The How to Boss Your Fonts Around

by Robin P. Williams

Book Overview

Fonts. They seem to have a life of their own. And they can cause no end of heartache to the harried desktop or webtop publisher. Perfectly lovely documents on screen can suddenly transmogrify into a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566091020
• ISBN13: 9781566091022
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Peachpit Press
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Everything you wanted to know about fonts...

As a typesetter in a large corporation I found this book very helpful when I recently had to organize our fonts on 12 computers. It clearly explains the difference in the various types of fonts and how to use them properly. It also covers in detail all the different type management software (ATM, Suitcase, etc.). After speaking with several designers, it appears that fonts can be the single biggest nightmare and this book would be an asset to any designers library.

Probably the best writer on typography around.

Except for her mild endorsement of grunge (why have we spent hundreds of years designing typefaces that are both readable and beautiful only to have a generation of" designers" design deconstructed faces that are likely to be used only once in a lifetime), Robin Williams is probably the most articulate and literate writer on typography around, digital or traditional. She is sensitive to those qualities that have somehow been lost on those who have been brought up facing a monitor rather than a type book, type case or drawing board. Too many people in business have been led to believe, and accept the idea, that a typist is automatically a typographer/designer. Every designer who has grown up on the computer should have all of her books at their side, along with Strunk & White, Fowler's Modern English Usage, Roget's Thesaurus and a good dictionary.

Excellent design and crash avoidance techniques

"He who dies with the most fonts wins," is a fact of life for a lot of desktop designers for print and the web. However, having tons of fonts of every weight, format and variety gobbles up lots of system memory, and corrupted or conflicting fonts cause crashes. This book tells all on how to get your collection under control, and keep your fonts organized, in good shape, and zipped in place for when you need them. This book is also well written, and will keep you alert and interested, which is most refreshing because I've found many how-to design/computer management books must be read with toothpicks propping up your eyes. It's also just the right length, concise and everything is clearly, not condecendingly, explained. It's a must read for any Mac designer, from the newest newbie to the most advanced.