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Re: Re: Single Spacing, Double Spacing, and Doing It Ones Own Way
Subject:Re: Re: Single Spacing, Double Spacing, and Doing It Ones Own Way From:David Neeley <dbneeley -at- oddpost -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 11 May 2004 12:14:23 -0700 (PDT)
Susan,
Sounds somewhat like the "not invented here syndrome".
Susan, unfortunately you seem to lack an understanding of who the "usability experts" are when it comes to type as a tool that can enhance communication. Type designers, layout artists, psychologists, and many others have over many decades developed a high level of understanding of what goes into clarity or "usability" regarding type.
In fact, it is exactly this body of work that is the very foundation of "usability" as we think of it today. The "usability experts" in software and the Web are the "johnny-come-latelies" in this field.
Thus, I submit that you should "start to listen" to the field that invented "usability".
While what others here refer to as "font fondling" is secondary to the repertoire of the garden-variety tech writer, it is often part of the skills that the most professional ones offer in addition to the more ordinary ones. For those of us who also do marketing communications, a detailed understanding of type and its use are a more central concern.
David
-----Original Message from Susan W. Gallagher <sgallagher5 -at- cox -dot- net>-----
>I must say, I admire his obduracy in the face of the
>overwhelming opinion of type designers and layout artists!).
Not that I disparage type designers and layout artists, but
when the usability experts chime in, I'll start to listen.
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