Choose the right font, save the world?

Obviously taking an "eco" approach into design is a crucial concern these days, which is also obviously a good thing. Paper reps sit down with me each month extolling the eco-credentials and sustainability of their stocks with claims that this stock is ECF (elementally chlorine free), FSC (forest stewardship council), WMF (well managed forests), PCW (post consumer waste) and either EMAS or ISO14001 (mill certifications)... which is all well and good.

And now fonts wade into the battle with a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay decision to change their default from Arial to Century Gothic, which is not just a better aesthetic choice but saves up to 30% less ink, which costs up to US$10,000 per gallon.

Of course, we've seen the "Ecofont" before - a "swiss cheese" font that is said to reduce ink use, but the university claimed that they tested a wide range of fonts, including an unnamed but well known eco-font (nudge nudge, wink wink) and Century Gothic was more efficient.

Stay tuned next week as I share how Comic Sans has no hope of saving the world, ink usage, or your brand.