The Creative Outfit recently started working with Typekit, a font embedding web application that will allow us to use a variety of previously-non-web-safe typefaces on our clients’ sites. As the design kingpin here at TCO, I am particularly excited about this implementation.
For the web neophytes out there, it goes like this: you see the same typefaces on every website because designers and developers must use a typeface that the web user has installed on their system. The website basically tells the user’s computer to load the web content in Arial; so the user’s computer calls on the Arial font file and properly renders the content. If the website calls for Garamond and the user’s computer doesn’t have the Garamond font file, the website won’t render as the designer intended. Instead, it will render in a system default typeface.
Why does this matter? As designers, we like to think the decisions we make for rendering content have an impact on how you consume that content. If a typographer has done a good job you will have never known he was there.
Right, but why does this matter? Typekit exponentially grows our options as designers for displaying content on the web by embedding fonts into the website. Now instead of defaulting to Helvetica or Georgia for headlines, I can use one of hundreds of typefaces that might be much more appropriate for the character of the content, further immersing the user in the media they are consuming.
Ultimately, the user shouldn’t know the difference on the conscious level or care about why we couldn’t effectively do this before. Typekit simply better arms designers to work on the web and I for one am thrilled with my shiny new weaponry.
