Locomotion

Habitat Typeface

Stuart Bowness — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:28:38 +0000

Firefox 3.5 Released

Stuart Bowness — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:58:17 +0000

The latest version of Firefox (version 3.5) has been released this week and features a few substantial new features. Head on over to Mozilla and download the latest and greatest version of my favorite browser. Among other important things such as support for HTML 5 there are new tools for protecting your private data and also several improvements to the underlying engine that increase the performance of web based applications such as Gmail and Google Docs. A worthy update to be sure.

Color proof correction in Photoshop

Stuart Bowness — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:31:13 +0000

Have you ever had the problem where you go to save a file for the web in photoshop and the preview doesn’t look the same as the original window? Well here are 5 simple steps to fixing the “Save for web & devices” issue:

View > Proof Setup > Macintosh RGB, or if you work on a PC and a Mac then Monitor RGB would be preferable (screenshot)
View > Proof Colours (Checked)
Edit > Color Settings > Set the Working Spaces to SRGB IEC61966-2.1 (screenshot)
Edit > Color Settings > Turn off Color Management Policies
File > Save for Web & Devices > Click the little button next to Preset > Convert to sRGB (screenshot)

Further learning:

Art on Wall Street

Stuart Bowness — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:06:13 +0000

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.

Art is art

Stuart Bowness — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:32:34 +0000

The dubious history of Arial

Stuart Bowness — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:44:27 +0000

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).

Trends and perceptions

Stuart Bowness — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:42:37 +0000

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.

Typekit: Making the web better one font at a time

Stuart Bowness — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:50:39 +0000

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/

The lost tribes of New York City

Stuart Bowness — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:18:38 +0000

Short and sweet video with a great style from the folks over at London Squared Productions in NYC.

The Lost Tribes of New York City from Carolyn London on Vimeo.

Culinary Culture

Stuart Bowness — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:57:16 +0000

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.