A long read but somehow inexplicably fascinating, at least to me. A meandering history of an unusually physical font that every one of us has seen and touched but probably never used or known the...
A long read but somehow inexplicably fascinating, at least to me. A meandering history of an unusually physical font that every one of us has seen and touched but probably never used or known the name of.
Also, lots of nostalgia inducing photos of things from the predigital era.
This was a great read! I recently started trying my hand at type design in my (limited) free time, and Gorton and the author’s appreciation of it validate my weird taste for quirky designs and...
This was a great read! I recently started trying my hand at type design in my (limited) free time, and Gorton and the author’s appreciation of it validate my weird taste for quirky designs and taboos. I feel like the “wrong” and “bad” designs are often more visually interesting probably just because they deviate from conventions of taste. I don’t think I would want to read War and Peace set in Gorton, but it is nice to just look at. It is also nice to know the name of the font that I have so many associations with: public school, national and state parks, etc.
I feel like it would make a cool monospace font (with some modifications like distinguishing 0 and O). Or even a version meant to look like it is engraved into the page/screen :b May not be practical, but having seen it so much in technical and mechanical applications, it feels weirdly appropriate!
I love examples of form following fabrication technique, like bicycle wheel spokes and rims, the handles on pottery containers, or the design of jewelry findings and stone settings. TIL that a...
I love examples of form following fabrication technique, like bicycle wheel spokes and rims, the handles on pottery containers, or the design of jewelry findings and stone settings. TIL that a family of fonts was defined by routability...
It's not just the nostalgia factor that attracts me to the Gorton font. It's surprisingly ergonomic. For the most part, it's difficult to mistake one symbol for another in quick reading. While it might not have the esthetic grace of more modern fonts, I can see that Gorton is admirably suited for reliable interactions of people and systems - no cognitive delay in choosing a button, no hesitation in obeying a warning or instruction.
Definitely an interesting article!
Previous discussion on Tildes
Huh, how do you find reposts? I tried searching for the URL using the sidebar search but it doesn’t come up.
I remembered seeing and reading this article here earlier in the year. I just searched "fonts" to find the previous discussion.
A long read but somehow inexplicably fascinating, at least to me. A meandering history of an unusually physical font that every one of us has seen and touched but probably never used or known the name of.
Also, lots of nostalgia inducing photos of things from the predigital era.
This was a great read! I recently started trying my hand at type design in my (limited) free time, and Gorton and the author’s appreciation of it validate my weird taste for quirky designs and taboos. I feel like the “wrong” and “bad” designs are often more visually interesting probably just because they deviate from conventions of taste. I don’t think I would want to read War and Peace set in Gorton, but it is nice to just look at. It is also nice to know the name of the font that I have so many associations with: public school, national and state parks, etc.
I feel like it would make a cool monospace font (with some modifications like distinguishing 0 and O). Or even a version meant to look like it is engraved into the page/screen :b May not be practical, but having seen it so much in technical and mechanical applications, it feels weirdly appropriate!
I love examples of form following fabrication technique, like bicycle wheel spokes and rims, the handles on pottery containers, or the design of jewelry findings and stone settings. TIL that a family of fonts was defined by routability...
It's not just the nostalgia factor that attracts me to the Gorton font. It's surprisingly ergonomic. For the most part, it's difficult to mistake one symbol for another in quick reading. While it might not have the esthetic grace of more modern fonts, I can see that Gorton is admirably suited for reliable interactions of people and systems - no cognitive delay in choosing a button, no hesitation in obeying a warning or instruction.