manager, Multiple-Master, the TrueType technology and much more. See how you can change fonts on-the-fly! Fascinating! :-)

Enjoy:
http://opentype.info/blog/2007/12/17/die-font-welt-anfang-der-90er/
(Be patient. May take a while until the video starts playing)

Securing font when used with font-face

“Font embedding” is coming back to the web! The latest build of WebKit (used by Safari) has it, Opera is expected to follow. But the way they use it is by just linking a regular font file, which has to be placed somewhere on the internet, so everyone can download it.
Of course that doesn’t go well with commercial fonts.

So I set up a Proof of Concept to show a way to secure* a font used with the font-face command. Just download the latest version of Safari and open this page:
http://www.fonts.info/webfonts/

A way how users may choose their favourite fonts for rendering a website

Font settings for a website always use the least common denominator. Fonts like Verdana and Georgia, sizes between 13 and 16 pixels and so on. This may not be appropriate for your 24 inch screen, but there is nothing you can do about it. You don’t have much more influence besides telling your browser to make the type »larger«.

This is fine for a website you visit just once, but on a website you visit day after day you may want to have your OWN settings based on YOUR fonts and YOUR display. Maybe you want to see the headlines in Warnock Pro and use Calibri for the body copy?