Comments on: Skolar Web hinted for better screen rendering

By: Jonathan Nicol

Jonathan Nicol — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 02:01:03 +0000

Fantastic. I remember being very diappointed when I first saw the Bobulate site in Windows, it actually put me off the whole concept of web type for quite some time. It is great to see that type designers are recognizing the importance of hinting their faces for enhanced screen rendering on the Windows platform. Now Bobulate looks very nice in Windows. Bye bye jaggies!

By: kyle

kyle — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 02:31:21 +0000

Can we try to get Mark Simonson to do the same for Proxima Nova? Please. Just started using the light typeface at small sizes (18 and under) and it’s starting to fall apart on windows machines using Firefox.

By: Luke Dorny

Luke Dorny — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:32:06 +0000

A most impressive difference, for sure.
It’s wonderful that using a service like Typekit allows for use of advanced typography online as well as being assured that people are behind the scenes adjusting our type to make things better all the time.
Impressively, this improvement shines up my existing site without any steps from me (except republishing, which is, arguably, VERY DIFFICULT!).

Thank you Mr. Březina and Mr. Brown.

By: David Březina

David Březina — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:20:02 +0000

And was it mentioned here that the webfont includes hinted Cyrillic as well? It does. All the languages Skolar Cyrillic supports. Unfortunately some stylistic differences (Serbian, Bulgarian) can only be activated via OT features. But it is there, waiting for the future.

By: Jose Riveros

Jose Riveros — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:22:31 +0000

In reply to David Březina.

The best thing about the better screen rendering for Skolar: I don’t have to wince every time I visit *certain* designers’ sites anymore on Windows.

I do hope Adelle will be given the same treatment soon.

By: David Březina

David Březina — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:36:23 +0000

Thank you all, Tim especially for his patience. Please, note it has been hinted by Ross Mills (www.tiro.com) who is behind some work for MS for example. Indeed we worked in iterations to get it right, but he is the mind behind the screen optimisation.

By: Maykel Loomans

Maykel Loomans — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:23:47 +0000

I have nothing but the utmost respect for craftsmen that take this much care into their work. Beyond astonishing, Mr. Březina.

By: Tim Brown

Tim Brown — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:04:04 +0000

In reply to Jeff Blaine. Good observation, Jeff. It's easy to imagine how Skolar Web's proportions at certain pixel sizes might vary, had it been automatically hinted (or manually hinted by a different person). A type designer's aesthetic sensibility is crucial for hinting type. Stem thickness, x-height, and stroke/spacing consistency are examples of aesthetic decisions that type designers need to make as they do the very technical work of hinting. See our own Tim Ahrens' post on TrueType hinting.

By: Chris Armstrong

Chris Armstrong — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:52:53 +0000

That’s a great example of how much change is required to make a typeface fit for screen. Lovely stuff.

By: Jeff Blaine

Jeff Blaine — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:35:15 +0000

That’s pretty drastic. Looks like an altogether different font x-height-wise.