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- Feed Preview Font Police
Less than number one
Reported by IanTLS . We’re citing this one for the backwards U, the upside-down W masquerading as an M, and the 0 pretending to be an O. We don’t want to see what they’ve done to the Number...
DIY
It is advisable to not share an initial cap with two separate words. Also we have concerns over the faux small caps in the bottom line. Use real ones—or not at all (or, do a better job simulati...
Fusion cuisine
When putting signs side by side, remember to space them properly. Also, avoid stretching or condensing your type artificially, and use a proper apostrophe. Quite a few charges here from the Font ...
Dynamic signage
These are more misdemeanours than outright typographic crimes, with the exception of Mitchell’s Wholesale Provedores, with its faux condensing and ASCII apostrophe. But do think about how large...
When life gives you lemons
As far as Font Police is concerned, the bottom part is actually fine—Americana appears as it should. We’re far more concerned with how Avenir has been horribly, artificially condensed in the ...
Mind your Ps and Qs
If a character has a descender, then let it descend. Don’t shrink it to match the height of another character that doesn’t have one. A particularly bad sign, photographed by Ian Simpson.
Be careful when reversing
Nothing really wrong with the first sign other than the strange comma placements, but you might want to consider how something reads on the other side of the window. Photographed by Phil Read, us...
The meaning of Valentine’s Day?
Be careful using all caps, especially when you have chosen a geometric typeface with open counters. People might think the uppercase U is made from two components. From Katy Pearce on Mastodon , ...
The suspects are in Balaclava
It’s good when people know there is such a thing is kerning, but bad when it’s terribly applied. The LA pairs are far apart, the AVA is obviously too tight. Thanks to Richard Foxworthy, photo...
Christmas bag
Things would look less threatening if the two lines of Helvetica weren’t artificially condensed. There’s enough room, after all. From Mona⁷ on Mastodon, used with permission.
Tricked Be careful when using script fonts, especially when it...
TRICKED Be careful when using script fonts, especially when it comes to spacing. Via Kim on Twitter , used with permission (hat tip to Brian Willson).
One for the vice squad Letterspacing and kerning are important....
ONE FOR THE VICE SQUAD Letterspacing and kerning are important. Photo by pwapwap on Twitter, used with permission.
Wide Can you trust someone whose photo and type are stretched?...
WIDE Can you trust someone whose photo and type are stretched? The only proportionally correct type here is the heading up top—though why it’s in quotation marks is anyone’s guess. We can f...
Get with the Times Bold It might have been built in the 1990s,...
GET WITH THE TIMES BOLD It might have been built in the 1990s, but whomever did Wellington, New Zealand’s central library sign didn’t understand proportionally spaced type. Or letterspacing. ...
Losing faith Maybe we should be more tolerant of the lettering...
LOSING FAITH Maybe we should be more tolerant of the lettering done by the amateurs—spacing and centring are not everyone’s strengths. But the top line with the church’s name? There’s no ...
After all, this is the year of the film Soylent Green Kerning...
AFTER ALL, THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE FILM SOYLENT GREEN Kerning is important, in the first and last lines. Leading is important in the red lines. Fewer capital letters would help, too. (Via Harry...
Give it the flick When using certain typefaces in all-cap...
GIVE IT THE FLICK When using certain typefaces in all-cap settings, make sure you give them sufficient letterspacing. Some letters can appear confusing when set too tightly. We also disapprove of...
Northern sights Electronically condensed types are definitely...
NORTHERN SIGHTS Electronically condensed types are definitely not as easy to read; a proper condensed cut would have been more appropriate here, perhaps something to match the Cumbria County Coun...
Live or dead Once again we have signage type that has been...
LIVE OR DEAD Once again we have signage type that has been artificially condensed, by two different percentages, rendering it harder to read. Better to either keep the type at its original widths...
Our COVID-19 themed post We realize these are stuck-on letters...
OUR COVID-19 THEMED POST We realize these are stuck-on letters so kerning and letterspacing are difficult for the layperson, but surely one would know when Ss are upside-down?