A New Post by Lorcan Dempsey: “Font Choices, Values and Ecosystem, With Some National Library Examples”

From a New Post by Lorcan Dempsey:

This is a short introduction to some topics around the design and deployment of fonts. I would like to prompt libraries to think a little more about an area that not only involves design choices, but also business and values choices. So I combine it with an exploration of fonts in use in libraries.

I hope to look at academic, public and some other libraries and library organizations in future posts. Given the role of fonts in relation to identity, I thought it would be interesting to look first at some national libraries.

I am interested how library attitudes seem to contrast with, for example, university or corporate views. Many organizations invest considerably in branding, guidelines, and occasionally bespoke or custom fonts. Consider the rather fine custom font on the Clarivate website, for example. Or look at the way in which informed font choices at the Mellon Foundation or Ithaka websites support their storytelling.

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