debate pixel fonts here <---

[Aprikot]

Originally Posted by Seerah Anyway, it seems I'm going to have to state again that this thread is not the location to debate pixel fonts.

And thus banished.

I'm admittedly cognizant of a certain poor deceased animal getting a fierce beatdown, but here goes...

To me, pixel font use is a creative decision that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with jamming text into a tight space. There seem to be numerous ideas of what constitutes acceptable use. Aesthetics versus legibility, and dare i say form v. function, and all of that.

I'm curious if any sort of baseline can be established, or if agree to disagree subjectivity land is the inevitable destination.

[Haleth]

Right.

First off, pixel fonts were the "hype" in UIs for quite some time. Everyone needed them. Then there was a period of the opposite; anyone who had pixel fonts in their UI was obviously just following the hype. Nowadays it seems a bit less one-sided.

I've used pixel fonts in my UI ever since I made it (which is a year and a few months ago, and it was rather awful at the start) and I've never switched based on how popular they were. Though, the idea to use them in the first place probably came from its popularity.

I just think pixel fonts, together with 1-pixel outlines, add a "crisp and clean" feel to a UI that is very hard to replicate with regular fonts. For names and numbers, e.g. on unitframes, it's perfectly fine, but in the chat frame I prefer a normal font simply because it's easier on the eyes.

Tl;dr: author's choice.

[tenub]

I don't know what Haleth is talking about. I think they're still the hype and that everyone and their mama seems to want to use them. Unfortunately, every single UI looks awful as a result. However, I'll admit there has been one, MAYBE two UIs that have actually pulled them off well.

[Aprikot]

Originally Posted by Haleth I just think pixel fonts, together with 1-pixel outlines, add a "crisp and clean" feel to a UI that is very hard to replicate with regular fonts.

I think this is true, and it highlights the idea that other design decisions can naturally inform the decision to use pixel fonts.

Originally Posted by tenub I don't know what Haleth is talking about. I think they're still the hype and that everyone and their mama seems to want to use them.

Can we define hype for this thread? Percentage of compilation uploads you've seen this year? Percentage of total screenshots you've seen in your life?

Originally Posted by tenub Unfortunately, every single UI looks awful as a result.

Interesting.

Originally Posted by tenub I'll admit there has been one, MAYBE two UIs that have actually pulled them off well.

Which UIs do you think have done so, and why?

[tenub]

Originally Posted by Aprikot Can we define hype for this thread? Percentage of compilation uploads you've seen this year? Percentage of total screenshots you've seen in your life? Which UIs do you think have done so, and why?

I check wowuigallery and new uploads on this site pretty regularly thinking that there might be a new, fresh, unique UI released. If I had to guess, at least half of the UIs posted are using some sort of pixel font that looks terrible. IMO only Semplice and Silkscreen should ever be used if a pixel font is required for some reason. There are one or two other decent fonts out there as well whose names escape my mind.

If one could compare pixel-font-based UIs to raiding guilds, Carebear UI is Paragon and LED is vodka. Paragon is way up there on a whole other level, significantly above the rest, and vodka is pretty damn good. The fault with LED's UI IMO is that it suffers from legibility issues. The text is just way too small. On the other hand, Carebear does everything right. Text is small, but not ridiculous and he can get away with it because he chose a crisp and legible font (I believe it's Semplice, correct me if I'm wrong). Everything else stands out to the viewer and information can immediately and easily be gathered without having to squint or look away in dismay from a poor font choice.

[Aprikot]

Originally Posted by tenub I check wowuigallery and new uploads on this site pretty regularly thinking that there might be a new, fresh, unique UI released. If I had to guess, at least half of the UIs posted are using some sort of pixel font that looks terrible. IMO only Semplice and Silkscreen should ever be used if a pixel font is required for some reason. There are one or two other decent fonts out there as well whose names escape my mind. If one could compare pixel-font-based UIs to raiding guilds, Carebear UI is Paragon and LED is vodka. Paragon is way up there on a whole other level, significantly above the rest, and vodka is pretty damn good. The fault with LED's UI IMO is that it suffers from legibility issues. The text is just way too small. On the other hand, Carebear does everything right. Text is small, but not ridiculous and he can get away with it because he chose a crisp and legible font (I believe it's Semplice, correct me if I'm wrong). Everything else stands out to the viewer and information can immediately and easily be gathered without having to squint or look away in dismay from a poor font choice.

I agree 100% with all of that. Carebear's stuff is at the top of the pile. The other Semplice-like fonts I know of are Marke Eigenbau, and Pixelway Baseline, which I think Carebear uses.

Edit: I'm also a fan Korda UI, which introduced me to Pic0.

[Lily.Petal]

Swfit is a good pixel font for UnitFrames and numbers, though for anything else it's just not needed~

Example below.

[Wazman]

Originally Posted by Aprikot Can we define hype for this thread? Percentage of compilation uploads you've seen this year? Percentage of total screenshots you've seen in your life?

The "Post Your UI" thread at wowhead.com has been nothing but UIs with pixel fonts for several months now. It's the same five or six people that post there, since they've run everyone else out, and the majority of their time is spent either praising pixel fonts, debtaing the virtues and pros and cons of various pixel fonts, or berating the few brave souls that dare to post UIs without them.

Personally, I hate them. They're hard for me to read and they never seem to fit well in the UIs I've used.