Type Resources

Here are some good type resources we turn to from time to time. Stay up to date on the latest developments in type design, or just lay the groundwork for you career in type design.

Community

Fontlab Forum – Forum for Fontlab users.
Fonts In Use – An independent archive of typography in use.
Glyphs Forum – Forum for Glyphs users.
TypeDrawers –A discussion forum for professionals and enthusiasts in the fields of typeface design, lettering, and typography.
Typophile – Forum where designers connect.

How to

Anatomy of a typeface – Our own glossary about the anatomy of a typeface.
Briem.net – A bit dated, but you can still find some interesting information here.
Diacritics Project – All you need to design a font with correct accents.
Drawing for interpolation – Practical tips by Erik van Blokland on how to draw letters for interpolation.
A closer look at font rendering – Detailed information by Smashing Magazine about Font Rendering, written by Tim Arhens.
How OpenType Works – Expert website about OpenType, written by Simon Cozens.
Microsoft Character Design Standard – Article by Microsoft about the rules for character shapes in Latin-based languages in digital fonts.
OpenType Adobe – Everything you need to know about the OpenType font format, explained by Adobe.
OpenType Microsoft –Everything you need to know about the OpenType font format, explained by Microsoft.
Polish Diacretics – Everything you need to know about creating correct Polish diacritics, by Adam Twardoch.
The OpenType Cookbook – A solid introduction to OpenType and how to make features. Basic information required.
The Raster Tragedy at Low-Resolution – If you want to understand font rendering on screen, read this.

Good reads

A Pocket Guide to Master Everyday’s Typographic Adventures – A little guide on how to do typography right.
I Love Typography – A great website run by John Broadley who writes in-depth articles about typography.
Letterfontein – Very complete book by Joep Polhen about typography and type design. A must have!
On Kerning (and Spacing) Fonts – Basic information about Kering (and Spacing) fonts, by Thomas Phinney.
Practical Typography – Excerpt from Matthew Butterick’s book
Typographica – Type reviews, books, commentary.
Typography vs. Lettering – Smashing Magazine for understanding the difference between Type and Lettering.

Software

Adobe Font Development Kit for OpenType (AFDKO) – Adobe’s internal tools for font development.
Fontlab Studio –  Font editor for average and professionals type designers.
Font Remix Tools – Type tools by Tim Ahrens for Glyphs App and Fontlab Studio.
Glyphs – The most user friendly font editor out there.
Superpolator – App by Erik van Blokland for font interpolation.
TTF autohint – Tool for automated font hinting.