Author Archives: Laura Franz

Calluna Regular

Posted on Feb 13, 2012 by Laura Franz.

A font that almost made it. A Venetian serif font by Jos Buivenga (exljbris.com), Calluna has a smaller x-height than Georgia, and works best at a generous font-size. Calluna feels like an “old” font; it has pen-formed serifs and terminals. The rising crossbar of the lowercase e is reminiscent of early Renaissance (Venetian/Humanist) letterforms.

Unfortunately, the font does not hold up across browsers. On Windows (XP, 7, Vista) the strokes on the letterforms get very light (thin). The pen-formed head serifs on letters such as h, b, d, u, and so on become too prominent, and the rising crossbar on the e becomes jagged and breaks.

The overall structure, spacing, and system of the font is beautiful. I had to include it in my collection anyway. If you are creating a site primarily for mac users, Calluna will serve you well.

The Calluna family consists of 8 fonts (styles, weights). Calluna Regular is available for free download at fontspring. The full family is available for license at fontspring and for font-linking via typekit.

Filed under 8 Styles, Fonts That Almost Made It, FontSpring, TypeKit, Venetian (Serif) |

Museo Sans 500

Posted on Feb 11, 2012 by Laura Franz.

View the Museo Sans 500 font specimen sheet.

A sans serif font by Jos Buivenga (exljbris.com). With its perfectly round o and almost circular bowls, Museo Sans has some geometric elements. On the other hand, its double-decker g and soft foot terminal on the l feel humanist. I categorize it as a geometric sans serif font, because when text set in Museo Sans 500 is compared to a range of sans serif fonts it feels more geometric than humanist. Museo Sans 500 has a slightly smaller x-height than Verdana.

The Museo Sans family has 10 fonts (various styles, weights). All are available for web licensing at fontspring.com. In the font specimen sheet, I show only Museo Sans 500 and Museo Sans 500 italic, which are free fonts. I combine them with Museo 700, a bold font from a different family, but a family with a similar structure. The full family is also available via typekit.

Filed under 10 Styles, FontSpring, Geometric Sans Serif, TypeKit |

Museo Slab 500

Posted on Feb 10, 2012 by Laura Franz.

View the Museo Slab 500 font specimen sheet.

A slab serif font by Jos Buivenga (exljbris.com). Museo Slab 500 has an x-height similar to Georgia. It also has heavier, more uniform strokes which makes letters like a and e a bit harder to read. Thus, Museo Slab works best with a generous font-size.

The Museo Slab family has 12 fonts (various styles, weights). All are available for web licensing at fontspring.com. In the font specimen sheet, I show only Museo Slab 500 and Museo Slab 500 italic, which are free fonts. I combine them with Museo 700, a bold font from a different family, but a family with a similar structure. The full family is also available via typekit.

Filed under 12 Styles, FontSpring, Slab Serif, TypeKit |