[OpenFontLibrary] New Ubuntu Font

[Schrijver]

Great!

I really do not like the look of the Vera Sans based fonts that are now the default fonts on most Linux distros (if I’m not mistaken).
That is no fault of the Deja-vu teams, it is just that the original design on which they are based I think is hugely unattractive :-(


> It will be published under an open font
> license, and considered part of the trade dress of Ubuntu, which will
> limit its relevance for software interfaces outside of Ubuntu but

What do they mean by that?
Surely, if it is an open licence, any distro could use it for their software interface?
It could represent a leap in the usability of linux for the desktop in general, not just ubuntu (assuming that the font turns out well, of course :))

Though the whole Gnome interface could undergo some serious visual scrutiny imho

Eric

ps I also think the new logotype is quite nice

Op 5 mrt 2010, om 14:31 heeft Dave Crossland het volgende geschreven:

> Hi,
> 
> The new Ubuntu branding includes a new font.
> http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/308 says:
> 
> ------------------ 8< ---------------
> 
> A new Ubuntu font
> 
> We have commissioned a new font to be developed both for the logo’s of
> Ubuntu and Canonical, and for use in the interface. The font will be
> called Ubuntu, and will be a modern humanist font that is optimised
> for screen legibility. It will be published under an open font
> license, and considered part of the trade dress of Ubuntu, which will
> limit its relevance for software interfaces outside of Ubuntu but
> leave it free for use across the web and in printed documents.
> 
> It will take a few months for the font to be finalised, initial
> elements will be final in the next week which will be sufficient for
> the logo and other bits and pieces, but I expect to see that font
> widely used in 10.10. The work has been commissioned from
> world-renowned fontographers Dalton Maag, who have expressed
> excitement at the opportunity to publish an open font and also a font
> that they know will be used daily by millions of people.
> 
> Initial coverage will be Western, Arabic, Hebrew and Cyrillic
> character sets, but over time we may be able to extend that to being a
> full Unicode font, with great kerning and hinting for print and screen
> usage globally.  We are considering an internship program, to support
> aspiring fontographers from all corners of the world to visit London
> and work with Dalton Maag to extend the font to their own regional
> glyph set.
> 
> The critical test of the font is screen efficiency and legibility, and
> its character and personality are secondary to its fitness for that
> purpose. Nevertheless, our hope is that the font has a look that is
> elegant and expresses the full set of values for both Canonical and
> Ubuntu: adroitness, accountability, precision, reliability, freedom
> and collaboration. We’ll publish more as soon as we have it.
> 
> A good start
> 
> It’s been an exciting process, but I have the sense that we are just
> getting started. The language will get richer, we will find new things
> that we want to communicate, and new treatments and visual themes that
> resonate well with these starting points. We’ll find new ways to
> integrate this on the web, and on the desktop (look out for the two
> new themes, Radiance and Ambiance).  I hope we’ll see the language
> being used to good effect across everything we do, both commercial and
> community oriented. There’s a range of expression here that should be
> useful to artists across the spectrum. Let me know how it works for
> you.
> 
> ------------------ 8< ---------------
> 
> "We are considering an internship program, to support aspiring
> fontographers from all corners of the world to visit London and work
> with Dalton Maag to extend the font to their own regional glyph set."
> is very cool.
> 
> -- 
> Regards,
> Dave