Typography on the Web 45PrinciplesWeb DesignTypography on the WebWeb Design in a Nutshell, eMatter EditionCore fonts for the Web from Microsoft
The problem with reading text on web pages is that many fonts (most notably the
ubiquitous Times) are difficult to read at small sizes without the aid of anti-
aliasing. The serifs that aid readability in print are actually a hindrance when
rendered with a limited number of black and white pixels.
Responding to the need for fonts that are easy to read on the screen, Microsoft has
created a collection of TrueType fonts (for both Windows and Mac) that have
been specially designed to be optimized for on-screen viewing. They are distrib-
uting them for free with the hope that they might grow to be standard and “safe”
fonts to specify in web documents. The Microsoft web fonts currently include:
Arial
Comic Sans
Courier New
Georgia
Impact
Times New Roman
Trebuchet MS
Verdana
Webdings (Windows only)These fonts have generous character spacing, large x-heights and open, rounded
features that make them better for online reading. Georgia and Verdana were
designed by esteemed type designer Matthew Carter, with hinting provided by
Vincent Connare (who also designed Comic Sans and Trebuchet MS).
The complete set of Core Fonts for the Web is available for free download athttp://
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/free.htm.
Embedded Fonts
Both Netscape and Internet Explorer support technologies for embedding fonts in
a web page, enabling your viewers to see your page exactly as you have designed
it. Because the font travels with the HTML file, it is not necessary for the user to
Unix / Xfree bitmap fonts charter
clean
courier
fixed
helvetica
lucida
lucidabright
lucidatypewriter
new century schoolbook
symbol
terminal
times
utopiaInternet Explorer 3.0 (Windows 95 and NT)
Arial Black
Comic Sans MS
Impact
Verdana
4.0 (Windows 95 and NT)
Arial Black
Comic Sans
Impact
Verdana
Webdings