Up the Mountain We Go
My Philosophy of Making Beginner-Friendly Tool
Hello, dear friends and fellow design enthusiasts! I hope this finds you well. With the development cycle at Typogram keeping me busier than ever, I’ve decided to switch our newsletter to bi-weekly. Today, I want to share a bit about my tool-making philosophy and give you a glimpse into what I’ve been working on lately. Let’s dive in!
When Letters Dance
My passion is to breathe life into letters, turning them into stories that captivate. But there’s a world beyond basic text—advanced techniques like OpenType and variable fonts unlock a realm of potential for creating standout logos. The challenge? These powerful features have been locked behind complex tools. My mission is to change that, making it easy for anyone to unlock their creative potential.
The Mountain Doesn’t Move: My Philosophy
Imagine you’re standing at the foot of a vast mountain—the mountain of designing something meaningful. This mountain poses the same challenge for the novice as it does for the expert. It doesn’t matter if you’ve climbed a hundred mountains or if this is your first; the challenge before you remains unchanged. The peak does not lower itself for beginners.
I believe that the task—the mountain—shouldn’t be made smaller to accommodate those who are new to the climb. Instead of flattening the mountain, I aim to equip our climbers. My goal is to make pro-level features like OpenType ligatures and font variations accessible and easy to use for everyone.
At Typogram, my mission is to bridge the skill gap without changing the goalposts. This means making pro-level features accessible and easy to find. I believe in smartening our users up, not dumbing the task down.
The Path Less Traveled: Innovating at Typogram
The ability of variable fonts to offer continuous change fascinates me—imagine a font that evolves as you read, creating a dynamic, living text. This exploration birthed the concept of the Font Gradient, a feature now live on typogram.co. I encourage you to experience it, even with a free plan, and see how it transforms your designs.
I’m also in the process of enriching Typogram with a wider range of fonts from The Type Founders. These high-quality fonts come alive with hidden glyphs and features via OpenType, offering a treasure trove of design possibilities:
These premium OpenType fonts inspired me to develop Ligatures and Substitutions further. OpenType features are like hidden gems, offering alternative glyphs for letters that make your text uniquely beautiful. Here’s a sneak peek of what I’m working on: making the unseen seen and the complex simple:
