This Is Locomotion - Design, Code, and News

Inspired by the thought behind the video “Art” I posted earlier today, I decided to take a little time with a good friend and work together on a abstract art piece. It reminded me that it is often easy as web designers to get lost in our digital medium and forget the ties that bind us to real things. Things where we have to be prepared to get our hands dirty, covered in paint, mixing mediums, playing with type, using charcoal. The result: a plethora of visual creativity, laughter, collaboration and something Photoshop can only dream of emulating.

As I have been working more on deepening my knowledge in the field of typography this year I’ve been steadily studying a broad swath of common typefaces. This week I chose to focus specifically on “Arial” which is almost ubiquitous on the web today. My aim in studying this typeface was to understand its origins and history so that I can better recognize when it is acceptable to use this typeface and when it is not. Surprisingly, Arial appears to be a complete knock-off of Helvetica (which, unless you are a type nerd you might not know) and has stolen both its proportion and weight. Arial has become a success on the web and also in print mostly as a result of Microsoft adopting the typeface early in development of Windows 3.1 as a method to reduce costs and not pay licensing fees to the creators of Helvetica.

When Microsoft made TrueType the standard font format for Windows 3.1, they opted to go with Arial rather than Helvetica, probably because it was cheaper and they knew most people wouldn’t know (or even care about) the difference. Apple also standardized on TrueType at the same time, but went with Helvetica, not Arial, and paid Linotype’s license fee. Of course, Windows 3.1 was a big hit. Thus, Arial is now everywhere, a side effect of Windows’ success, born out of the desire to avoid paying license fees.

Source: The Scourge of Arial

After reading the source cited above, I discovered in particular that despite its pervasiveness, a professional designer would rarely use Arial. Apparently to professionals, Arial is looked down on as a not-very-faithful imitation of a typeface that is no longer fashionable. One might even go so far as to say that Arial has never been fashionable with the elitist typography fashionistas who were familiar with its origins.

Additionally, I also found an excellent article on recognizing the visual distinctions between Helvetica and Arial.

No longer using Arial for body text (check).

A double-breasted suit is generally perceived as being more old-fashioned, and as a result worn by older gentlemen. It is also perceived as being more serious and business-like, particularly in a pinstripe. I’m not saying I agree with these perceptions, but they exist.

And, as with many questions of style, how an outfit is perceived (by either lay or stylish men) is central to its success, whether people admit it or not. A trend is merely a question of mass perception, and propriety, after all. Even if that trend lasts 20 years.

Source: mensflair.com

As with style, so in web design, trends are just a question of mass perception.

A new technology solution for font replacement will be arriving later this year and has been heralded by the design community (and rightly so) with a big fanfare. The proposed solution is to use Javascript to handle the font rendering and could potentially have a huge impact on web design. Interestingly, no specific type foundries are mentioned which leaves me wondering what foundries are supporting the new venture.

We’ve been working with foundries to develop a consistent web-only font linking license. We’ve built a technology platform that lets us to host both free and commercial fonts in a way that is incredibly fast, smoothes out differences in how browsers handle type, and offers the level of protection that type designers need without resorting to annoying and ineffective DRM.

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.

We’ll be launching this summer with a great collection of beautiful and hardworking typefaces. We’ll offer a free version of the service to get you started, and a low-cost way to grow from there. A truly scalable professional version will follow soon after.

Source: http://blog.typekit.com/2009/05/27/introducing-typekit/

Finally a site for serious aspiring foodies! The finesse applied to their logo in both the typography choices and the illustration is very inspiring. I’ve been waiting quite some time for a cuisine site that appeals as finely to my design aesthetic as it does to my palette. Looking forward to launch (and lunch) day.

“Good typography should be like a wonderful clear crystal goblet… much better than a golden goblet with jewels on the outside, because the point of the crystal goblet is that you can see the wine that’s inside; you can appreciate the colours… That’s the purpose of typography — it should be invisible. It should not call attention to itself unless there is a specific reason to do so.”

Comic Sans from Sam and Anita on Vimeo.

After watching this video be sure to check out the website on banning comic sans.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

~ Steve Jobs

“Design is 70% dealing with people, 3% the idea, 2% selling the idea, 2% the brief, 2% being pig headed, 1% printing, 3% eye for detail, .6% invoices, 2% coffee, .7% tracking, .1% warm glow, .6% panic, 1% 4am, .6% staring, .2% checking, 1% letting go, .8% keeping hold, .7% estimates, .3% checking, .4% proofs, .1% colour, .9% understanding, .4% marketing, 1% checking, .8% beach ball, .5% mice, .3% keynotes, .4% persuasion, .2% bragging, .5% smiling, 2% knowing when to stop.”

~ Duane King via thebreaksover.com

“We were truly building an airplane… while in flight” ~ Scott Thomas, Design Director, Obama for America

This was taken from a slide at An Event Apart, Seattle. Not sure why I just got around to posting this now (a few weeks later). This speech with Scott Thomas was possibly one of the best conference talks I’ve ever seen. You can watch a similar speech on the Obama for America campaign with Sol Sender on iTunes U here.