colophon

This site has been in continuous operation since 2003. It has moved platforms several times.

Current platform

This site is currently built on the Ghost platform using the Tuuli theme from Biron themes. I mostly inherit typographic and layout design choices from the theme, although I have customized it, uninformed by any very well-developed design knowledge.

However, I have certainly enjoyed swapping fonts in and out and I have become more interested in fonts and font choices – in a very non-initiate way – since moving to Ghost (see my discussion of Ghost and of fonts). Of course, I am not doing anything very elaborate with them, as I am staying within the reasonably simple blog structure.

Current fonts

I talk about the fonts industry and ecosystem in a longish blog post, Font choices, values and ecosystem, with some national library examples. Now that I am working at the University of Washington iSchool I qualify for educational discounts on fonts which are offered by some foundries. I would note especially the very generous deals offered by Nan and ABC Dinamo. I also benefit from the site license to Adobe Fonts. I have sometimes licensed fonts on Future Fonts, the interesting platform where works in progress are made available at pre-commercial prices. I appreciate the economical personal use packs offered by Pangram Pangram and Blaze Type, and it would be good if more foundries had similar arrangements for the solo non-commercial user. Perhaps it is not a big enough market, and the cost per customer might consume a chunk of the revenue?

I am currently using Nan Metrify (both the A and C versions) and for text I am using Sharf from Blast Foundry.

I have been making a lot of changes in recent months - perhaps I will let this sit for a while.

Recent past

The last stable incarnation used one font throughout, Marjoree, from ShowMeFonts, a variable font with mono and weight axes. I really like its mono; I think it has a lot of character in bigger sizes as well as some delicacy in body text. Unfortunately, it doesn't (yet) have an italic. It has a lovely backstory and has two intriguing patterned font options based on the mathematical work of Marjorie Rice, after whom the font is named.

Font history

As noted I have been experimenting with fonts and have developed an amateur interest. Favorites for text are the very smooth Sharf, the sharper Nan Serf, or the stylish Aeroplan. Favorite alternatives for headings and feature text are the rather classic ABC Diatype and PP Neue Montreal. I really like Zetkin from Future Fonts, although it is a little heavy in some of its weights at the moment.

Fonts that I have used on the site and may again include

Body text: Aeroplan, Messer, Bay sans, Nan Tragedy, Nan Serf, ABC Gaisyr, Sharf, Piazzolla and Rowan
Headings: ABC Diatype, Nan Holo, Bay Sans, Nan Metrify, Phantom Sans, PolySans, ABC Whyte, PP Machina, MarjoreeHex
Accents: ABC Diatype Rounded, Nan Holo Mono, Token Mono.

Platform history

This blog began in 2003 on Typepad. It was eventually moved to an internal instance of WordPress at OCLC where I worked, and then to a hosted WordPress at Libchalk. It now has over 1900 entries together with associated material. With the heroic assistance of Brian Pichman of Libchalk, I moved it to Ghost in 2021. There are occasional glitches in older entries, with some images, and unfortunately we lost the comments.

Coda

I write about the font ecosystem with some example references to choices made by National Libraries here:

Here is a rather long and ponderous review of Ghost written a while after I moved to it. I should do another, now that I have more experience.

Updated: 10 January 2025.