Web Do’s And Web Fonts with @samanthatoy

Samantha Toy’s 2:00 panel “Get Stoked about Web Typography” was the second part of three panels today focused on web design, and while this is the only one I attended, it was chalk-full of ideas, inspiration, and outside-the-box thinking about one of the most exciting parts of a web designer’s job: fonts! Starting off with several examples of how we see fonts every day, she talked about translating those “wow” typography moments onto the web. Here are a few of her points:

• Good typography is not based on what font you use, but how you use it. Using elements like size, style, color, space, and rhythm, you can make even fonts like Times New Roman come together and flow.
• Free yourself. Don’t just look at how other sites have succeeded – get stoked! Get inspired by things that have nothing to do with web design, like snowboarding or sk8er kidz.
• Think about the end user. What are the needs of the majority of targeted users? What is the predominant OS and browser? How much content do you have to work with? Does text need to be selectable? Questions like these will do a lot to filter which fonts you can use, and which ones you simply can’t.
• Legibility is the difference between a MySpace page and a good site. Think about things like stroke weight and stroke variations, proportions, leading, etc.
• Realize the difference between display type and body copy. DIY and exotic fonts can be eye-catching, interesting, and more artistic display type, but body font should be crystal clear.
• Push the limits! Feel free to pick some crazy fonts, and find the emotion in your site. A site promoting work boots does well with strong, hard fonts. A site selling dainty shoes can have curly, interesting fonts. And Helvetica works with just about anything!
• All fonts communicate feeling. Allow those feelings to guide your font choice instead of following the trends. What kind of shoes would fit your site? FontShop is a great site to test out how your text might look in different fonts.
• Determine how to execute your fonts. One great way to use type is through image replacement solutions such as font stacks, sIFR, Cufon, @font-face, Font Squirrel, etc.

Besides discussing font solutions and getting her crowd pumped about the endless font choices and possibilities, she also gave some quick CSS3 properties that can take your site to the next level. She opened my eyes to the power of CSS3 code, which allows you to beautify your font and layout by creating multiple columns, text rotation, and text shadows, still allowing your text to be selectable. Samantha encouraged me to deviate from the handful of fonts that I’m used to using and to really be risky and edgy when I design. Each font tells a story and invokes specific feelings. Don’t just arbitrarily choose a font – be specific and be purposeful. But remember to have fun!

This is Your Land – Finalist for SXSWi Web Awards

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the SXSWi Web Awards finalists, you’re going to want to do that ASAP. Not only has SXSWi chosen some of the most innovative and interesting sites on the web, but you can judge for yourself who should win the People’s Choice Award at the ceremony on March 14. To get you started on one of the entries, here is a review from the Technical Achievement category of the competition from Texas State University student Chase Roberts:

The National Parks Foundation has done a remarkable job with their “This Is Your Land” sweepstakes campaign and Web site. Upon visiting the site, users can access information about various national parks and other historical sites. Users can filter their search by state, culture and arts, camping, or other areas of interest. After picking a place, the site provides a brief description of the location along with the current temperature and a Google Maps link to guide you to your destination.

To enter the sweepstakes, users must mark their spot by sharing a memory or story about one or more of the foundations featured locations. Users can post their comment anywhere on the sites image of their favorite places. Donations can also be made to the foundation by clicking on the appropriate link at the top right location of the site.

The site’s best feature is the quality of the content displayed to users. The content generated by foundation is not only relevant, but also informative. The tags of other users enriches the content of the web site even more and embraces the notion of web 2.0.

The design concept of repetition is also clearly evident throughout the pages of this web site. If you design a site for a government foundation like this, the principle of repetition establishes credibility with the user viewing the site. While searching through the site’s various pages, the navigation and search features were easily accessible. The designers of the site did a great job of creating a visually appealing site that is consistent.

James Powderly Keynote Address

James Powderly, an open source artist who founded Graffiti Research Lab and political activist, talked about his work Monday in his keynote address at SXSW Interactive 2009. Check out the video below to see what he said.