Lost and font

• Development of fonts


  1. Gutenberg's printing press invention

  2. Blackletter calligraphy inspiration

  3. Jenson's simpler font

  4. Manutius and Griffo's italic typeform

  5. Caslon's Old Style

  6. Baskerville's Transitional typefaces

  7. Didot and Bodoni's serif fonts

  8. Figgins' Antique slab serif

  9. Caslon IV's Caslon Egyptian sans-serif

  10. Goudy's iconic font creations

  11. Helvetica, Futura, Optima in 1957

  12. Digi Grotesk, vector fonts, TrueType fonts

  13. CSS font styling, web fonts, WOFF

  14. Variable fonts in 2016
• Books were a luxury for the high-class until Gutenberg's printing press invention in the 15th century
• Blackletter calligraphy


  Calligraphy style used in manuscripts, which inspired Gutenberg's first font
• Gutenberg's first font had downsides: limited text per page and a single font type constraint
• Jenson's font


  Simpler font for more efficient books, based on typographic principles rather than manuscript style
• Italic typeform


  Pioneered by Manutius and Griffo in 1501 to save space in books, initially criticized for poor readability but now used for emphasis
• Old Style


  Font introduced by William Caslon in 1734, enhancing letter distinguishability and readability
• Transitional typefaces


  Developed by John Baskerville, with distinct letters, but criticized for darkness and unorthodox appearance
• Serif fonts


  Fonts with notable indents in their typing, pioneered by Didot, Bodoni, and Figgins
• Sans-serif fonts


  Fonts without the special indents of serif fonts, pioneered by Caslon IV's Caslon Egyptian
• Egyptomania


  The obsession that the Western world had over Egypt, which influenced the sans-serif revolution
• Fredric Goudy


  First full-time font developer in the 1920s, creating iconic fonts like Copperplate Gothic and Goudy Old Style
• Helvetica, Futura, Optima


  Iconic fonts born in 1957
• Digi Grotesk


  First digital font, paving the way for vector fonts in 1974 and TrueType fonts in the late 1980s
• CSS font styling, web fonts, WOFF


  Advancements in font technology for the digital age
• Variable fonts


  Introduced in 2016, part of the OpenType standard, more efficient in terms of size and opening new possibilities for web typography
• Challenges still persist in present day fonts, such as a lack of global language fonts and untapped potential in color fonts despite the OpenType SVG format allowing for such creativity
• Microsoft bid farewell to Calibri, the default font for apps like Word and Outlook, and introduced Aptos as the new default font
• Aptos


  The new default font for Microsoft Office apps, designed by Steve Matteson to be compatible and easy to transition from Calibri
• The decision to change the default font from Calibri to Aptos was influenced by user surveys and the shift from Steve Ballmer to Satya Nadella as CEO of Microsoft
• Johnston Sans

  The original font of the London Underground, created by calligrapher Edward Johnston in 1916
• Evolution of the London Underground font

  1. Johnston Sans introduced in 1916

  2. Eiichi Kono's adaptation in 1970

  3. Johnston100 introduced in 2016 by Transport for London
• Johnston100


  The updated version of the London Underground font, designed to be digital-friendly and adapt to changing communication needs, while retaining the essence of the original
• The US State Department changed their default font from Times New Roman to Calibri to enhance accessibility for visually impaired employees
• Thomas Phinney


  A font detective who uses different typographic clues to determine forgeries, with expertise in dating fonts and technology
• Phinney's font forensics work

  1. Deducing printer used for a document didn't exist at the suggested date

  2. Uncovering font mismatch that revealed a forgery

  3. Categorizing cases into Nefarious (ill-intent forgeries) and "Stupidly Tiny" (meeting specific requirements)
• Fonts


  • Matter everywhere, from the digital realm to books and printing presses
  • Significant in branding and marketing, where font choices can influence the perception of a brand
• Phinney's website


  • Sciencegothic.com, showcases a typeface creator capable of representing over 500 moods and feelings
• Despite his various jobs, Phinney remains fascinated by fonts and typography
• An example case

  • The Reprehensible Rabbi, involved uncovering a font mismatch that revealed a forgery
• Phinney's main job


  Font forensics, proving difficult yet intriguing alongside his font design tasks
• Phinney's forensic cases


  • Nefarious, involving ill-intent forgeries
  • Stupidly Tiny, determining if documents meet specific requirements
• Stupidly Tiny cases


  • Evaluating whether tiny typography on a Justin Timberlake CD fulfilled public notice requirements for copyrights
• Phinney's dream case involves major implications affecting many people, similar to the close call with allegations against George W. Bush
• The Bush case turned out to be fake news, but Phinney's dedication and passion for his work still remains evident
• There is now a growing backlash against self-checkout machines, with several retailers reevaluating their strategies
• Retailers reevaluating self-checkout


  • Booths, a British supermarket, recently announced the removal of self-checkout in all but two of its stores
  • Walmart, Costco, and Wegmans are also adjusting their approach to self-checkout
• Nigel Murray's concerns about self-checkout

  Slow processing and frequent misidentifications of fruits, vegetables, and alcohol, particularly with age restrictions
• Self-checkout


  Introduced in the 1980s with the primary goal of reducing labor costs, gained significant traction in the early 2000s as a cost-cutting measure
• The expansion and usage of self-checkout machines accelerated during the pandemic due to the increased focus on minimizing spread and contact