George Falloon

FontForge vs Fontographer

Typefaces, especially in headers and logos, have an impact on the viewer. Subliminal or explicit, they leave an impression, so it's important to take control of what you promote through them.read more here

For a recent job: watkeysbowentherapy.co.uk, I wanted a headline typeface that had gravitas without being impersonal, or oppressive. I couldn't find a font that worked. I was thinking along the lines of humanist slab-serif and because I had a bit of time on my hands, I thought I'd have a go at designing it myself. Now, hold on! It's no small task developing a typeface, and its font variations. I only needed a few character glyphs, so once I had them, I stopped.

The last time I designed a typeface, ink and line-board were the tools of choice. Times change and I had a look at the software available. I used an open source linux programme FontForge which was adequate. Looking at alternatives for the future I found Fontographer. It's the industry standard (IMO) for Mac and Windows for good reason. Don't waste time, check out the trial version at www.fontlab.com.