Re[2]: adjusting height of sans serif to match serif Le jeudi 25 avril 2002, Ã  18:57:30, Pierre MacKay Ã©crivitÂ :


PAM> Please take this in the helpful spirit intended, but the answer to
PAM> your problem is what is known as "design." There are very few pairs
PAM> of serif and sans serif fonts that work together. There is no
PAM> reason at all why Gill Sans and Caslon should harmonize. Caslon
PAM> represents the taste (and, if it is faithfully done, the
PAM> technology) of the early 18th century at the latest, and Gill the
PAM> 20s of the twentieth century.


this is a quite questionable answer. If you go on this way, why simply
should you need Sans serif & Sans to go on the same text flow? Aren't
italics, semibold and small caps quite enough to introduce a basic
markup that could already overload the reader's buffer?

On the other hand, if for some reason you want it, then quite many pairs
are available for testing. I assume that, if you want it, it's precisely
because you want some more contrast than what the usual variants
provide, then the inevitable mismatch in color and design can be
regarded a _feature_ of the design decision.

Gill Sans is not so different from Caslon in its general architecture &
proportions, it may work better with Plantin, though... A classical pair
is Garamond or similar designs with Syntax; another one is Minion/Cronos
(or Today Sans).

Now, regarding Lucida and other super packs, (Scala, Le Monde...), you
may precisely be disappointed by the low contrast and too high
similarity of design: they work well in a newspaper design where you
will set  two articles with different parameters next to the other, so
that the reader's eye won't be confused in which column to follow the
text. If you mix them on a line, you may fail to notice the type
change...

I'm anyway quite amazed that, after what you say about ITC horrors with
enormous x-heights, you may favor Lucida!



-- 
Cordialement,
 Thierry                         


