A Chat on Practical Web Typography

For years, Georgia Arial and — dare we say — Comic Sans ruled text on the web. More recently services like Adobe TypeKit and technologies in CSS3 have given designers more type family options. Google recently launched their new fonts.google.com. In this week’s #UXPinChat we talked about best practice of using type on the web.

Hate to say it — but it depends. If it's sacrificing usability, than no. #uxpinchat

https://t.co/cJfVAyKuT7

— Ryan Thomas Riddle (@ryantriddle) June 17, 2016

A1. Absolutetly worth users b/W it gives designers choices and allows users to connect with typography at a personal level #UXPinChat

— Sunita Reddy (@sunita_red) June 17, 2016

A1 assuming usability is not compromised, yes. #uxpinchat https://t.co/9g9VEoPFXN

— Steve Amara (@amarast) June 17, 2016

Google Fonts is great, but there's no point to buy a shiny new tool if there's no need for a shiny new tool. #UXPinChat

— Indra Sofian (@indysofian) June 17, 2016

A1. It's nice to options, but sometimes it can be too much. #UXPinChat #fonts #prototyping #wireframe https://t.co/ZgjFFUfWS9

— Loomie (@loomie_ux) June 17, 2016

Webkits are very useful if they are small sized (ie few fonts) can be worth it if you are using web best practices https://t.co/POf2Q5P7TQ

— Tarra Anzalone | UX (@theuxicorn) June 17, 2016

A1 As long as you only include the typefaces you need, they can be worth it. E.g. not every site needs semi-bold & light. #UXPinChat

— Benjamin Gremillion (@ux_benjamin) June 17, 2016

A1 totally but keep it to one IMO #googleFonts #uxpinChat @uxpin

— Matthew Cassella (@mattcassella) June 17, 2016

Nothing wrong with that. Readability is important. And sometimes boring gets the job done. #uxpinchat #typography https://t.co/oWQk6Enc41

— Ryan Thomas Riddle (@ryantriddle) June 17, 2016

A2 There's nothing wrong with using fonts like Georgia or Arial…unless you want your stuff to look like everyone else's. #UXPinChat

— Indra Sofian (@indysofian) June 17, 2016

They’re boring! Way too overused. Using more fonts is a great way to make a site stand out #UXPinChat ;P https://t.co/aerdKdTlv2

— Lindsey Meredith (@lindseymere) June 17, 2016

A2 they may not look fancy enough. They sometimes feel like the OGs of the typeface game #uxpinchat https://t.co/Hc9WlsaeT4

— Steve Amara (@amarast) June 17, 2016

A2. Nothing is wrong if you're writing a cover letter or resume. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #UXPinChat https://t.co/f1JNbI9s3J

— Loomie (@loomie_ux) June 17, 2016

A2 let's not forget accessibility though: Arial for instance is still by far one of the best font for users with dyslexia… #uxpinchat

— Steve Amara (@amarast) June 17, 2016

@uxpin Standard fonts are everywhere. We aim uniqueness in design and with free modern fonts it looks beautiful and less common. #UXPinChat

— Devstreak (@developerstreak) June 17, 2016

Nothing wrong with using standard fonts for body as long as you have some interesting header fonts for flair and CTA https://t.co/GAzMbSOVCy

— Tarra Anzalone | UX (@theuxicorn) June 17, 2016

Keep it stupid simple. KISS. Don't just use something because it's cool. #typography #uxpinchat https://t.co/puoxdPSWSa

— Ryan Thomas Riddle (@ryantriddle) June 17, 2016

A3 Age-old advice: use two at the most. @typewolf has some good ideas on combining #typefaces at https://t.co/JqasPQ2xc1 #UXPinChat

— Benjamin Gremillion (@ux_benjamin) June 17, 2016

A2 Nothing’s wrong, they just get old after a while. There’s only so much designers can do with them. #UXPinChat

— Benjamin Gremillion (@ux_benjamin) June 17, 2016

A3. As long it's not cosmic sans? :) https://t.co/jd7kAj56Sq

— Loomie (@loomie_ux) June 17, 2016

A3 Simplicity. Usability. Accessibility. Only then, make sure it looks lovely #uxpinchat https://t.co/R9qo1BGubd

— Steve Amara (@amarast) June 17, 2016

Only fonts that align w/ purpose & feeling. Comm in voice that user would use + too many fonts distract from journey https://t.co/nEmPBeeGKh

— Tarra Anzalone | UX (@theuxicorn) June 17, 2016

@uxpin #uxpinchat good fonts are really hard to craft and the makers deserve to make money off them. They are the backbone of a brand #fonts

— Tarra Anzalone | UX (@theuxicorn) June 17, 2016

A4 For professional fonts, sure. Typographers have bills to pay, just like the rest of us. #UXPinChat

— Benjamin Gremillion (@ux_benjamin) June 17, 2016

A4 Ideally, you'd have to pay for good fonts, like any other piece of art or premium content. But no one wants to pay these days #UXPinChat

— Indra Sofian (@indysofian) June 17, 2016

Well, if you're quite font and it's just your type — why not? #uxpinchat #typography #fonts https://t.co/OKnggz3qxF

— Ryan Thomas Riddle (@ryantriddle) June 17, 2016

@uxpin Should you pay for designs? I think it's the same answer. #UXPinChat

— Ben Kim (@_BenKim) June 17, 2016

A4 we pay for good design and, in a larger sense, good and usable/useful work. The same applies here #uxpinchat https://t.co/K4zFDml67Z

— Steve Amara (@amarast) June 17, 2016

This is one of my favorite websites and it has great typography: https://t.co/wXGG6ISYLU #TheWestWing #UXPinChat https://t.co/tpMzYFGZYB

— Ryan Thomas Riddle (@ryantriddle) June 17, 2016

A5 I like how https://t.co/XKG0A6AdoQ by @panic mixes great art with Chrono Light. #UXPinChat

— Benjamin Gremillion (@ux_benjamin) June 17, 2016

A5 Maybe not the greatest, but it's a creative use of typography: https://t.co/Sd8GWEeCIC #UXPinChat

— Indra Sofian (@indysofian) June 17, 2016

@uxpin The Twitter mobile app. The best example right now. #uxpinchat

— Abhishek Pathak (@abhishekp1996) June 17, 2016

And that’s it! Thanks for joining #UXPinChat. Watch for the notes at https://t.co/cyx9rWZWFM

— UXPin (@uxpin) June 17, 2016

A5 Medium. UXPin :) #uxpinchat https://t.co/XNUEgH0VKL

— Steve Amara (@amarast) June 17, 2016

Get our free e-book on mobile typography, and join us next week for another #UXPinChat!

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