Times Roman 'N' Helvetica (formerly SGML, etc.)

[Bonni Graham <Bonni_Graham_at_Enfin-SD -at- RELAY -dot- PROTEON -dot- COM>]

     They (TR 'N' H, the Terrible Twins) _are_ clear faces (see below), but
     they are also used by everybody and her dog.  We ended up using
     Palatino (primarily for its lovely italic and lettershapes) and Avant
     Gard.  I'd rather have used Optima, but I lost on that one.  Ah,
     well...

     Seriously, though, font choice is something to think about carefully.
     TR & H give a very solid traditional look -- not something that's very
     appropriate for a cutting-edge product, even if only thee and me can
     tell.  There's a je ne sais quoi about using faces -- people get an
     impression of something without even really knowing WHY.

     For example, I used Century Schoolbook and Helvetica in a recent
     project that was aimed at teachers.  What are a lot of text books
     printed in?  Century Schoolbook.  They immediately felt at home, even
     if they didn't know why.  I've got the feedback to prove this.

     For another example, US textbooks are usually printed in a serif face,
     therefore, serif faces are more "truthful" (as well as more
     recognizable) to a US audience.  However, European text books are
     usually printed in san serif, therefore... (I read this somewhere in
     an article about communicating in international markets, really)

     This is a long answer to your question, but I really believe that
     typeface choice is highly underrated as a quality issue.  Anyone else
     wanna comment?

Bonni Graham                               |
Technical Writer                           | em dash, n. A hyphen with
Easel Corporation, ENFIN Technology Lab    | delusions of grandeur.
Bonni_Graham_at_Enfin-SD -at- relay -dot- proteon -dot- com | --Ezra Shapiro
President, San Diego STC                   |

From:         K Angelucci <tscom001 -at- DUNX1 -dot- OCS -dot- DREXEL -dot- EDU>

         Just curious, why didn't you use Times Roman or Helvetica in your
last manual?  I always thaought that they were very clear fonts.  What did
you use?