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MyFonts: Ale, let’s start at the top: what are color fonts?
Ale Paul:
You can think of color fonts like, say, emojis: these fonts come with
preset color schemes, so when a user typesets with them, some colors
appear incorporated in them, determined by the font’s designer. Altering
the colors is possible, but with some limitations. Some popular
programs, like the latest Adobe Illustrator, allow for the user to make
easy color changes to artwork, but the fonts must be converted to
outlines first. I’ve created a short video demo to show everyone how this works.
It
might seem complicated, but the predecessors to this, like chromatic
faces in the wood type era, or layered fonts in digital, were even more
fiddly. With color fonts, however, everything comes preset on a single
layer, including all the color elements.
MF: Got it — that makes sense. So, how do you see graphic designers using color fonts in their work?
AP:
The same way they use digital fonts in general, really. The only
difference is that these fonts come already colored. Which may make it
easier for the layout artist, if they like the embedded colors. If they
don’t, they can easily change them in the right program. The embedded
colors are really just a starting point, kind of a simple reminder that
this particular font contains elements that look great in a particular
color, or in multiple complementary ones in some cases.
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