If you are excited about the newer web browser software being able to make use of a myriad of fonts then I guess that you are a web designer. However, if you are a font designer then maybe you’ve been tracking news about @font-face since 2007 with trepidation rather than excitement.

Why @font-face is good

Web designers are freed from the limitations of ‘web safe’ fonts. Websites’ designs will become even more diverse. I sincerely hope that designers will embrace both creative and functional typography.

Why @font-face is bad

The major downside of using @font-face is the legal side. It is possible to serve any font from your webserver but you may be breaking the law. The bad thing is that there will be people that do this and the implications could prove costly.

Using a copyrighted font without permission is just as illegal as uploading and serving copyrighted music or images without permission but, alas, I don’t think as many people will care or even be aware of the issue.

The future of @font-face

As more web browsers support @font-face I am certain that we will see widespread (legal and illegal) usage fairly quickly. I imagine that corporate companies will embellish their websites with bespoke fonts. There may even be an increase in people claiming to be typeface designers (which could be added to the ‘bad’ list).

Keeping website designers and type designers happy may be a struggle but there are new services that aim to keep both content by introducing new methods that allow fonts to be used legally. The main contender seems to be Typekit, but Kernest may be worth keeping an eye on.

“As a Typekit user, you’ll have access to our library of high-quality fonts. Just add a line of JavaScript to your markup, tell us what fonts you want to use, and then craft your pages the way you always have. Except now you’ll be able to use real fonts. This really is going to change web design.”

Introducing TypeKit written by Jeffrey Veen

“I want a YouTube of typefaces. Easily created, open to everyone to easily embed-able.”

Garrick Van Buren creator of kernest.com

Kernest enables legal web fonts

Kernest offers a comprehensive range of fonts that are free to use and it is really easy to find fonts by style, foundry or designer. You can build a list of fonts for comparison and select those which you would like to use on your website.

To use fonts listed on Kernest you must sign up (simple, just email and password). For each font you want to use you must provide the base URL of the website you will be using it on. That done, Kernest generates and hosts a CSS file with the @font-face decarations and you are provided with the CSS file link via your profile page. Then it is simply a case of using font-family in your own CSS to declare the font you chose. All the fonts are also hosted on Kernest.

As you provide the domain where you want to use the font Kernest is able to stop other domains accessing your personallised style sheet (illustrated below). It also prevents unregistered websites from linking to the fonts on Kernest’s servers directly. This system means that paid fonts could be added in the future.

I created a file that included the link to my kernest.com generated stylesheet and style the text accordingly, then uploaded the same file to two different domains. Only blog24.co.uk had been registered with Kernest.

Some lucky people have been given a preview to the Typekit service. Andy Clarke (For A Beautiful Web) is one such being and has written about his first impressions of Typekit, with a number of screenshots. Overall, the service looks very easy to use and looks a lot more refined than Kernest.

I noticed that the Subsets (in the sidebar) has not been enabled during the preview. However, I also noticed earlier today that Jeff Veen’s screenshot does give a clue to what the Subsets are. By selecting a subset of a font, I think it will be possible to shave off a few kilobytes for speedier font downloads.

Conclusion

Overall the I see @font-face as a good thing if used legally. Less limits, more creativity.

Kernest is great, but I can’t wait to try TypeKit.

I first started researching the possibilities of web typography some time ago. More so when I began to consider redesigning this blog a few months ago (at the moment it just seems too cramped).

I’ve been reading a lot about web typography, @font-face and numerous opinions and issues — here’s some of the things I’ve been reading.

Tutorials and Resources

“Linking to the fonts on this site explodes your typeface repertoire. And far from cutting into the profits of type designers, these typefaces enable everyone to get closer to the typography they dream of – perhaps in scripts that they have never before been able to use online.”

