New to Typophile? Accounts are free, and easy to set up.
Some things to keep in mind before you post or offer critique
1. Your thread will be on Google.
It is important to remember that not all clients want the work which you are doing for them in the search engines. Before you post work for critique keep this in mind because the search engines love Typophile. Sometimes it is best to keep things generic or, if you want to use the company name, consider only using images with the logo, etc., and ask that no one type the company name.
We don't wish for anyone to lose their jobs because of a thread on Typophile, but it is our policy not to delete threads and we don't delete them without consideration.
2. Be helpful, but be polite.
Further, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. You may think you are offering "friendly" advice but your words say otherwise. It is one thing to give a fair critique, but if words such as "don't mean to be rude, but this is awful" or "obviously you have no experience" are part of what you wish to write perhaps just don't write anything. Silence is critique enough.
While it might be true that thin skin is not helpful to a designer, Typophile does not need to be the place to scare anyone away. Everyone is on the same path, some further along that others. We are all here to learn and grow. Let's help each other.
3. Nothing is free.
And lastly, if you are here asking for people to design something for you without compensation—or worse hiding it behind the guise of a contest—thinking that the experience will be great on their resume this is not the place for you. Typophile does not support this practice. http://www.no-spec.com/
User login
Support our Sponsors
6 Apr 2011 — 9:53am
See also the AIGA position on spec work. And a thread illustrating an excellent example of how asking for spec work can blow up in your face: Suggest the perfect font for a logo and receive $200 (or £125 / 20AC150) if chosen ;-).
6 Apr 2011 — 2:03pm
...but what prompted this and why is this posted here, in the design section?
7 Apr 2011 — 11:49am
David, there was a recent thread in 'design' that prompted this new post. I could have posted it in 'general discusssions' but think this is a better place as there is already a thread in the main area for posting guidelines. Do you think it is unnecessary?
7 Apr 2011 — 12:02pm
I, for one, think it’s a well placed, timely and well written reminder.
7 Apr 2011 — 1:09pm
>Do you think it is unnecessary?
Not at all. I'm just curious, and must have missed the thread in question.
7 Apr 2011 — 1:34pm
Thanks Tiffany.
16 Apr 2011 — 7:15pm
@Tiffany: What recent thread?
17 Apr 2011 — 2:49am
What recent thread?
One which the original poster asked to remove (I haven’t checked if it indeed was deleted, but it was about small caps and a gallery’s logo).
21 Apr 2011 — 4:53pm
Yes, the thread was removed and it made me think that we just needed some reminders. That's all.
4 May 2011 — 7:24am
I agree with this reminder. it's disheartening to be told this or that is sloppy or your curves are bad and not be given specific points.
5 May 2011 — 7:51am
Gary:
1) I don't think that's the thread in question. The one I think triggered this was problematic because the author was making her employer look bad.
2) You can't improve if you can't handle candid criticism (even if it could be more specific).
hhp
5 May 2011 — 8:39am
Constructive criticism is welcomed along with insights as to why something in particular may be a problem. Insults and degrading language not only do not help the target of the post but make the author appear petty and rude.
The point of the critique areas is to help our fellow Typophiles, not to ridicule them.
5 May 2011 — 8:59am
To me candor > cajoling.
hhp
5 May 2011 — 10:19am
I didn't mean my thread particularly. The reaction so far has been very encouraging. But your comments have been noted.
5 May 2011 — 10:35am
For me there's an important distinction between criticism and critique.
5 May 2011 — 12:23pm
With anything being better than vapid encouragement.
May Typophile never become the typographic Flickr.
hhp
8 May 2011 — 4:43pm
No I don't think there is any fear of that
8 May 2011 — 6:15pm
Is there a method to measure if something is related to the nature of Typophile while avoiding the issue of censorship? Put simply, how can we avoid people making irrelevant posts and cluttering the forums without over-moderating and discouraging discourse? Perhaps a separate section for “anything about anything goes” or a way to re-position threads? A very slippery slope. I’ll almost certainly take some heat for this one, but I fail to see how a thread about Teen Pregnancy is suited to this environment.
