What makes a good web (text) font?
A good web text font makes no excuses.
It never says, “If only you could see me in print.”
A good text font usually has:
a generous x-height,
open counterforms,
and a generous aperature.
It has generous letter spacing.
It does not have thin strokes or delicate serifs
(which can get lost on the screen).
Nor does it have strident serifs or terminals
(which draw attention to themselves and undermine the flow of words).
Good web text fonts are hard to find.
Many fonts available for font-linking are lively and subtle,
but lose legibility on the screen.
View some lovely fonts that didn’t make the cut.
Learn more about legibility from Typographic Web Design.
(View in Adobe Acrobat to use rollovers for font comparison.)
FYI
TypeCon 2010:
August 17-22
in Los Angeles.
Favorites
Nice Web Type
A List Apart
Typophile
@font-face
What makes a good web (text) font?
Fonts by Style
Some lovely fonts that didn’t make the cut.
About Us
Rule 1
Honor the reader.
Rule 2
Honor the content.
Rule 3
Choose a web font that helps you do both.
We’re testing dozens of fonts for online text... so you don’t have to.
More Fonts
to Come
This site started as a resource for my web typography students.
The quickest way to connect them with good web fonts was to think “free.”
the next step?
Good web fonts via subscription-based linking and webfont licensing.
