The font you like, and all caps or not, and why


GeneDavis
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I have always used Caps for my plans with the exception of some notes that I provide.  I have never been able to get used to Chief Blueprint font coming from AutoCAD so I have been using Graphite Standard or Architext as they look the best.  For the most part Graphite Std. looks the best in my plans

gen notes_opt.pdf

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Worthy comments.  Thanks.

 

As can be seen in the screencaps, Chief Blueprint is quite compact when going lower-case, which I like in plans.  Compact seems good to me.

 

The other font shown there is My Hand 2, a free one, which for its lower-case just has shorter capital lettering.  It might be a nice alternative for someone using caps with lowercase.  You can see from the highlighted text lines that Chief Blueprint needs a deeper text box even if doing all uppercase, because its lowercase letters include font descenders for letters like j and y.  My Hand 2 will stack more compactly.2019-11-11_1206.thumb.png.ccab50b06dd3d53acecef5b6a7c3cdb1.png

2019-11-11_1206_001.png

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Sorry chief but I really dislike your font. The weird bubbly and squigly arms, the narrow bowls, the squigly cross stroke,  the loops at apex and vertex, the narrow stem to thick bowl at the foot...all looks very cartoonish...also, a bad habit of mine is recognizing CA font and then for some reason picking apart their work...I'm usually for lifting the community up, I have no idea why I get competitive when seeing this font in plan sets. Personal gripe on my own temperament :)

 

Graphite Standard was an old favorite I have since left behind

 

Technical is nice but a little too lightweight on ANSI B..moe suitable on ANSI/ARCH D

 

Blueprintdbt is a standard with multiple drafters I collaborate with, it is very very similar to CA's font but slightly less cartoonish...believe it was created by one of our very own users way back...Dan something.

 

Architects Daughter is fun as well as Damned Architect

 

I personally like to stay away from hand drawn looking fonts. I know their is an argument to be made in favor for. Great for small business, that homey feel, personal connection for clients and builders...but their is something so impressive looking about a plan-set drafted with a sans-serif font like Eurostile...I also find it easier to read....look at this way over exposed scan of a plan done with Century Gothic:

1516406436_219-03-06-R2-LAURELDR_Redacted-3.thumb.png.b5281caa866a90b35f453ec47b97260d.png

Overexposed, compressed ANSI D yet still totally legible

 

You'd be hard pressed to find a top tier commercial architecture firm around here that uses any kind of hand lettering font. It's considered unprofessional. Very few people hand drafting anymore, why are we faking it...if my work represents me I don't want any smoke and mirrors...I can't letter for crap, I've got two left hands so-to-speak...why would I try and convince you otherwise, haha.

anywho...my two cents :)

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2 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

Look at this way over exposed scan of a plan done with Century Gothic:

1516406436_219-03-06-R2-LAURELDR_Redacted-3.thumb.png.b5281caa866a90b35f453ec47b97260d.png

Overexposed, compressed ANSI D yet still totally legible


Yep,  Looks really nice.  I personally use the ole Arial font still.  I just feel like it looks nice.  And I only use all caps on select text boxes.  Mostly I use standard case conventions.  I feel like the only real reason for all caps in the first place was to make hand lettering easier and more consistent.  Using lower case when appropriate takes up a lot less space and makes things far more readable IMO.  It’s more correct too.  There are certain things that can only properly be communicated when using the appropriate case.  

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I used to use MyHand2. I have gone to Arial. The architectural hand drawing font was a nice ode to when I was hand drawing but that ship has sailed. I want the clearest font possible so I use Arial and in all caps. If my specification call out appears to be that I am screaming, I am. Dogs, kids, carpenters, I yell at anyone that will appear to take me seriously.

 

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I'm with the Arial gang for the most part.  Still use CB for a few things but not much.  For tables I generally use "Courier New" just because it's one of the few "Fixed Length" Fonts available and it seems to be the cleanest.  Here's a list of some other "Fixed Fonts"

  • Consolas
  • DejaVu Sans Mono
  • Letter Gothic Std
  • New Sans Mono
  • Orator Std

 

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I've been in love with the "Frank the Architect" Font for about a year now. Before that I used Graphite Light. Never cared for Chief Blueprint. When I was using Chief Blueprint I was told once by a builder that my fonts made my prints look "unprofessional" so I switched to Graphite Light. That builder turned out to be an a$$ anyway so why I let that get to me I'll never know. Lol. I understand if you're using bubble letters or something else cartoonish how that could make a print look "unprofessional", but not CB?! 

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23 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

I personally like to stay away from hand drawn looking fonts. I know their is an argument to be made in favor for. Great for small business, that homey feel, personal connection for clients and builders...

 

23 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

You'd be hard pressed to find a top tier commercial architecture firm around here that uses any kind of hand lettering font. It's considered unprofessional. Very few people hand drafting anymore, why are we faking it...

 

21 hours ago, Alaskan_Son said:

And I only use all caps on select text boxes.  Mostly I use standard case conventions.  I feel like the only real reason for all caps in the first place was to make hand lettering easier and more consistent.  Using lower case when appropriate takes up a lot less space and makes things far more readable IMO.  It’s more correct too.  There are certain things that can only properly be communicated when using the appropriate case.  

 

20 hours ago, Gawdzira said:

The architectural hand drawing font was a nice ode to when I was hand drawing but that ship has sailed.

 

I agree with these guys. I used to use Chief Blueprint, etc. but opted out for cleaner looking and more condensed fonts. I was having trouble with too much congestion in my plans, especially with dimensions. Here is my current thinking:

 

Font Selection Criteria:
1. No hand-drawn looking fonts. (Out of date. Not hand-lettering anymore. Not for commercial. Not good for modern designs.)
2. No all caps fonts. (Out of date. Not hand-lettering anymore. Looks like you are shouting due to texting conventions. Uses more space.)
3. Best legibility for smallest width in lower case, upper case and all caps. (Use line spacing to compact vertically.)
4. Dark enough when not bolded and bolded. Distinguishable between the two.
5. Must be available and look good/compatible in word processor, spreadsheets and CA.

 

I Use:
1st:    Myriad Pro/Myriad Pro Condensed (5" dimensions and labels, 3" small notes, 6" & 8" large notes and labels.)
2nd:  Arial/Arial Narrow (4 ½" dimensions and labels, 3" small notes, 6" & 8" large notes and labels.)

 

image.thumb.png.6ea55fd55ce58d72d51bee4c550b08c2.png

 

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1. ALL CAPS ALWAYS.

2. NEVER HANDWRITTEN LOOKING FONTS (MINIMIZE POTENTIAL CONFUSION ON THE JOB SITE)

3. 3/32" TALL ON LAYOUT PAGE (4.5" ON 1/4" SCALE) SOMETIMES 4 IF NEEDED.

4. SF PRO AND SIMILAR APPLE DISPLAY TYPE FONT PRINT EXTREMELY CLEAR AT SMALL SIZE.  i EVEN LIKE THE OLD SIMPLEX8

2019-11-12 16_38_23-Window.png

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