Input Request for a Metafont Porting of the "ethiop" Typeface

Daniel Yacob

Hello Everyone,

This post is a request for any feedback, particularly on technical aspects vs stylistical, of a typeface recently re-migrated from Metafont sources. Our goal has been to maintain the unique style and spirit of the original design while cleaning up some obvious shortcomings of the contours that resulted from the conversion process.  The release can be found here:

https://github.com/raeytype/ethiop/releases/tag/v1.0.0-beta-1

with more detail on the project page:  https://github.com/raeytype/ethiop

Briefly on the background: The "ethiop" LaTeX + Babel package, and accompanying typeface, was released in 1998 as a product of the graduate work of Dr. Berhanu Beyene. The Metafont files were ported by another team in 2002 and were incorporated into the GNU FreeSerif typeface.  As a GNU product, the typeface became widely used. An eventual goal of the effort is to offer the enhancements back to the GNU project for a revision of the FreeSerif font.

Below is a sample of the enhancements made. Remarks on best practices to follow that will help improve quality and portability are much appreciated.