The Problem With Fonts (RE: Font Selection Methodology)

[eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

Andrew's trolling aside, isn't this another case of "Know Your Audience"? Guess
if the list was to ban all posts that could be answered by that response traffic
would be really low.

But to everyone's credit I think you all foiled Andrew's manipulation by
providing some insightful discussion and helpful resources.

The reason that Andrew's bait was accepted is that like it or not, document
design does have it's place. After all, the popular "For Dummies" line of books
wouldn't have one tenth of the sales it enjoys now if they weren't both
technically accurate AND designed in friendly and laid-back manner. It is just
as important that to be taken seriously a technical manual have an
'authoritative' feel or 'comfortable' feel depending on the audience and goals
of the document. In the case of some of the "Dummies" books I'd even venture
that design may have taken up more time than research and technical knowledge.

But seriously how long can you honestly obsess over the issue. While there are
professional typographers and designers, seems to me the issue of  design is
much like art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many of the truths bandied
about with respect to design are similar to the "truths" that tell us which
artists we should consider masters. Sure, there are tomes of research and study
on art and art forms and people who make a career not of producing art but
telling others what art is. But if a three year old can produce the same
masterpiece using hand-paint, what does that tell you about all the "serious"
study? To me it says that if you are designing a document ignore the "studies"
and the "experts" and go with what you feel is right. It also says to me that if
you don't like a particular design don't obsess over it unless you know the
design is interfering with your audiences use of the document.

True some of the GUIDELINES of good design should be followed and like style
guides they should be used and followed when they work and ignored or changed
when they don't. The skill that comes with experience is how to identify when.

I'd also like to chime in on the serif/non-serif kerfuffle. GET OVER IT! Stop
looking for scientific studies and empirical evidence, proof, and exactness
where none can exist. It's the audience that's right and not any study you can
find. It's like the seven step rubbish. Much about human perception and the
working of the human mind is conditioning. Most of your likes and dislikes are
learned, not innate. Your memory is as good as you make it. I bring up the steps
thing because the study quoted tested how many numbers/items people could store
in short term memory. The study is flawed because it doesn't say what the
participants are used to. Yes, telephone numbers in North America are 7 digits
(it's ten if you count the area code and many places people need to use those
now) but have you seen some of the European phone numbers?

Perhaps the only way to test serifs and non-serifs would be if you took a large
group of Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Russians and others who knew no English and
had never read any roman-alphabet text. You would then have to teach different
groups English and vary the fonts. Which would be better understood?

Eric L. Dunn

PS: If the original post was a troll, it certainly confirms suspicions that I
(and I suspect many) have had about previous posts and vehemently held
positions. How can anyone take a poster seriously if they themselves admit to
trolling and baiting? Give respect if you expect respect and all that.




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