colophon

This site has been in continuous operation since 2003. It has moved platforms several times.

Current platform

This site is currently built on the Ghost platform using the Tuuli theme from Biron themes. I mostly inherit typographic and layout design choices from the theme, although I do make some changes uninformed by any very well-developed design knowledge.

However, I have certainly enjoyed swapping fonts in and out and I have become more interested in fonts and font choices – in a very non-initiate way – since moving to Ghost (see my discussion of Ghost and of fonts). Of course, I am not doing anything very elaborate with them, as I am staying within the reasonably simple blog structure.

Current fonts

The current combination is Whyte Inktrap from ABC Dinamo for headings (available in one of their student packs, which educators are also eligible to license) and the very smooth Sharf from Blast Foundry for body text.

Until recently, I was using Nan Holo (for headings and callouts), Nan Holo Mono (for captions), and I was rotating between Aeroplan, Nan Tragedy and Nan Serf (for body text). Several of these are from, you guessed it, the Berlin-based Nan foundry, which offers a very generous educational discount.

Font history

Here are some that have been on the site for reasonable amounts of time, and may be switched back in from time to time.

Body text

1. Sharf
2. Aeroplan
3. Messer
4. Nan Tragedy
5. Piazzolla
6. Rowan

Headings and accents

1. ABC Diatype and ABC Diatype rounded
2. Nan Holo
3. Nan Metrify
4. Phantom Sans
5. PolySans
6. Token Mono

Platform history

This blog began in 2003 on Typepad. It was eventually moved to an internal instance of WordPress at OCLC where I worked, and then to a hosted WordPress at Libchalk. It now has over 1900 entries together with associated material. With the heroic assistance of Brian Pichman of Libchalk, I moved it to Ghost in 2021. There are occasional glitches in older entries, and unfortunately we lost the comments.

Coda

I write about the font ecosystem with some example references to choices made by National Libraries here:

Font choices, value and ecosystem. National Library examples

Typefaces and fonts are functional. However they also contribute in other ways - to brand, to atmosphere, to feeling. This is a brief introduction to aspects of the typeface ecosystem. I combine this with some commentary about how typefaces are used in national libraries to provide context.

LorcanDempsey.netLorcan

Here is a rather long and ponderous review of Ghost written a while after I moved to it. I should do another, now that I have more experience.

Working with the Ghost blogging platform: a review

This site is built with Ghost and the Krabi template. I use it for blogging and as a professional home on the web. Why Ghost? Here are some initial thoughts. Ask me again in a year’s time .

LorcanDempsey.netLorcan

Updated: 7 July 2024.