Open Font Library

• webfonts.info offers information about browser support and where to find fonts.
• Beautiful fonts with @font-face a super tutorial with plenty of linked resources.
• webtypography.net provides an indepth look at web typography based upon the book The Elements of Typographic Style.
• A guide to web typography from ilovetypography.com

Twitter

• font Bio: Account for downloadable webfonts: @font-face (by Tobias Otte)
• kernest Bio: Tracking @font-face.
• typekit Bio: Bringing real fonts to the web. From your friends at Small Batch Inc.
• fontdeck Bio: Real typefaces for your website. (I’ve heard fontdeck mentioned in the same sentance as Kernest and TypeKit but the website seems to have been unplugged and their twitter account had seen just one update until today.)
• fontbureau Bio: We sell fonts. Typefaces, actually, but you can get fonts too.

Notable

• An Interview With Kernest’s Garrick Van Buren on readableweb.com
• The Sad State of Today’s Web Typography from chank.com.
• Ubiquitous web font embedding just got a step closer — Web Directions
• CSS @ Ten: The Next Big Thing — published in August 2007 but still relevant.
• How TypeKit Will Work by The Brads — a comic about web design.
• @font-face: The Potential of Web Typography — An example of what can be done with @font-face (commissioned by the Mozilla foundation).
• css3.info (self explanatory!)
• An Interview with The Font Bureau’s David Berlow “To understand issues surrounding web fonts from the type designer’s perspective, we interviewed David Berlow, co-founder of The Font Bureau, Inc.” Jeffery Zeldman
• From Default Fonts To All Fonts (in two easy steps?) David Berlow’s proposal for OpenType Permissions.
• Web fonts now (how we’re doing with that) – Jeffrey Zeldman

More »

• links for 2008-11-14
• links for 2008-08-15
• Zemanta — resource integration for bloggers
• links for 2009-03-02
• Track the Most Popular Websites Being Twittered

My favourite is Vimeo a simple alteration to the regular logo. Some blogs (such as Thou Shall Blog have decided to make an apt alteration to their design — a nice touch.

However, as you may have noted I have not made any effort to adorn blog24 with such decor. The reason is simple. While Halloween is as popular as ever in the United Kingdom I am not a great fan.

Note: The link to vimeo actually links to a short film of my puppy playing, he deserves a little fame.

More »

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Imagine meeting someone at a conference or party and they pass you this while saying, “here’s my card.”

“If you are thinking about getting snipped yourself, I would highly reccomend Dr. snip. He obviously loves his job, and really knows his stuff, and your stuff. Here is a teste-monial from another satisfied customer.

“My own experience with Dr. Snip was surprisingly good. I was certainly a little nervous, I am not used to having a strange man handle my scrotum, let alone cut it open. Although he was quite willing to keep me informed of exactly what he was doing during the procedure,Now I am going to coterize your vas, you may smell something burning…”

Found via finkbuilt.com

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iPod Nano 4G, originally uploaded by Roman Reisenberger.

The speculation is true — Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, has just announced the new iPod Nano. Let’s just say if you’ve seen a mockup or photograph that claimed to be the new iPod Nano then it was genuine.

The 4th Generation Nano has an oval cross-section and a widescreen screen as rumors rumours suggested. The new Nano has a built-in accelerometer to make viewing video, photo and your music collection (via coverflow) much like the iPhone and iPod Touch.

More later (maybe).

More »

• links for 2008-08-13 [delicious.com]
• New Apple iPods to be Announced Tomorrow
• iPod OS on a Mac Pro? True or False?
• Apple to Release iTunes 8 and New iPod Nano?
• links for 2008-09-09

The focus of this site is to provide resources for the graphic designer & digital artist.

[From digital-artist-toolbox.com]

A prime example of an inspirational post is ‘15 Unbelievable Photo-realistic Vector Illustrations‘ in which the author has found some truly incredible vector drawings.

Digital Artist Toolbox is a fairly new blog, its first post was published in April 2008. It is definitely a website to keep watching as it should prove to be a useful site for designers and illustrators alike. Certainly worth a bookmark or adding to your RSS feed collection.

