PagePlane.com

October 4, 2010

Typography

The current state of typography on the web

If you started out in print, you are (perhaps) more aware of the value of typography as an element of design. In print we have near-complete control over type—the choice of faces, glyphs and special characters, kerning and leading values, and so on.

Web design, as you are doubtlessly well aware, has been an entirely different story. You have much less control and to exert what little control there is requires a fair bit of technical expertise.

As the web matures, those of us who design for it have been yearning for a universal, user-friendly system that gives us that control and in recent months, its looks as though we are closer than ever to realizing it.

Last week, I set out to write a short article pointing to some of the many sources I have happened upon lately—some are listed below. And then I found an excellent article by Richard Fink that explains it all in a way that is much more informed and thoughtful than anything I could have written myself.

First Richard's article, and then some links to further explanations and solutions.