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ctrlcctrlv / chomsky

A font in the style of the New York Times masthead
SIL Open Font License 1.1
216 stars 13 forks source link

Add an alternate set of numbers #1

Open ctrlcctrlv opened 5 years ago

ctrlcctrlv commented 5 years ago

Redditors hate my numbers. Despite their canonicity,† I should probably aim to add an alternate set.

†They are canon to an extent. Only the "5" is canon, and I used that as the source for all the others. The "5" may have been a different font, though, although I don't think so, I just think it was a brave choice.

gosh-darn commented 3 years ago

I don’t think canonicity is the end all be all of typeface revivals. From what I’ve seen, type designers often streamline designs and remove idosyncracies where deemed necessary if they won’t align with the revived typeface. Whether you redesign the figures to “look more fraktur” or not, doesn’t seem that important to me. What I would recommend, however, is that you design a set of old-style figures that will look more balanced in text. This is, after all, not an all caps typeface.

alerque commented 3 years ago

Don't let Reddit get under your skin ;-)

I tend to agree it was a "brave choice", and in making a revival font following the canonical model was a good call (I think).

That being said my primary use case for this font is less about following the NYT's lead than it is about just liking Fraktur / Blackletter designs but needing them to be actually decipherable to modern readers. For my own use I would welcome a set of alternates that were closer to the historical lettering designs, but don't think that should be the defining feature of this font, just an alternative if you get the time to make it.