IT'S DA-BEST! (dafont.com)

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	dafont.com
Date:	10/03/07 (1715 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great font resource

Disadvantages: The fonts can't all be used in commercial print work

In my role as a graphic designer the use of fonts and application of typography are essential and probably the largest contributing elements to my work. The choice of font is fundamental to any piece of design as it can completely transform the written word.

The use of a suitable font needs to be thought about in detail and then combined with an appropriate layout for the given subject matter. Typography is the key to good design as it applies basic rules to the positioning of type, encorporating the technique of selecting fonts, font size, line length, leading (line spacing) and both individual and overall letter spacing. This maintains consistency and legibility throughout, and also determines the importance of the information that is being displayed.

Thousands of fonts are widely available. Most computers are already installed with a limited standard selection but in reality there are so many more that are accessible. Unfortunately most of these come at a price. Searching for that all important type style can be very frustrating, especially when you sometimes have to make do and be less than satisfied with what you’ve got.

In these circumstances I find that www.dafont.com always comes to the rescue!....


~ WHAT IS DAFONT.COM?

This is a website that offers a large variety of fonts which can be downloaded for free! There are lots to choose from and you don’t even have to register to be able to access them. Registration is possible but it’s not necessary unless you want to actually create and submit your own fonts, or leave comments about the fonts that appear on the site. I haven’t bothered to register and still use the site on a weekly basis.

There are a total of 7300 fonts currently on the website. Each belong to their particular authors and are either freeware, shareware or demo versions. This is clearly stated alongside each typeface so you know exactly what it can be used for. I have to be careful because some fonts specify that they are ‘for personal use only’ and I therefore can’t use these on commercial print work. If you’re in doubt about specific usage policies, the indicated authors can be contacted but to be honest, if I’m unsure, I just avoid and choose something else instead.

Whilst browsing there are different options for searching the font database....Alphabetical, Specific Font Name, New Fonts, Top 100 or Themes which are all self explanatory. I tend to use the Themes when I search as it helps narrow the typefaces down to similar styles. This is a great help to me as I’m usually looking for something in particular. Aswell as basic serif and sans serif typefaces, some of the theme examples are:

~ Fancy - which includes Cartoon, Curly, Groovy, Old School, Eroded, Horror, Decorative and Retro to name but a few.

~ Gothic - features Medieval and Celtic style typefaces.

~ Script - a selection of Calligraphy, Brush, Grafitti and Handwritten effect fonts.

~ Holiday - for Valentine, Halloween, Christmas and other seasonal styles.

~ Dingbats - these are more like images. Each key gives you a character rather than a letter and Animals, Games, Shapes and Sport are included.


During your font search you can customise the preview. The viewing size can be changed to suit your needs and your own personal text, word or phrase can be typed in to see exactly how it will appear - another very useful feature. Standard display just shows the name of the font as an example which is more than adequate if you haven’t got anything specific in mind. Clicking on a font also shows you what each individual character looks like.

Once you’ve found a font that takes your fancy it’s so easy to download to your computer. Just double click on the ‘download’ icon and the font folder appears on your desktop within a few seconds! This is usually a compressed zip file which needs to be unzipped using software on your computer (eg: Mac - Stuffit Expander, PC - Winzip) before it can be used.

A help section on the website offers full instructions on how to download the fonts onto both Mac and PC, including details on where to place the files once you’ve obtained them so that they will work on your computer. Other ‘frequently asked questions’ are also found here.

Basically, that’s all there is to it really. Just lots and lots of fonts! If you’re interested you can view the authors profiles - this gives you their name, nationality and a few other brief details. Some feature an email address and their personal website address. The profile page also offers links to all the fonts that the author has designed so if you find that you like their style you can easily see what else they have created.


~ NAVIGATION

There’s not much to say apart from the fact that the website is quick and easy to navigate due to its simplicity. With it’s basic navigation panel I find it to be very user friendly. Overall appearance is pretty plain - lots of white space, black text and a standard red accent colour which can be customised and changed (for some reason!) to suit the individual users viewing preferences. Viewing is available in either English or French. There are a few ads that appear on screen but these don’t interfere with the fast loading of pages or the content.

I think that’s about it!


~ IT’S DA-BEST!

Overall, dafont.com is a great font resource for both graphic designers and personal use...

Designers can achieve brilliant results with the variety of typefaces on offer. And if you’re thinking that the website would be of no use to you, perhaps you might like to think again! At home, use the fonts to add that finishing touch to your own projects. Smarten up presentations and essays with nice, striking headings and titles. Experiment with different style lettering in art and craft projects with your kids. Create your own small business logo to feature on prefessional looking business cards and letterheads. You can even be creative and print out words and phrases in varying typefaces to feature in card making and scrap booking. The fonts are also ideal for graphics students to add variation to coursework.

The possibilities are endless!

Summary: A website that offers lots and lots of fonts for free!