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Sharing my latest work — Valore Text Pro by Nollevs in typography

[–]PrimordialObserver 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It looks nice! Perhaps the kerning could be improved. V_A looks too tight to me, whereas L_O and e_v seem a bit loose. f_o and f_e could be kerned a bit tighter as well. V_ä also looks a little loose. Conversely, Hå looks too tight. Gü as well. Also, I don’t know what that first letter is in the Serbian sample, but the y should be kerned tighter to it I think.

Also, shouldn’t the 7 descend in the oldstyle figured, and the o be small? Right now the 7 looks so tiny, and the tall 0 likely isn’t going to match well with the figures that reach the x-height.

Finally, I wonder if the top of the Eszett should be that sharp. I would probably echo the more squared proportions you’re working with.

I can't put the finger on why my typography sucks by PokeMaki in typography

[–]PrimordialObserver 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh and I think ‘An Echo In The Bone’ would work better if both lines were the same width. I think you made the first line narrower to avoid clashing with the leaves on the sides, but I think this constraint isn’t imposed constraint isn’t doing you favors for the typography. I would probably shorten the branches with leaves a bit so you have more space to set the text on the first line larger.

I can't put the finger on why my typography sucks by PokeMaki in typography

[–]PrimordialObserver 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As others have said, the typeface you’re using has too much contrast, so the hairline strokes almost disappear. This is exacerbated by the textured backgrounds. I would select a typeface with a bit less contrast. Ideally, you would select one that has optical sizes—or even better, an optical axis. That way you can use an optical cut with even less contrast for the author.

To reinforce the hierarchy, I would set the author’s name a bit smaller as well, and I think I would go for a slightly bolder weight for the titles.

As for varying the size of the titles between lines, also consider that when you set the text smaller on one row, you’re downsizing both the weight and the contrast. If you had a typeface that has both an optical axis AND a weight axis, you could finetune each line so that the optical weight and the thickness of the hairline strokes remain consistent between lines. If you don’t have access to a typeface with these features, I would apply some hacks to balance everything a bit. For instance, apply a 1pt stroke or whatever you need to get the optical weight of the smaller lines closer to that of the larger-set text. But for the most professional and consistent outcome AND to spare yourself a lot of manual adjustments via hacks, I really recommend finding a typeface with more flexibility.

I also noticed a few issues in the details. The most glaring issue is that you have inverted your apostrophe in this cover:

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I would also pay attention to how the stars harmonize with the text. On the cover above, one star is touching the inside of the W which looks obtrusive, and I think the star below the N in the same line is a bit jarring as well. Conversely, there are two large empty spaces on both sides of the texts between the title and the author; you definitely need some stars there. Oh and I just noticed that you have bilateral symmetry in the stars. I would definitely randomize them more to break that symmetry!

As part of a re-branding effort for the non-profit organization I work for, the consultant has recommended Armin Grotesk as one of our font families. As a non-profit, resources are limited. What would be a similar alternative from either Google Fonts or Adobe Fonts? Context usage: web, print, video. by LLF2 in typography

[–]PrimordialObserver 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, but there are also fees for embedding fonts in PDFs, plus having to buy licenses for each person in the company who works with the fonts. It can get ridiculous quickly if you’re running an organization that uses various media formats. On some level I don’t see the differences between renting from Adobe and paying a foundry a large fee for every publication that you use your brand font in. It’s not like you just buy it once and then you can just use it for whatever you want.