Tag Archives: fonts

Google Font API

One of my favorite new tools in doing websites is the new Google Font API. Using various hooks that exist in modern browsers, as well as really ancient versions of IE, Google is building a huge library of Open Licensed fonts. With a single css include, you can use any of these on your site, and be assured that the bulk of the internet will see what you see.

My current favorite of the new fonts is Cabin, which I’ve found works incredibly well on headers. There are now many dozen fonts in their API, and it is growing all the time.

In addition to using them on the web, you can download these fonts for local use. There is also a donate button when you download so you can give some money to the font creator, which will ensure more fonts under open licenses get released. I did this for the author of Cabin, as I love his eye for typography and want to see more of that out there.

With technology like this, HTML 5, brand new releases of Firefox and Internet Explore, the promise of the web a good as native, or even better than native, is really starting to take form. Very cool stuff.

Programming in Arial

Want to get a geek roiled up?  Tell them you develop code in proportional fonts.  The comments on that article are a text book example of irrational geek argument try to get the higher ground.

Remember, there is one wholely optimal way to develop code, just like there is only one best editor, and only one best programming language.  Your decision of best would in no way be defined by the preferences of the skilled people you looked up to when you first learned this whole software development thing.

For the record, I prefer Arial.