Since we're still on the concept of fonts here at webmeadow HQ, let's talk about Typekit, one of the most exciting things to happen to web design in many years. We've been talking amongst ourselves about Typekit going on a year, so we thought it was time to share.
As most of you know, websites have been limited to a core set of fonts that are shared across various computer operating systems. So, when designers create sites that use non-web-safe fonts, the question always becomes where to keep the font (and use a graphic) and where to make it web-safe (and use plain text). As programmers, we like plain text because it can be used by everyone on all platforms (the hearing impaired, the visual impaired, the Internet Explorer 6 impaired, etc.). Graphics look nice, but they're not particularly versatile.
To be fair, there have been some solutions to this problem in the past, like sIFR, but they've always felt like too much of a hack for our tastes. We tend to like graphically stunning websites with elegant behind-the-scenes code.
Enter Typekit. All of a sudden, there is a gigantor font library that everyone can view (yes, even Internet Explorer 6). And even better for my sanity, Typekit is web standards compliant -- no more hacking to make a non-web-safe font appear!
The only potential drawback is that Typekit is a subscription-based service that has costs associated on a per-website basis. As professional website developers, we actually view that as a bonus, because that means the Typekit folks are always improving their service.
Thanks Typekit -- we welcome the next stage of the web!
