I understood where she was coming from but at the time, but I remember thinking, “But why should print designers have all the fun?”. I was used to this limited choice of typefaces on the web and thought that I would always have to import images when I wanted a headline in a particular font. This was the way of life for web designers before @font-face changed our typographic world.

The New World of Web Typography

After some trial and error from the web industry (which at one time included a javascript based technology called Cufón), a standard was finally been put into place which allows CSS to serve up actual font files to the user’s browser. The @font-face rule allows web designers/devs to link to specific font files on their server and reference it in their CSS.

Here is a simple example where I’m changing the heading to “Lato”:

@font-face {
font-family: 'Lato';
src: url(http://example.com/fonts/Lato.woff);
}

h1 { font-family: 'Lato', Arial; }

However, what has made this a little tricky has been the fact that different versions of browsers accept different types of font files. If you want to safely support most browsers, even older ones, you will need to include font files with the extensions, .WOFF, .EOT, .TTF, and .SVG. Since we are only linking to the .WOFF file in the example above, if the browser does not support .WOFF, it will show Arial instead. If your selected typeface includes italicized fonts and different weights, you will also need to link them as well.

Web Font Resources

Google Fonts
The first resource I would recommend if you are new to the world of web fonts would be Google Fonts. Since the fonts are hosted on Google, the process of linking the correct files is a bit easier. Click the Quick Use link under your selected font for instructions.

Font Squirrel
Font Squirrel has gathered many fonts from all over the web. They also have a handy Webfont Generator that allows you to covert fonts to the necessary .WOFF, .EOT, .TTF, and .SVG extensions to use online. With Font Squirrel, you’ll have to be extra careful to read the licenses, make sure any fonts you convert or find on their site have licenses that match the way you are implementing them.

TypeKit
Typekit allows you to basically rent fonts to use on your site. For a yearly fee, you are able to use any of their selection of fonts on your site.

Type Foundries and Collections
Type Foundries like Hoefler & Frere-Jones offer desktop and web licenses. Sites that feature typefaces from multiple foundries and designers, such as YouWorkForThem and Fonts.com, are also a great resource.

Keep in Mind

When using web fonts, make sure you have a license to use them on the web. Sometimes you’ll have to purchase an additional license. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that not all type foundries sell web licenses. This means that sometimes that wonderful typeface that you’ve been using in your printed brochures cannot be used on the accompanied website.

Want to use bold or italic text? You’ll need to make sure you also link in the appropriate version of the font, otherwise it will add a faux bold or italic style which will look distorted and unprofessional.

Don’t make Ellen Lupton’s (and everyone else’s) nightmare of illegible type become real! When choosing a typeface legibility should be your primary responsibility.

And, of course, have fun!

Here are a few photo of the shop!

You can view more photos from the Nashville area on my Flickr page.

A Few Session Takeaways

Learning to Code — There was an interesting discussion on ways of staying motivated while learning to code. Some great suggestions were to set small, reachable goals with interesting projects. Have accountability partners who you check in with each week. Go to local meetups and discuss what you are working on. But my favorite was the suggestion of getting a cat! One attendee had a cat who woke her up early every morning (I can relate to this). She used this time to take an hour or so to learn to code.

X-Ray Goggles — I previously wrote an article on the process of using Firebug to learn code. Another attendee pointed out another excellent tool from Mozilla called X-Ray Goggles. Like Firebug, you can edit a website directly in the browser, but X-ray Goggles also allows you to save your changes on their server so you can continue to play around with the code.

Challenges & Solutions — Many of the sessions were dedicated to discussing how the tech community can become a more inclusive place for everyone. This is such an important issue that I think more people in the tech community need to address. There are many problems that still exist that attempt to silence women and minorities and make them feel as if they do not belong. Among some of the solutions discussed was the need for more allies. In short, a change in culture is needed in order to solve this issue and it can’t only be dependent on those who are affected by exclusion.

Accessibility — Since inclusivity is so important, I would be amiss to not mention accessibility in tech. There were a few discussions on how important creating accessible websites. There have been many positive changes in terms of the technology that web designers/developers use. These include using web fonts (Google Fonts & Typekit) instead of images for headers, the decreasing use of Flash, the use of semantic code in HTML5, etc. Designer and developers can also be conscious of the color choices we make to ensure there is enough contrast. Apps like Color Oracle are also useful in testing sites for color blind users.

It was an great experience to be surrounded by so many intelligent people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. I also have to commend the organizers of AdaCamp, they created an amazingly supportive environment that encouraged so many amazing discussions.

But one of the most recent changes that I wanted to highlight was the Kansas City Public Library on 10th Street. Not only did they have an interesting postcard display inside the library, but they also have a “Community Bookshelf” which consists of twenty-two 25-foot tall books.

