Hey people! I just published a little module for calculating the cap height of any font loaded with Web Font Loader. See the demo on CodePen.

How is this useful?

The web lacks exquisite typography. Of course, its state is very good with the wide use of @font-face and the quality web font distribution services and foundries. However, setting type on the web still challenging. Severalattemptsandtools have risen in order to define a proper vertical rhythm and a baseline grid.

But most of them depend on a cap height ratio, which varies for every typeface and cannot be calculated with CSS. You have to rely on design software or font metrics from the foundries to find this out. This package addresses this issue by rendering loaded fonts on a canvas to measure the actual height of the glyphs, and thus calculating the cap-height/font-size ratio. Then you could easily apply this value to any tool you like.

Read more about the subject

• Web typography is broken. Here’s how we can fix it

• Aligning type to baseline the right way using SASS

I hope it can be useful to someone!

So there is a need for more meaning? As if the tragedy itself lacks of meaning or power? I actually believe we are over-saturated with meaning, with coverage, with opinions etc.

IMHO the brandification of a tragedy not only cheapens the actual fact, but it removes some of its meaning. Now it's an image, a picture that goes viral, a logo and a slogan that can be shared so easily, or a semi-transparent flag on top of profile pictures.

It becomes a simulacrum for grief and compassion, that replaces the need for actual action and engagement. The signifier itself is worthless and cheap, as it can be shared so simply by individuals or media publishers without much thought. On the other hand, the signified has a tremendous value, as the shock, the fear, the grief, the compassion and the need for helping other people can be genuine and powerful.

But when it comes canned in the form of a logo or a slogan that needs to be consumed by the masses in order to satisfy their need to show that they care, then all the real value is lost.

And this is a design-related article because...?

Here's mine, designed one and a half years ago:

http://sebdesign.eu/sebastien-nikolaou-cv-en.pdf

Roboto Mono

Here's mine. I redesigned it last year, and I'm about to publish some new projects soon.

http://sebdesign.eu