Font Fanatics!

I had absolutely no idea how much goes into creating a font. Carter, and other font inventors, must have a sharp eye for the detail that goes into font making. Particularly interesting to me was the description of how to start creating a font and what to keep in mind when doing so. This includes spacing, serif features (how broad and how thick to make these features), and countless other elements. The article went a little over my head when it started assigning adjectives to the letters, such as "robust, proud R's." I have never thought about the R letter, in any font, being robust, but it is an interesting assignment that I would have liked the article to further explain.

I was unaware that font-makers like Carter created specific fonts for the phone book or magazines. This seems a huge task now that I have read the article and now all that goes into the creation of a new font, such as trying out different combinations like "ab" and "ac" to get an idea of how these letters fit together for attractive readability.

This article is very useful for professionals. Since writing to co-workers is an element in almost every job, it is helpful to know that the absence of serifs illicits modernity. The "emotional content of type" that Carter discusses is a really interesting idea that makes sense to me now. I suppose I subconsciously think about that when I am creating PowerPoint presentations. When I choose a type, I know what is appropriate and what is inappropriate, but I have never known why. This article sheds light on these oversights on my part and I thought it was well written and engaging.