8 May 2011 — 7:35pm
Christopher, It seems as though Typophile has become the hot place to go for kids wanting to get quick help with their homework. They don't seem to care if it has anything to do with typography or not. We are well known suckers :-)
9 May 2011 — 5:03am
how can we avoid people making irrelevant posts and cluttering the forums
Not replying?
We are well known suckers :-)
Especially when it comes to non profit organizations ;-)
30 May 2011 — 10:24pm
@ Miss Tiffany you shared good info for a professional employee.
31 May 2011 — 8:54am
A somewhat related thread: Help cure “Do My Homework Syndrome”
2 Jul 2011 — 11:54pm
@all. This thread certainly bring benefits. Thanks.
23 Dec 2011 — 10:42pm
Good thread. Firearm safety teaches “never aim a gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot”. Internet safety could be summed up in as many words.
14 Feb 2012 — 9:19am
This has been a long time coming. It’s old, but much of it still applies, and I am truly amazed at how people are still making the same mistakes we made a decade ago. Taken from Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, October 3, 2005: Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2005.
————
2. Non-Standard Links Following are the five main guidelines for links:
• Make obvious what’s clickable: for text links, use colored, underlined text (and don't underline non-link text).
• Differentiate visited and unvisited links.
• Explain what users will find at the other end of the link, and include some of the key information-carrying terms in the anchor text itself to enhance scannability and search engine optimization (SEO). Don’t use “click here” or other non-descriptive link text.
• Avoid JavaScript or other fancy techniques that break standard interaction techniques for dealing with links.
In particular, don’t open pages in new windows (except for PDF files and such). Links are the Web's number one interaction element. Violating common expectations for how links work is a sure way to confuse and delay users, and might prevent them from being able to use your site.
————
For example, instead of linking “I just came across an interesting Kickstarter project. For more information, click here” (which provides the user with no information as to where they are going to end up without additionally reading the words around the ambiguous word “here,” try:
“I was doing a bit of reading, and I came across an interesting Kickstarter project: Gremolata & Cancellaresca Milanese. A graphic design project in new York, NY, by Russell Maret.”
And remember: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
~ George Santayana. The Life of Reason.
22 May 2012 — 9:52am
Well, this is a good suggestion!
7 Aug 2012 — 12:19am
Dear Sir
I want to develop a new Urdu font by using Calligraphic Samples of one of famous Calligrapher . Can anyone help me and infom Step by Step detail how I can achieve this goal.
I shall be very thankful to him or her.
With best regards
Rashid Shaikh
7 Aug 2012 — 12:21am
Hi Rashid. Can you post this request in a new thread?
It would also be easier to help you if you add images of the calligraphy you want to base your typeface on.
16 Aug 2012 — 11:35pm
OK I will send some samples of Calligraphy but please inform how I will copy and paste the sample in this box.
Thanks
Rashid Shiakh
11 Oct 2012 — 3:07am
hi.......
nice.......
3dyantram.info/rendering_india.com
11 Oct 2012 — 9:54am
Is this a FAQ or a discussion board? If it tries to be both, it will be a crappy one of each. If it truly is a FAQ, perhaps it should be locked. If someone has a point to make, or suggestion, such as good writing style, they can simply contact an admin and the FAQ can be modified accordingly. That would avoid the problem of people asking questions here, when they should be using other boards.
5 Mar 2013 — 6:43pm
Shoot - I just posted a new post with the name of the company in it and this was posted immediately afterward. I can't go in and edit it and I do NOT want it showing up in a Google Thread. HELP!!
5 Mar 2013 — 7:16pm
Please email me the url of the thread and your requested edits — typographer@gmail.com
29 May 2013 — 6:24am
Dear Miss Tiffany, You offer very sound advice not just for this website, but for overall internet etiquette. I have found an even greater appreciation of this platform.