Everything you wanted to know about fonts but were afraid to ask · Type Network
Everything you wanted to know about fonts but were afraid to ask
A definitive guide to Type Network’s educational posts.
By Type Network Staff
We love writing about type and typography but even more than that we love helping our customers get the most out of the fonts they license from us. We put this ongoing list of articles together so you can get familiar with typographic concepts and explore some lesser known features included in many of our partner’s typefaces.
Open Type at Work: Contextual Alternates Contextual alternates are programmatic diplomats that improve the relationships between glyphs.
Open Type at Work: Standard Ligatures Standard ligatures solve the problem of characters crashing into each other, like fi or fl.
Open Type at Work: Figures Styles OpenType fonts can have up to ten built-in figure styles. This guide explains what they are, where to find them, and when to use them.
Inside the Fonts: Optical Sizes Whether you go big or go little, type crafted for specific sizes–“optical sizes”–will give your typography the royal treatment.
Inside the Fonts:Zeitung To explore the concept of optical sizes, i.e. separate typefaces designed for use in specific applications or point or pixel ranges, we go inside Underware’s Zeitung.
Inside the Fonts: Grading Bennet Lipton’s Bennet series allows us to explain how grades and weights differ and how the former can help solve an array of problems, from ink spread in printing to rendering text on screens in different ambient light conditions.
Inside the Fonts: Stacking Fit Because David Jonathan Ross designed Fit to fit just about any text into just about any space, text set in it looks best when it’s stacked tightly. Learn how you can achieve the best results with this amazing face.
Inside the Fonts: Antenna and Antenna Serif Highsmith’s sans and slab serif superfamily includes OpenType features to increase the typefaces’ usefulness and range. See how stylistic alternates can diversify the fonts’ appearance and voice and how you can implement them.
Inside the Fonts: BF Buffalo Neville Brody lets typographers choose between the original and updated versions of BF Buffalo by way of well-thought-out Stylistic Sets. Now you can have your fonts and eat them, too.
Inside the Fonts: Embury Text Border Ornaments Many of our partners’ fonts include borders. With Rushton’s Embury Text, see how you can use these hidden features to create sophisticated frames.
Want to learn more about our foundry partner’s type or typography in general? Don’t be afraid to ask. Tag @typenetwork on Twitter or Instagram or email info@typenetwork.com with your questions.
Type Network offers free 30-day web trials and other testing licenses. Are you a student, teacher, or educator? Get in touch to learn about more about educational licensing options and special offers. To stay current on all things Type Network, subscribe to the Type Network News, our occasional newsletter featuring releases, foundry happenings, type and design events, and more.
