The Trouble with Font Previews
5 hours ago
- #Design Systems
- #User Interface
- #Typography
- A user points out inconsistent font previews in PowerPoint, highlighting a design flaw.
- Font previews are tricky because fonts vary greatly in metrics and rendering.
- Aligning text is an approximation due to font-specific behaviors and metrics.
- The author's experience at Figma involved iterative adjustments for font previews.
- Figma's solution includes measuring fonts optically, adjusting sizes, and handling special cases.
- Fonts often escape their designated bounds, causing layout issues.
- Managing fonts systematically requires balancing optical and mathematical considerations.
- Many apps have poor font previews due to insufficient attention to these complexities.