yes!

Somebody told me about the Unger site recently, but asked me not to tell anybody! :-/
Anyway, all I have to say is: Finally!! And it's wonderful. And Keith's has an austere elegance.
Plus the bit about mixing Unger's fonts with Chinese (on Unger's site, actually) is genial.

hhp

Thanks Eric. I was already writing a bit about Keith's
work for Typographica, but now I can throw up a
link to Unger too. You rule.

No problem. I was tipped off by Keith's site. So what's next? A Bram de Does website? Frutiger?

hermannzapf.com!

:/ IdontknowabouthatStephen

What? You don't want to see a Zapf personal site?

Actually I guess your right. From an academic point of view, it would be extremely interesting.

It's just that...

well...

I'm not that fond of his type designs. I really dislike some of his trademark curves and design details, and never use any of his fonts, although I own a nice selection of licenses through the Bitstream Full Library CD-ROM. I must admit I never had the chance to play around with Zapfino, though, maybe that could change my mind.

It takes a real man to admit not liking Zapf's fonts. I didn't know they make them in Belgium. ;-)

hhp

Hello there,
I'm glad you guys like my site... :-) I'm working more on it... I've put together some photos of vernacular type/lettering that I took in Hong Kong three years ago, and planning a gallery of the Cooper type (excuse me, but I think it's actually a beautiful type... ). Hopefully I'll get those finished by the start of next week. Watch this space!

Talking about Optima, I saw the article on the new Optima Next in Step magazine... haven't had time to read the actual article yet, but I saw the illustrations... Apparently Zapf is working with Kobayashi on it. Guss what they are doing to it? Rounded corners (in the counters)! And oblique-cut terminals! Sheared corners! If you already have problems with the original Optima (which I don't really), how about this cute and cuddly version, eh?

I read that article a couple of days ago: it's mostly predictable fluff, although the large glyphs were nice. I noticed that the shears seem to have been applied well, and that probably took them a while, assuming they didn't use some custom Python script or something, which of course is the only smart way to do it! :-)

BTW, did you guys know "Zapf has never used a computer"?
Funny, since he's no Luddite; think of the Hz spacing stuff.

hhp

Hrant, sorry for my ignorance, what are/how do you use Python scripts? I assume they are scripts for automating type design... Can I use them with FontLab or are they RoboFOG only? I guess Zapf is more of a calligrapher. But that does surprise me... yeah, how does he explain that Hz spacing stuff?!

K.

I'm only warming up to Python scripting myself. It's basically a way to "algorithmize" tasks.

Like for the shearing you might say:
1. Go around the outline point by point.
2. When you find an acute angle of less than 30 degrees*: put two new points on either side of the point in question, 2 ems away; dump the original point and connect the two new ones.

* The shear threshold recommended by Doyald Young.

So you run the script and BAM! in a second you've done the work of a full day. Both RoboFog and FontLab support Python scripting, although I don't think the code is portable. BTW, now that FontLab is so powerful, I don't see much room left for RoboFog.

> how does he explain that Hz spacing stuff?!

You mean in terms of doing it without a computer? I guess the same way he explains Optima Next: he sits there and talks, and somebody else "codifies" things. Either that or he's got a next-generation voice-command system...

hhp

Hello there,

My site has been updated... hopefully the new stuff will interest you. Take a look... http://www.keithtam.net

Cheers,
K.

Keith, what about using Hiroshige with CJK?

hhp

Well, Hrant, that would depend on which CLK font(s). Well, I know Hiroshige is the name of a Japanese printmaker, but I don't think it has much Asian characteristics really. I tend to think that Latin types that have distinctively calligraphic influences might not work so well... What's your take on it?

> CLK

Was that a Daimler Freudian slip?

I guess Hiroshige is a subtley faux orientalesque face? Well, my aversion to calligraphic type is no secret, but I can't deny that some oriental types are strongly calligraphic, and with those maybe it would work? Dunno.

hhp

Oops... Remember when Apple used to have these 'language kits' for the System 7? I used to refer to the Chinese Language Kit as CLK... Of course that's history now. Daimler Freudian?!

> I guess Hiroshige is a subtley faux orientalesque face?

Maybe. But to me it's more like Western calligraphy. Oh yes, a lot of CJK fonts are unmistakably calligraphic, but I think it is awkward to combine Western and Eastern calligraphic type like that, because they are based on fundamentally distinct principles and traditions.

I'm cooking up some articles on Chinese typography at the moment... I'll let you know as soon as they go live.

K.

http://www.allsportauto.com/detailphoto.php3?zl_id=1797&zl_idMD=479

> .... because they are based on fundamentally distinct principles and traditions.

Makes sense.

hhp

Oh, I see! :-)