[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #626: What else can your font do for you?

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OPLIN 4Cast #626: What else can your font do for you?
December 26th, 2018

[image: Pile of font books on small table] I was blown away a few years
back when I read about the OpenDyslexic <https://www.opendyslexic.org/>
 font here in the OPLIN 4cast <https://4cast.oplin.org/?p=3103>. It
fascinated me how making the letters "bottom heavy" would help prevent the
letters from "flipping" or "swapping" as they tend to do for readers with
dyslexia. The story resonated with my bottomless fascination with fonts
which I rarely get to indulge. (There are design rules about how many fonts
you can use on a single page, and I'm a stickler for them. Be warned.)

In the past few weeks, my feed reader has gathered up a few other
interesting stories about fonts. Check out some of the different ways a
font can engage the brain, and explore what's involved in creating a custom
font, whether for your own amusement or to preserve a folk art legacy.

   -
   - Can't Remember What You Read? Blame Font, Not Forgetfulness
   <https://www.wired.com/story/new-font-sans-forgetica-for-learning/> (
   *Wired*) "One study found that students recalled 57 percent of what they
   read in Sans Forgetica, compared with 50 percent of the material in Arial,
   a significant difference."
   - Get Over Yourself and Start Writing in Comic Sans
   <https://lifehacker.com/get-over-yourself-and-start-writing-in-comic-sans-1831177236>
    [*Lifehacker*] "If you’re struggling with writer’s block or overly
   nitpicky self-editing, try setting your word processor’s default font to
   Comic Sans."
   - How do you preserve beloved New Orleans folk art? A Web font, of course
   <https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/11/how-do-you-preserve-beloved-new-orleans-folk-art-a-web-font-of-course/>
    [*Ars Technica*] "For over 42 years, Lester Carey had been
   hand-lettering and hand painting signs across New Orleans... His work,
   evolved into a unique part of the city's visual language."
   - One of Microsoft's coolest releases this year had nothing to do with
   Windows or Office — it lets you make a font from your handwriting
   <https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/how-to-use-microsoft-font-maker-windows-app.html>
    [*CNBC*] "The app generates TrueType fonts, which can be used in
   various applications like Word on Windows and Mac computers."

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Helbig, Koren. “Homeless Fonts
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=98324473>
   .” *New Internationalist*, no. 476, Oct. 2014, p. 8.
   - Arbes, Ross. “FONTGATE
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=124233998>
   .” *New Yorker*, vol. 93, no. 22, July 2017, p. 20.
   - Roshell, John. "Creating a Font for Apps and Games with Glyphs
   <https://www.lynda.com/Glyphs-App-tutorials/Creating-Font-Apps-Games-Glyphs/606068-2.html>
   ." *Lynda.com, *Sept. 6, 2017.

------------------------------
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