AWDwR typography question

Rails
1

So, I’ve been listing to stuff folks have been saying about the
Bookman font we use. Most people like the font, but some feel there
aren’t enough words/line, so your eyes move too much.

So, I spent the weekend playing with typography, and I’ve come up
with a compromise. The thing is: it looks good to me, but I don’t
want to mess up the read for others if it doesn’t work for them. So,
I’ve put up a couple of pages using both the old and new–they don’t
correspond exactly, and the book now paginates differently, but it
should be enough to give you an idea.

Try them on screen, and try them printed out.

I’d appreciate any and all comments.

Dave

(Oh, and I’ll be changing the font used for inline code such as
variable and class names, but that hasn’t happened yet)

Original: http://media.pragprog.com/titles/rails/one.pdf

New: http://media.pragprog.com/titles/rails/two.pdf

2

On Aug 6, 2006, at 5:49 PM, Dave T. wrote:

Try them on screen, and try them printed out.

I’d appreciate any and all comments.

My eye digests the second more quickly both on-screen and in print.
Nice!

Thanks,
jeremy

3

I prefer “one” - the original view. I like the pacing & flow over the
other
one. Thanks for the opportunity to particpate in your process.

4

I think the tighter kerning and narrower line-height of the second
example is less readable than the extra-spacing in the first example.
Definitely, the kerning makes the type in version 2 more difficult to
read.

Also, the increased page density makes the text less inviting and less
friendly. I think the one place the book really excels is in its
friendly, approachable manner. That includes the type treatments.

–
Austin G.
Thinking & Making: IA, UX, and IxD
http://thinkingandmaking.com
[email protected]

5

Hello Dave,

On 8/7/06, Dave T. [email protected] wrote:

So, I’ve been listing to stuff folks have been saying about the
Bookman font we use. Most people like the font, but some feel there
aren’t enough words/line, so your eyes move too much.

With fast reading techniques, eyes mouvments are minimized…

Try them on screen, and try them printed out.

First one fit best for me, printed and on screen (better rendering).

Off topic now, but for final printing, I hope you can use the same
paper than first edition (with a bit more opacity) rather than the one
used for printing Rails Recipes too ‘Kraft’.

Regards,