GILBERT. On 31 March, 2017, Gilbert Baker the creator of the iconic Rainbow Flag sadly passed away. Mr. Baker was both an LGBTQ activist and artist, and was known for helping friends create banners for protests and marches. To honor the memory of Gilbert Baker, NewFest and NYC Pride partnered with Fontself to create a free font inspired by the design language of the iconic Rainbow Flag, the font was named 'Gilbert' after Mr. Baker.
Type with Pride also partnered with Animography to create 'Gilbert' animated, a motion-ready typography resource designed for animation, film, video, social posts, GIFs and much more. You can download the animated font for free here.
π In Times past π
BLACKLETTER.
Also referred to as Old English or Gothic (or Fraktur if youβre in Germany), Blackletter is based off of early manuscript lettering (think of monks in monasteries when they used to write all books by hand). You would also have seen Blackletter in early day Gutenberg bibles. If youβve ever received a certificate or diploma of any kind, youβve most likely seen the likes of Blackletter gracing center stage, as well.
Blackletter is a bold choice that makes a loud statement but can be hard to read as body text, so its best used for titles, headings, logos, posters or signs. In some fonts, there are elaborate swirls on serifs like Dark Stone by Sanchit Sawaria. My personal favourite and the one used in the specimen above is Respira by Sharp Type. Respira is a contemporary blackletter inspired by Spanish and English models from the 15th and 16th centuries, especially a particular style of Spanish blackletter often found in illuminated manuscripts of Andalusia.
If you'd like to read more about Blackletter and understand its techinical nuances. Check this out.
π± Treat text as UI? π±
HOW TO USE TYPOGRAPHY IN UI DESIGN. It would be fair to say that typography is the hardest part of the UI Design. It is with us for a very long time in various forms. Communication plays a vital role in design. Whether you design websites, mobile apps, or wearable UIs, your creations have to clearly communicate their intent and purpose. And since text does a lot of the heavy lifting in communicating purpose, you need a solid understanding of typography.
Of course, designing a user interface differs from designing an ebook or blog theme. But the principles of type-centric design still apply. After all, on-screen communication happens through words, and type is the UI of language.
Optimizing typography is optimizing readability, accessibility, usability(!), overall graphic balance.
In other words: optimizing your typography also optimizes your UI.
Here are some tips on setting type in user interfaces. If you'd like to read and learn more in depth, check this out.
π Upcoming in the next issues π
π Multilingual inspiration
ππ Anthropomorphism in Typography
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See you next Sunday!
π Sneha.
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