U&lc Issue: 42.1.1

Missing Font Mysteries – Solved At Last! Why do fonts that you are not using in a document show up as “missing”? Here are the four likeliest causes – and how to avoid them.

From metal to digital: Part Two Bridging the gap, Optimizing digital font readability One size cannot fit all … uses. Each digital font is designed to look its best within a particular point-size range, but you can easily adjust a font’s built-in spacing and kerning to extend its “optimal readability range.”

From metal to digital: Part One Understanding the underlying differences The profusion of digital fonts has ushered in a new Golden Age in terms of typesetting productivity and creativity. It’s helpful to understand the material difference between metal type and digital fonts – and how you can work around it.

The Story Behind Comic Sans Vincent Connare designed Comic Sans in 1995, for applications intended for children. Fifteen years later, the font is wildly popular with users of all ages – except for graphic designers, most of whom love to hate it.

Go Wild With OpenType The OpenType font format is a technical tour de force that offers inspiring, and almost infinite, creative possibilities. We look at four distinctive scripts and a sans serif “modern classic” that all take great advantage of OpenType’s rich capabilities.

Typesetting Mysteries, Part One: Unexpected Line Breaks and Missing Fonts Digital typesetting has revolutionized the way designers work. It’s quick, it’s convenient, it’s customizable. But occasionally, it throws a mysterious curve ball into your text.

Typesetting Mysteries, Part Two: Jumpy Line Spacing and Quirky Letterspacing Digital typesetting has revolutionized the way designers work. It’s quick, convenient, and customizable – but occasionally, it’s mysteriously quirky. Fortunately, the fixes are super-straightforward.

Eight Tips for Type on the Web Typography is, percentage-wise, the largest component of most websites. Using type effectively is key to attracting viewers who will stay on the site to read, to learn, to shop or to socialize.

Fonts on the Web: Web-safe Fonts (Part 1 of 2) In print, “what you see is what you get.” But on the Web, it’s another story entirely. In order for every viewer to see the same thing, it might be best to stick with Web-safe fonts, or convert your type into graphics. Why, you ask? Read on for the inside story...

Auto Leading First came the automat, then the automatic transmission – now there’s auto leading. Like other technological “conveniences,” auto leading has its pros and cons. Read on to become automatically enlightened!

Century (PDF) The “super family” has become a staple of graphic communication. Scores of these typographic juggernauts have been developed over the last couple of decades. While they are generally considered to be modern design tools, the first typographic super family is over a century old.

Typography for Signage Signage must make its point as quickly as possible, whether it’s promoting a product, providing directions, or previewing a brand. Typography – the right faces used appropriately – holds the key to readability and memorability.

Underlining Text Design software offers many options and controls for underlining, making it easy to add a visual cue or decorative element that enhances the design. Creative underlining can add tone to the text’s voice.

Scaling Logos Typographic logo designs may require subtle modifications for different applications. It’s smart – and helpful – to work with your client early on to identify the range of sizes and media in which a logo will be used.

Automate Bullets From logos to menus, from captions to invitations, handwriting fonts are distinctive, evocative and appealing. They run the typographic gamut from sweet to edgy, from calm to energetic.

The nature of the type world keeps changing. And any online publication is, by definition, about change. U&lc Online began life as an online companion to U&lc, ITC’s award-winning magazine; from here on in, it will begin a new life, in a new format, as ITC’s online voice. Expect the unexpected. U&lc Online is ITC’s international journal of graphic design and digital media. U&lc Online needs no subscription; it’s part of the ITC web site, itcfonts.com. To read U&lc Online, just bookmark this page and check it out every month.