New York type

I can't pass up an article about typography in the newspaper of record.

Typography, it turns out, is not always such dumb fun. Graphic designers, who often have fonts to sell, can be cranky about where their p's and q's come from, and they seem to be getting crankier by the minute. Maybe it's because there is less and less demand for original typefaces; free fonts are easy to come by on the Web.

Of course, for those of us who are called upon to design flyers and posters and the like with no graphic design training and no operating budget, free web fonts are a godsend. But that shouldn't excuse shoddy design. So take some time to learn why Mark Simonson is right about Arial or why white-on-red Futura Bold Italic may not be the best choice for an AEI or Claremont Institute pamphlet.