Erik van Blokland offers this GIF as an idea. No, I have no link to the original resource.

Contrary to most, I believe variable type offers major restrictions to designers. I know that the design opportunities seem to open wide, but actually it enables us to produce a document using only one font, right?

I read a good article with an interview with Dan Rhatigan at Adobe about variable fonts. It left me very disquieted. Now I know I’m an old curmudgeon, set in my ways. But I’ve seen this stuff before with Multiple Master fonts and Apple’s OpenType GX. I got all excited about them, but then they fell apart.

The interface to use them just wasn’t there. This time, the big ones [Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Adobe] announced the new type together. It seems like it might actually happen this time.

Variable type offers major restrictions

However, as a font designer, I see some major issues. I know the extreme difficulties involved with making a Black version of a Light font. Quite often you must make fairly severe design decisions simply to make the Black version readable.

That depends on the designer, though

I was looking at some of my fonts. I can see that It will be possible to do some outrageous things.

But isn’t it—

You did a wonderful job of producing something I never asked for?

I guess we should all be excited. Are you?

What do you think?