Designers ask Adobe for a better user interface for type
The introduction of OpenType fonts in 2000 offered designers a rich and sophisticated typographic repertoire. The number of fonts that support these typographic features has grown exponentially over the years. And yet, we – the designers, producers, and users of digital type – have observed with growing despair how software applications offering typesetting capabilities have failed to provide an adequate typographic interface.
As a founding partner of the OpenType specification and a leading developer of applications for design professionals, Adobe can be expected to lead in foregrounding the potential of the technology. However, the font menus in Adobe software are severely lacking, giving users incomplete and/or needlessly convoluted access to typographic features. Therefore, we urge Adobe to improve the OpenType user experience. This will unlock tremendous existing value for users who are mostly unaware of the amazing possibilities current OpenType fonts provide.
Gail Anderson — Designer, writer & educator
Aral Balkan — Designer & social entrepreneur
Marian Bantjes — Designer, artist, illustrator & writer
Frederik Berlaen — Typeface designer & developer; RoboFont
John D. Berry — Typographer & editor; U&lc
Ann Bessemans — Typeface designer, educator & legibility researcher
Peter Biľak — Graphic & typeface designer and publisher; Works That Work
Roger Black — Publication designer, art director & design consultant
Erik van Blokland — Graphic & typeface designer & application developer
Frank E. Blokland — Typeface designer, educator, font & software producer
John Boardley — Writer & publisher; I Love Typography
Veronika Burian — Typeface designer
Marina Chaccur — Letterer and type designer
Nadine Chahine — Typeface designer & legibility researcher
Frank Chimero — Designer, illustrator & writer
Stephen Coles — Editor, typographer & author; Typographica
Jo De Baerdemaeker — Typeface designer, educator, & postdoctoral researcher
Hannes von Döhren — Typeface designer
Catherine Dixon — Designer, writer & teacher
Cara Di Edwardo — Lettering artist, papermaker & printmaker
Mario Eskenazi — Graphic designer
Tobias Frere-Jones — Typeface designer & educator
Mario R. García — Magazine & newspaper designer & media consultant
Luc(as) de Groot — Typeface designer
Shelley Gruendler — Typographer, designer, educator; Type Camp
Sagi Haviv — Graphic designer; Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
Steven Heller — Art director, journalist, critic & author
Jessica Hische — Letterer, illustrator & type designer
Jonathan Hoefler — Typeface designer
Corey Holms — Graphic designer
Neil Kellerhouse — Graphic designer
Akira Kobayashi — Typeface designer
Kevin Larson — Legibility researcher
David Lemon — Manager of Type Development; Adobe
Jean-Baptiste Levée — Typeface designer & educator
Steve Matteson — Typeface designer
Jan Middendorp — Writer, translator & consultant
J. Abbott Miller — Graphic designer & writer; Pentagram
MuirMcNeil — Graphic & typeface designers
Yves Peters — Graphic designer & writer; The FontFeed
Thomas Phinney — Designer & consultant; FontLab
Michael C. Place — Designer; Build
Jean-François Porchez — Typeface designer
Mark Porter — Publication designer & creative director
Hugo Puttaert — Graphic designer, writer, & educator; Integrated conferences
Mamoun Sakkal — Graphic & typeface designer, artist & calligrapher
Jason Santa Maria — Designer, teacher & writer
José Scaglione — Type designer & teacher
Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs — Typographer & publisher; Verlag Hermann Schmidt
Christian Schwartz — Typeface designer
Georg Seifert — Typeface designer & developer; Glyphs
Adrian Shaughnessy — Designer, writer & publisher; Unit Editions
Erik Spiekermann — Graphic & typeface designer, & educator
Lila Symons — Type Designer; Hallmark Cards
Gerard Unger — Graphic & typeface designer, writer, & teacher
Jim Wasco — Lettering artist, photographer & typeface designer
Doug Wilson — Graphic designer & film maker
ATypI — Association Typographique Internationale
ISTD — International Society of Typographic Designers