Using the right typography is important in any web design and online font tools can make a web designers work much easier. Typography is all about making text easy to read. These days, typography on the web is also used to convey branding, a sense of style, and decorative effects. The pros and cons of the different ways in which to present text are beyond the scope of this post so if all this is new to you I encourage you to read the excellent article on List Apart, "Typography Matters" and the articles on the University of Minnesota Duluth Web Design Reference.
Fonts form the most noticeable part of typography and there are a large number of sites around offering an almost bewildering array of font tools. Here is the list of the top font tools I use in designing web sites (in no particular order). I hope you find it useful.
Identify Fonts
This is a Firefox addon that displays font-size, font-family, color (in both hexadecimal and RGB), line-height, letter-spacing, and more with just a right-click on the element in any page you have loaded into your browser window. At the time of writing, Font Finder for Firefox 3.0 is waiting approval from the Firefox Review Team.
WhatTheFont uses a scan of an uploaded image to analyse the typography used. It then returns a list of possible matches. If their system cannot identify your font the experts on their user forum usually can.
Identifont helps you to identify a font by asking a series of questions. This is also a great way to learn about fonts (you may be surprised at how much detail is in a font until you really look at it and identify what makes it unique).
Extend Your Knowledge About Fonts
This site is the best typographic collaboration sites on the Net. If you want to learn more about typography and what works on the Web, Typophile has a wealth of information. If you are stuck with trying to identify a font, this is the place to ask for help.
Make Your Own Font
FontStruct is a fairly new site but it is addictive! If you have ever wanted to make your own font, or just want to download a new, original font, this site makes doing so easy and fun. Great for creating an original font for graphic work.
If you have a favourite font tool why not share it with us by making a comment below.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or jump to the comment form to add your thoughts }
I use yourfonts.com to make fonts. I use my tablet pc to draw the characters.
Thanks for sharing Michael. yourfonts.com looks interesting so I will have to try it out.
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