
The Soul of a Typeface - mgunes
http://fadeyev.net/2012/08/24/the-soul-of-a-typeface/
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cek
I'm such a closet typography geek. I'll pretty much upvote any HN post having
to do with analyzing fonts. The "depth" of the art and science of typography
has always fascinated me. For example when I learned that TrueType etc...
actually had, effectively, a built in scripting language where typeface-
specific code ran during rendering I was blown away.

Stylistically I tend to prefer sans-serif fonts for my own work. So the font
the author used for his example does not directly appeal for me. I appreciate
it (like I appreciate a well put together Harley Davidson Chopper, but would
never, in 1000 years own one). I have an odd love of mono-spaced, sans-serif
fonts in particular. Consolas speaks to me and I'm always seeking out new
fonts for my console & editor. Heh.

Thanks for this post.

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lubutu
I'm very fond of typography, but I don't know all that much about it. Is there
a name for the style of fonts like Elena? As soon as I saw the sample I was
struck by the similarities to Minion, which has to be my favourite serif font
(though I do prefer some aspects of Elena).

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fadeyev
Not an expert in typography so I may be wrong, but I'd say it's a modern take
on Humanist (also known as Venetian), one of the earliest Roman typeface
styles. Here's a good article about this style:
[http://ilovetypography.com/2007/11/06/type-terminology-
human...](http://ilovetypography.com/2007/11/06/type-terminology-humanist-2/).
I'm not sure if it can be classified as such though because it is built to
work well on the screen and so has a lot of straight lines, closer to
Transitional typefaces like Times New Roman, but even though the overall
design is very modern, the feel of it seems to me closer to the Humanist
typefaces. For example, the bar on the 'e' is sloping a tiny bit upwards,
which is a distinctive characteristic of Humanist typefaces.

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jonaphin
It's moments like these that I feel small in regards to humanities. Thank you,
Sir.

~~~
keithpeter
<http://www.markbernstein.org/Mar12/TheSympathyOfThings.html>

Lars Spuybroek's book The Sympathy of Things explores possible links between
Ruskin's views and modern digital production. I'm finding it hard reading
(maths science background myself) but it is making me think in new areas.

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akldfgj
Letter Spirit, the soul of the new machine's typefaces:
<http://www.cogsci.indiana.edu/farg/mcgrawg/lspirit.html>

