We recognized that designers and typographers needed more than just a basic font catalog—they required a comprehensive tool that could enhance their font selection and customization process. Existing font directories primarily focused on collections and downloads, lacking interactive features that could aid in decision-making. To fill this gap, we developed the Fonts Directory within the Wordmark app. Our goal was to provide not only a vast collection of fonts but also a suite of tools that offer additional value, making font exploration and selection more engaging and efficient.
Role:
Design & Development
Industry:
Design
Duration:
8 Weeks
Research & Exploration
Our research began with a thorough evaluation of existing font directories to identify their limitations and areas for improvement. We conducted surveys and interviews with designers to understand their workflows, challenges, and what they desired in a font directory. Key insights included:
Interactive Previews: Users wanted to preview their own text in different fonts and styles to see real-world applications.
Styling and Customization: There was a demand for tools that allowed styling fonts and downloading them as images.
Visualization on Assets: Designers found value in visualizing fonts on various digital assets like mockups and UI screens.
Font Pairing Suggestions: Assistance with pairing fonts for headings and body text was a common request.
Comprehensive Information: Access to detailed font information, including licensing, designer credits, and compatibility, was important.
These findings guided us in designing features that would make our Fonts Directory stand out by directly addressing user needs and enhancing their experience.
Design
Discovery
Throughout the discovery phase, our aim was to do something different and valuable than other font directories available on the internet. We then started evaluating other font directories to find opportunities to serve our users better. We discovered that most directories only focus on font collections and downloads, which is fairly standard. However, we realized that we could provide additional value by offering more features and options related to fonts. This is where our fonts directory comes in.
Key features such as browse fonts, previewing your own text on fonts, styling fonts and downloading the styled image in transparent PNG, visualizing fonts on a variety of digital assets like mockups, UI screens, print material, and more, font pairing, font tester with a rich-featured editor, share and save font were prioritized to be worked on.
The timeline for this phase was around 1-2 weeks, with the aim to deliver some rough low-fidelity mockups to understand the UI requirements and to have a good starting point for high-fidelity designs.
Components
Since the font directory needs to be live on the Wordmark app, we needed to follow the existing theme for this directory. We created various reusable components as per need for this project like, preview sidebar, font cards, visualizers, font editor, glyph tables, and more.
High-fidelity designs
By following the theme of the Wordmark app, a very sharp design came into existence for the fonts directory. The main page has all the fonts listed with preview options and styling as well as options like visualize, pair font, download image, download font, buy font, and share font attached with each font card. The font details page has further specific options like font family styles, glyphs, font tester, licensing info, designer and compatibility info, and much more.
The overall design has more focus on delivering a delightful experience while exploring fonts for your next project.
Delivery
To facilitate hand-off, self-explanatory flows were created for each feature, with important notes and annotations to ensure a quick understanding of the flows simply by reviewing the design file.
Development/Implementation
We built a suite of font tools with the following capabilities:
Custom Text Viewing:
Users can input their own text and adjust styles such as color, size, and stroke to see how fonts will appear in their projects.
Font Style Exploration:
Access to all available font styles and glyphs, providing a thorough understanding of each font's capabilities.
Rich-Featured Font Tester:
An editor that allows users to test fonts with various text inputs and formatting options.
Font Pairing Options:
Suggestions and tools for pairing fonts effectively, helping users make informed design decisions.
Font Visualization:
Ability to overlay fonts on a variety of images and mockups, showcasing how fonts look in different contexts.
Detailed Font Information:
Comprehensive details on font licenses, designers, and compatibility, aiding in proper font usage and compliance.
Technical Challenges and Solutions:
Accurate Font Rendering Across Platforms:
Challenge: Ensuring fonts display consistently across different browsers and devices while maintaining quick load times.
Solution: We implemented web font optimization techniques, such as subsetting and compression, and used font loading strategies that prioritized performance without sacrificing quality.
Real-Time Customization Interface:
Challenge: Developing an interface that allows for real-time font customization and pairing without lag or delays.
Solution: Leveraged React.js for efficient state management and real-time updates. We optimized rendering processes and minimized unnecessary re-renders to maintain a smooth user experience.
Font Visualization on Various Assets:
Challenge: Allowing users to visualize fonts accurately on different types of assets, such as images and mockups.
Solution: Utilized HTML5 Canvas and SVG to render fonts over images dynamically. We ensured high fidelity in font rendering by carefully managing scaling, positioning, and styling properties.
Comprehensive Font Data Management:
Challenge: Handling a vast collection of fonts and associated metadata efficiently.
Solution: Implemented a database schema in MongoDB to store and retrieve font data quickly. Indexed key fields to improve query performance and utilized caching mechanisms where appropriate.
Tech Stack:
Frontend:
Frameworks/Libraries: Next.js, React.js
Technologies: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+), SVG, Canvas API
Backend:
Runtime Environment: Node.js
Database: MongoDB
Tools and Services:
Version Control: Git
Package Management: npm
Collaboration between the design and development teams was essential. We maintained open communication channels and held regular meetings to address any challenges promptly, ensuring that the final product met all design and functionality expectations.
Outcomes
The introduction of the Fonts Directory yielded significant positive results:
Enhanced User Engagement:
Users spent more time on the platform exploring fonts due to the interactive features.
The ability to preview and style fonts with custom text increased user satisfaction.
Positive Feedback from the Design Community:
Designers appreciated the additional tools that went beyond simple font browsing.
The font visualization and pairing features were particularly well-received.
Growth in User Base:
The unique offerings attracted new users to the Wordmark app, expanding our reach.
Word-of-mouth recommendations and positive reviews contributed to increased adoption.
Improved Workflow for Designers:
The comprehensive information and tools streamlined the font selection process.
Users could make more informed decisions without needing to switch between multiple platforms.
