[haiku-development] Re: Default Font Choice In Haiku should likely be changed
- From: Sean Collins <smc.collins@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: haiku-development@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:40:05 -0400
Stephan Aßmus wrote:
I would be really interested in some actual arguments, why the Dejavu
fonts don't "cut it" for readability and appearance. I am sure that at
least for readability, there must be some real arguments to back this
up. Personally, I find Dejavu to be one of the best readable fonts,
since it has a very clean and homogenous appearance.
I will preface the following statements with alot of opinion and a
spattering of facts. I haven't done any in depth study other then to
expose potential/testsubjects etc, users to various Haiku color and font
scheme, little documentation but enough note taking to imply general
trending. I would like to do some community study to go further with
this if the community deems a review of default font type and sizing is
a good idea.
the problem with the current fonts is Ii and Ll
incredibly difficult to read. Hard to discern as well as 0Oo
The current fonts just look bad, plain IMHO and flatly, don't match the
character of the system. I am not suggesting Droid is the best font for
Haiku ( i hope the previous emails statements didn't come across the
way). I am suggesting there are better fonts then the default currently
in use.
I remember that there was a thread about the Droid fonts, but on one
hand you say there was no arguing about the actual selection of the
default font, yet you say most people prefer the Droid fonts.
Personally, I think the Droid fonts are pretty, but I wonder whether
they are a good candidate to replace Dejavu, since they are so heavily
associated with Android. Dejavu has been in use for years by open
projects, they are not particularily associated with any one
specifically, that I am aware of. (And that by the way, is a pretty
strong argument against your claim that Dejavu is not well readable.)
I can say the association argument cuts both ways, first is
familiarity. People tend to prefer things that are familiar, humans are
habitual creatures. The other Dejavu has readability issues. I highlight
some of the problems above, it also looks bad at HD screen resolution "
I run a 1920x1080" and it gets really fugly when you up the font size to
improve readability. However both the Wey and the Droid font, look more
appealing then the current default as HD resolutions and larger sizes at
these resolutions. As to your suggestion about Dejavu being used by many
open source projects as a sign of success, show me alot of successful
open source projects with high user adoption rates. Not trying to be
snide here, but few exist and most of those Mozilla etc seem to have
their own font schemes.
I hope you realize that this argument is not in favor of your own
position. The font selection is a matter of taste, so no matter what
font we chose as the default, people will always nitpick, no?
I am trying to show that A I understand both sides of poetnail
issues, and B pointing out some glaringly flaws that I see on a user
interaction level.
I am not at all against changing the default font. But first I would
really love to hear some actual arguments why Dejavu is not readable,
not professional and doesn't cut in in appearance.
Best regards,
-Stephan
If I have to actually illustrate why those statements are true from my
Point of view, I doubt we will find common ground to agree about the
differences. Needless to say the current fonts IMHO don't and as a
business professional, they don't look professional. the Droid and Wey
fonts, bring a touch of something thats hard to be quantified easily,
but that touch is elegance, and sophistication. I can't convince you a
Rolls Royce is a Professional and sophisticated look, if all you see if
4 tires a engine etc.
Take this with a grain of salt, but if your convinced their is no
problem, how would I make a argument to the counter of that and have any
success in getting you to review your opinion of the matter ? try
looking at some different fonts ? look at some professional
applications, BTW I am not saying other fonts on other systems are
great. I hate that Ubuntu font, it looks like something a teenager would
do and its kind of bubbly and it doesn't look good to me. It screams 15
year old kid.Its plain and it looks cheap and plasticky.
Have a good night
Sean
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