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SHOW HN2015
137points
76comments
#156of 2,565 in 2015
Top 7%of 2015 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
6 positive, 21 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 14 critical, out of 42 comments about the project. Thread score -0.17.
Design: 5 for, 9 againstExecution: 1 for, 3 againstIdea: 0 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Legible at small sizes and on screens
From 3 comments
I'm postively surprised. I didn't expect this from Apple, but it actually does look good with the Windows font renderer here (Firefox, so I assume DirectWrite), down to at least…
jug on HNThanks for the link to that page, which contains a large image of a screenshot using San Francisco as the system font. To me, it looks really great as a system font. The reason…
MCRed on HNYou're right, Helvetica is and was a poor choice for Yosemite, even if you have a retina screen. It's not a screen font. Lucida Grande was a great screen font, but the boldness…
justinph on HN
Looks good as a system font on Retina screens
From 2 comments
You're right, Helvetica is and was a poor choice for Yosemite, even if you have a retina screen. It's not a screen font. Lucida Grande was a great screen font, but the boldness…
justinph on HNI like it. It just looks "right" somehow, and it's more optically dense, so it'll look good on all kinds of screens as well. Picking Helvetica Neue was a bit of a brain fart on…
melted on HN
Objections
Looks clumsy, clinical or cartoonish in style
From 3 comments
Is it OK to say the emperor has no clothes? I think this is an ugly, clumsy typeface, designed primarily for legibility in a particular small application (the watch). Now it's…
cpr on HNIt's probably a personal aesthetic, but the variable stroke widths make it look cartoony. It's also got a tendency to big loops — the a, p, h, and g in the sample all have very…
fuzz_junket on HNThe statement that it's "like a Starship Enterprise" in that screenshot hit on exactly how the system-font-ization looks to me. It feels clinical somehow. It's definitely not a…
derefr on HN
Too similar to existing fonts like FF DIN and Helvetica
From 3 comments
Is it common for type faces to be so almost completely similar? SF looks nearly identical to FF DIN to my untrained eye, but even with tiny adjustments, it's bit more than…
themartorana on HNOn a related note, here's a comparison between Apple's San Francisco and Google's Roboto, along with FF DIN and Helvetica:…
timothya on HNMaybe I'm just not very observant and/or a philistine but I can't be the only one that can't tell the difference between these fonts without looking very hard. I doubt I would be…
sesutton on HN
Licence restricts use to Apple Watch app design
From 2 comments
The Apple Watch Design Resources license where the font seems to have originated is pretty strict about using this font: Limited License. Subject to the terms of this License,…
Aloisius on HN> The typeface is licensed exclusively to registered third-party developers for the “design and development of applications for the Apple Watch”. [1] Cool. Another font for web…
namuol on HN
Requests
Show accented characters and non-Latin scripts in the sample
From 2 comments
This is a ridiculously incomplete sample sheet. Most of the iOS, OS X, and Watch OS users will need to display characters outside the non-accented English alphabet. Nerding out…
rdancer on HNAccording to the font info, the ones from the Apple website have accented characters for: Afrikaans, Albanian, Asu, Basque, Bemba, Bena, Bosnian, Catalan, Chiga, Congo Swahili,…
Aloisius on HN
Questions
Is it legal to redistribute a font this close to FF DIN
From 2 comments
That is the one part about typography that has always confused me - San Francisco is clearly a variation of FF DIN. Can you buy a 'licenses' to use and make your own variation of…
madeofpalk on HNFrom a copyright standpoint in the US, you can copy the glyph outlines of fonts (usually some form of bezier curve or in some cases bitmap) without violating copyright. They are…
Aloisius on HN
Alternatives named
Helvetica / Helvetica Neue
From 2 comments
It is reminiscent of German industrial typeface DIN [1], which looks stylish in certain contexts (advertising), but arguably too stylish and cold for general use. An OS font will…
currysausage on HNSan Francisco is at least more readable than Helvetica Neue. Lucida is gone, but it can't get much worse than it is now.
abrowne on HN
Roboto
From 2 comments
On a related note, here's a comparison between Apple's San Francisco and Google's Roboto, along with FF DIN and Helvetica:…
timothya on HNI don't know about San Francisco as I haven't really spent any time reading it. But there's something slightly odd about Roboto, I can't quite put my finger on it but it's like…
willyt on HN
FF DIN
From 2 comments
Is it common for type faces to be so almost completely similar? SF looks nearly identical to FF DIN to my untrained eye, but even with tiny adjustments, it's bit more than…
themartorana on HNIt is reminiscent of German industrial typeface DIN [1], which looks stylish in certain contexts (advertising), but arguably too stylish and cold for general use. An OS font will…
currysausage on HN
Malmö Sans
From 1 comment
Another font with very similar character is Malmö Sans (only regular weight though, bold has high stroke contrast) [1]. Typographic details differ (Malmö looks more dynamic than…
currysausage on HN