Add Elstob font family

[psb1558]

This is a variable font in roman and italic, covering all European languages using Latin script but aimed particularly at medieval scholars. It is based on one of the "Fell" typefaces used by the Oxford University Press in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, specifically the Double Pica cut by the Dutch designer Peter De Walpergen.

The aim of this project has been to create a practical, legible typeface that will display well on screen or in print, with a curated selection of medieval characters (not the vast MUFI set, for which users can go to my Junicode font, but generally useful characters with Unicode code-points). Also OpenType features providing conveniences (e.g. automated transliterations) for medievalists.

The font has three axes: Weight, Optical Size, and Grade.

I have read the guidance for contributors and believe I am in compliance. At this point the font passes all fontbakery tests except for two: the dropout control test (this is because I hinted with VTT, which obfuscates the prep code by doing 100+ pushes at the top of the program--but dropout control is properly set), and the requirement that the default Optical Size be zero. I am willing to adjust the Optical Size scale, but thought it best first to have a discussion of why fontbakery's requirement is so at odds with (the published OpenType spec).

I have been involved in type design for a long time, but I am amateur and self-taught, and therefore happy to address any design or QA issues that come up. The repository is here, and a specimen page with the obligatory sliders is here.

[psb1558]

I have set this font to work at my pedagogical site, Old English Aerobics. I think it looks pretty good (but then I would, wouldn't I?).

[psb1558]

Well, I think I'm going to retire this issue, as it seems to be going nowhere.

[davelab6]

@psb1558 I apologies that things move slowly around here. With Font Bakery (which I see you are already using well) then things can move faster, but the crisis has put everything in slow motion. I'll see about prioritizing this request, as we have a few families with optical size axes and I'd love to include this in that set :)

[psb1558]

I figured ya'll were nearly out of business--as many of us are. I've done one or two things that probably broke Font Bakery, but they can be put back. Again, though, I'd say that I have questions about FB's recommendation re: the scale for Optical Size, which appears to me not to match the spec, which says "Values must be strictly greater than zero" and recommends a "Regular" value "in the range 9 to 13." FB says the default value should be zero.

[davelab6]

That is definitely a bug in fontbakery, then. I see https://github.com/googlefonts/fontbakery/blob/7e5988af0e152026c79a4779b7d745d23177d2ac/Lib/fontbakery/profiles/googlefonts.py#L4362-L4389 but this simply says GF isn't yet ready for opsz axes (which is currently true, but soon to change.)

[psb1558]

Interesting. opsz seems to be working work well in Chrome (for Mac--I haven't tested in Chrome for Windows lately), so maybe it's time.

[davelab6]

@psb1558 this has blocked by resolution of how we want to handle the opsz axis and STAT table, which was finalized just last week :) More soon

[psb1558]

Thanks for the update. Better to get things right than to rush them.

[psb1558]

Once again I'm closing this. It's been a long time, and the project is going in a different direction.

[vv-monsalve]

Hi @psb1558 I apologize for the extended time this has taken. A lot has changed on our end, but I think I could work on Elstob project in Q3.

and the project is going in a different direction.

Will the project no longer be of Libre distribution? Do you confirm you no longer want to publish the font?

[psb1558]

It will always be Libre. The problem is more that I've carried on the project without any particular regard to GF's requirements (for me, Elstob is a place for testing and experimenting), and so it has, I suspect, drifted pretty far from what GF would want. And then, I don't see it as at all competitive with the kind of commissioned/professionally produced fonts that are increasingly prominent on the site.

The font has its own small user base, which is good enough for me. Let it go.

[davelab6]

Since the design is good, beyond its intended medievalist audience for a wider general audience, has several VF axes, and available under OFL, I propose that GF folks will pick this up again, and work in the gf fork of your repo I just made to make the changes needed for GF with a clear commit history. Then if you want to PR it and integrate these changes, you can do, otherwise, we will proceed :)

[psb1558]

I withdrew the font because I had gotten into the way of thinking that it wasn't as good as I thought at first, but if you like it I am happy for you to go ahead. I suspect that I have little role in the process as it moves forward, but if you need anything from me, just let me know.