More »

• links for 2008-12-13
• Design for Blog24
• New Design Makes Bookmarking Site Delicious [dot com]
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“The new Delicious is just like the old del.icio.us, only faster, easier to learn, and hopefully more delightful to use and to look at.”

Oh happy day — the new Delicious is here

A short animation was also published to illustrate the differences between the old del.icio.us and the redesign:

A year in Beta

This redesign has been in the pipeline for over a year and early previews gave a clear indication of what was to be expected of the new site. However the aforementioned blog post by The Delicious Team also indicated that new features are in development and may be added in the near future.

“It has taken us a while to get here, and we really appreciate all the patience and support you’ve shown us. Now that our new platform is in place we expect to release new features more quickly.”

For more information about the changes take a look at the Delicious What’s New page.

Best comment about the redesign so far?

By DrFunke on digg.com:

“Hmm, now I can’t access it from work because the network nannies think delicious.com is a porn site. Anyone else having this problem?”

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delicious.com screenshot, originally uploaded by Marshall24.

The great redesign for the relaunch of what is now delicious.com — cleaner, fresher and more dynamic and a lot faster.

More »

• New Design Makes Bookmarking Site Delicious [dot com]
• Flickr’s 3 Billionth Photograph
• WordPress 2.5 Upgrade Smooth & Worthwhile
• WordPress 2.5 is Available!
• Mini iPhone Available

How to Make Awesome Business Cards at Home

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Simply Noise has one function, to provide ‘white noise’ when you need it — that’s it! White noise is said to be useful for many reasons. According to simplynoise.com these include:

• Aid Sleep
• Enhance Privacy
• Block Distractions
• Mask Tinnitus
• Configure Audio Equipment
• Soothe Migraines

Since finding simplynoise.com I have let it run in the background while browsing on the web and when writing. I have it running now and it is ‘blurring’ background noise of chatter and the children playing allowing me to concentrate better with the task in hand. I am listening to the white noise through headphones so not to get strange looks and not disturb others.

White noise is a personal thing and I would not dream of blasting it through the hi-fi in order to drown out audible distraction. I imagine that white noise would aid getting to sleep, something that I often cannot do with ease. It may be time to add an hour or so white noise track to my iPod.

Simple Design

What I really like about simplynoise.com is the design, which is simple too. There is only one control, volume and it is obvious what it does. I particularly like the visual indication too — that’s a neat functional addition.

Here’s a quick screen capture of the website in action — although it’s probably quicker to visit simplynoise.com and have a play with it yourself!

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Phil, from Stockport, is a keen cyclist and a member of Cheshire based Will’s Wheels Cycling Club. The idea behind the cardboard bike was to have a cheap and recyclable form of transport that everyone could afford.

“You can get a whole bike out of one sheet of cardboard, including the frame and the wheels. The sheets are about £3 if you buy them in bulk. So to sell, I’ve priced it as £15 for the whole bike, including additional components.
 
“The lightweight quality of the cardboard, combined with its low cost, means it is possible to create a bargain-bike that is also less susceptible to thieves. At the moment low-cost bikes are usually very heavy, which can also put people off.”

With an estimated cost of £15 ($29 €19) per bike, if it were mass produced, the cardboard bicycle could become a winner for people looking for cheap eco-friendly transport.

The cardboard used in Phil’s design is usually used for advertising hoardings and low-cost partitioning in the building trade and is manufactured to be hardwearing and weatherproof.

Obviously a cardboard bicycle is not going to last as long as a regular steel or aluminum tubular frame as Phil clarified;

“It wasn’t designed to be a performance bike so no, it doesn’t go better or faster than a normal tubular framed bike. But it is suitable for everyday use – just cycling quite slowly in the street not for racing!”

Phil’s bike is currently on display at the Creative Spark exhibition along with other students‘ work. You will have to be quick though as it ends this Thursday (19 June) at Hallam University Building on Paternoster Row, Sheffield.

Read more about Phil’s Cardboard Cycle

BBC Video : Cardboard bicycle unveiled
BBC Manchester : Interview with Phil Bridge

More »

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