tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post3623904422800524961..comments2023-11-22T01:14:54.298-08:00Comments on amor mundi: Garamond ReprimandDale Carricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-39833547746720330692014-03-30T10:35:13.361-07:002014-03-30T10:35:13.361-07:00I was compelled to let my inner font geek out on t...I was compelled to let my inner font geek out on this one:<br /><br />I whipped up a side-by-side comparison of Garamond (regular weight) and Gotham XNarrow (book weight). Why Gotham XNarrow? Well, it happened to be the closest—alphabetically, in the drop down menu—condensed typeface I own to Garamond.<br /><br />Gotham XNarrow is a sans serif typeface with a relatively uniform stroke weight, meaning its letterforms have a fighting chance of reproducing faithfully after multiple copies of copies of copies, ad infinitum. Even Benjamin might agree that a wisp of its aura would remain intact after such abuse! Further, it has a much taller x-height (approx. 25%, by my best estimation), making it more legible, particularly at smaller sizes (one could also make the argument that, because of this, it is also better suited for use on the web, but I digress...).<br /><br />Anyway, I set the exact same text in both typefaces and Gotham XNarrow clocked in at around one line less than Garamond. Of course, that does not address the actual ink-to-letterform ratio—Mirchandani's justification for the inherent "economics" of Garamond. But, it is significant regarding another sort of economics, the economy of space. One line might not seem like much, but consider it in the context of millions or billions of documents: How much less paper? How much less resources allocated to the production, packaging, and distribution of said paper. And, more significantly, how many more (diverse and differently enabled) end-users' experiences might be improved? The point of design anyway, IMHO.<br /><br />While I don't know the precise answers to these questions, I do think they begin to get at your point, Dale, about the complexity that inheres in (design) problems. I could not agree more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com