The postcard exhibit featured 200 Kansas City themed postcards from 1900-1950.

The “Community Bookshelf” is actually the parking garage adjacent to the public library. On the inside, it is just your average 4 level parking garage. On the outside, it is pretty amazing! The book stairs were also a nice touch.

Be on the lookout for more posts from me in the future. I’ve recently decided to make some big changes and I have a lot to share. In the meantime, take a look at photos from Kansas City, Missouri & Atchison, Kansas.

The Internet’s Reaction

I find it fascinating when super-giant internet companies like Google commit the cardinal sin of internet culture: Do not piss off the internet! After the death of Google Reader was announced, it became a trending topic on Twitter (over the announcement of a new Pope). Thousands of users expressed their disappointment and dismay. A Change.org petition was started and is now at 48,000 signatures and counting. This Tumblr page seems to showcase the internet’s reaction best in animated gif form. It remains to be seen whether Google will bend to any of this backlash.

The Good News

Undeniably, the best news is that this leaves other companies room to explore new solutions for RSS readers. This will lead to new innovations and better user experience as each company will be sure to compete for users looking for Google Reader replacements. Google has also made it easy for us to move all of the data we’ve been storing on Google Reader, you can download your data here.
Feedly has already proved they are on top of their game by releasing a statement to users to let them know they are prepared for the switch. Feedly gets my vote for now since I’ve been using it on my iPhone for a few months now. There are also other alternatives such as Bloglovin, The Old Reader and Reeder. I also think many more RSS readers will pop up in the up and coming months. And this is a good thing. More competition equals more innovation. The death of Google Reader may be a blessing in disguise for users.

One of the themes that came up in our brainstorm was the lack of visible female public leaders for girls and young women to look up to. There have been so many women who have helped propose laws that have shaped the United States for the better but not everyone could name many of these women. The solution seemed clear: these leaders needed to be highlighted in a way where young women (or anyone, really) would notice them, share their message and be encouraged to learn more about them.

I thought sharing quotes by these amazing women would be an effective way of increasing the visibility of women as leaders. The idea was prompted by the popularity of sharing quote images on social media (just look at the popularity of Some Ecards!).

As you can see, the site is also responsive! Lately, all of the sites I have designed and built have kept mobile users in mind but I thought it was especially important for this project. Check out Inspire [Her] and share one of the quotes!

By Colin Tierney

By Brian Plemons

By Greg Christman

By Paul Saksin

By Jacob Weaver

By Dalius Stuoka

Designing a logo is a complex and often misunderstood process. Hours upon hours of research, planning and sketching goes into designing a logo. Typeface consideration is crucial. Days can be spent on selecting the perfect typeface or handcrafting your own type. It also needs to be considered whether the logo can stand on its own with typography or if iconography should be introduced. Basic design principles such as gestalt and balance need to be considered. And all of these decisions need to be made with a strong concept in mind that carries the brand well.

Sometimes you’re lucky and the first logo concept is the winner and sometimes the perfect logo concept comes to you after you’ve completed 100+ variations of sketches. The beauty of this process is that you become more well versed and experienced with each design you complete. And as they say ‘practice makes perfect‘. You can use what you’ve learned about this visual language to come up with even more clever and successful ways of communicating the concept!

The first week of this year, while we were in Tennessee, I read 6 books. My mom commented that I was just like my dad in that respect. He would read thick mystery novels in less than a day. All of the librarians in the area knew him well because of his frequent visits and insistence that they help him look up books since he was “computer illiterate” (not so much like me there).

My dad passed away last year but we still had carrot cake to celebrate his birthday. This past week would have been his 67th birthday. For that reason, I chose to read 67 books this year.

These are a few books that have stood out to me so far this year. No thick mystery novels on the list but they are definitely page-turners, in my humble opinion.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Have you read any good books lately?

One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting a little honky tonk bar called The Station Inn. Phil Madeira and his band played along with a singer by the name of Angel Snow.

You may know about the American Picker’s Antique Archeology shop in Iowa. But did you know they also have a shop in Nashville? It’s located in the Marathon Village area of Nashville in a building that was once a car factory. We spotted quite a few items from the show!

The Loveless Cafe is an interesting restaurant and collection of shops at the end of the Natchez Trace Parkway. I loved how the interior of the restaurant was decorated with signed photographs of various celebrities and country musicians. It used to be both a motel and restaurant but they converted the motel rooms into souvenirs shops. There is also a barn behind the shops that regularly hosts concerts and a radio show.

We visited Yazoo and took a tour of the brewery. You won’t find their beer for sale too far outside of Tennessee but it is worth trying if you spot it!

Great mural on the Marathon Music Works building!

Want more Nashville visuals? View the photos on Flickr.