custom axes definition

[RosaWagner]

copy paste from : https://github.com/NaN-xyz/Glyph-Filters/issues/39#issue-823382337 @davelab6

With VF versions teased on Twitter, I thought I'd start a discussion here about what the axis should be tagged, labelled, and ranged (min/def/max) as.

I'm guessing there are 2 options.

(A) Do what is shown in the tweets, and use the wght axis, but range them 400/400/700, Regular to Bold.

(B) Do custom axes for each. Eg

• https://twitter.com/nan_xyz_/status/1364294567860838404 HAIR 0 0 100
• https://twitter.com/nan_xyz_/status/1364522913240670209 BUBL 0 0 100
• https://twitter.com/nan_xyz_/status/1367117326382940162 SIFI 0 0 100

I think (A) probably makes sense, but I'm guessing it might vary. The Bubbles one looks perfectly normal as a weight axis. The hairy one looks pasable. The Sci Fi one is more questionable, and I could see that related to the Type Network Parametric Axes System, and split with anisomorphic filters into X Opaque and Y Opaque axes, eg XOSF and YOSF :)

[RosaWagner]

Maybe we can start with a short description of each font and what the axis is supposed to do in each case. This will also help the on boarding process

[NaN-xyz]

FYI wght was simply placeholder as they're wip.

What is the benefit of an obscure axis names like bubl in place of something more user friendly like anim for animated?

[davelab6]

There's a (sadly yet to be documented) set of axis definition requirements that the GF team has developed, and one is the idea that the axis should be (a) not family specific to encourage axis reuse across projects (b) not so abstract that it is unclear what to expect when adjusting the axis and (c) have a range that makes some intuitive sense.

anim is falling into (b), but also its unclear what the range should be (c).

The axes I proposed use a percent range, and are close to being family specific, but are not always - HAIR would always add hair to the font, while SIFI might be family specific.

[davelab6]

wght is actually a contender too, since at least in the 3 examples above, there is a visual increase in the weight of the type as the axis proceeds, and accessing the min/max as regular/bold (with the [b] key) has some advantages.

It also means the fonts can move along the axis using a avar approximation of a curve, from 400 to 700, and these 4 named instances (Regular, Medium, SemiBold, Bold) would be at the 0, 33, 66, and 100 % steps, or can be at other "true" % points along the axis as makes sense.

[NaN-xyz]

If anim is out then it makes most intuitive sense to me as a user to use a percentage range. If we can't be prescriptive and also prefer a reusable axis then I think the user naturally fills in the semantic gap. ie. 100% would be hairiest, most complex infills, heaviest etc.