A call for better metadata

ebuka
ebuka Posts: 6
edited 6:03AM in Font Technology
Whenever I come across a font I like, one of the first things I do is look for the person or people behind it.

I want to know who designed it, which foundry it came from, and whether there’s a description telling me a little more about it.

I once came across a font with a description that explained its origins and the inspiration behind it. It felt like reading a short story. It gave me a little more context about the typeface and made me appreciate it differently.

That’s why it’s a little disappointing when I come across fonts with missing or incomplete metadata. Sometimes, the designer’s name is nowhere to be found. Other times, fields are filled with information that belongs somewhere else. I’ve seen copyright notices and trademarks placed in the name or description fields, for example.

The OpenType specification defines more than 20 standard name IDs covering everything from copyright notices and designer names to descriptions, licensing information, and URLs. Yet, so many fonts leave some of these fields empty or put information in places where it doesn't belong.


I know metadata probably isn’t the first thing on a designer’s mind when finishing a typeface, but I think it’s worth paying attention to. These details help people discover the people and stories behind the fonts they use.
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Comments

  • pavljenko
    pavljenko Posts: 21

    I completely agree. Even in serious professional typefaces, studios sometimes don’t pay much attention to correctly filling in all the fields and don’t give it the necessary focus. I would also add to your call a call to software developers who create and edit typefaces — to place more emphasis on the font metadata fields in the user interface or to somehow encourage users to fill them in

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