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2 | 2 |
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3 | 3 | The compiler embeds supported fonts — just write `font-family` in CSS. |
4 | 4 |
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5 | | -## Banned fonts |
| 5 | +## Banned |
6 | 6 |
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7 | | -These are the fonts every LLM reaches for. They produce monoculture across compositions even when nothing else about the compositions is similar: |
| 7 | +Training-data defaults that every LLM reaches for. These produce monoculture across compositions. |
8 | 8 |
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9 | 9 | Inter, Roboto, Open Sans, Noto Sans, Arimo, Lato, Source Sans, PT Sans, Nunito, Poppins, Outfit, Sora, Playfair Display, Cormorant Garamond, Bodoni Moda, EB Garamond, Cinzel, Prata, Syne |
10 | 10 |
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11 | | -**Syne in particular** is the most overused "distinctive" display font. When you see it, it reads as AI-generated before anything else about the composition registers. |
| 11 | +**Syne in particular** is the most overused "distinctive" display font. It is an instant AI design tell. |
12 | 12 |
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13 | | -If a brand's actual identity uses one of these fonts, that's a different situation — use the brand's font. The ban applies to the default-reach, not to the cases where the font is genuinely the right choice. |
| 13 | +## Guardrails |
14 | 14 |
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15 | | -## Defaults to watch for |
| 15 | +You know these rules but you violate them. Stop. |
16 | 16 |
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17 | | -These are the patterns that produce same-looking compositions even when the brands are different: |
| 17 | +- **Don't pair two sans-serifs.** You do this constantly — one for headlines, one for body. Cross the boundary: serif + sans, or sans + mono. |
| 18 | +- **One expressive font per scene.** You pick two interesting fonts trying to make it "better." One performs, one recedes. |
| 19 | +- **Weight contrast must be extreme.** You default to 400 vs 700. Video needs 300 vs 900. The difference must be visible in motion at a glance. |
| 20 | +- **Video sizes, not web sizes.** Body: 20px minimum. Headlines: 60px+. Data labels: 16px. You will try to use 14px. Don't. |
18 | 21 |
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19 | | -- **Two sans-serifs paired together** — one for headlines, one for body. The pairing has no tension because both fonts come from the same family of forms. Cross the boundary: serif + sans, or sans + mono. The pairing should embody some contradiction in the content. |
20 | | -- **Two expressive fonts in one scene** — one will perform and the other will recede no matter what you do. Pick which font is doing the work and let the other be quiet. |
21 | | -- **Weight contrast at 400 vs 700** — fine for web, invisible at video distance. Video needs more dramatic contrast: 300 vs 900, or 200 vs 800. The weight difference should be readable in motion at a glance. |
22 | | -- **Web type sizes** — body text at 14–16px disappears on a 1920×1080 frame. Video minimums: body 20px+, headlines 60px+, data labels 16px+. If a font-size is under 20px in a composition, there should be a specific reason. |
| 22 | +## What You Don't Do Without Being Told |
23 | 23 |
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24 | | -## Principles |
25 | | - |
26 | | -What follows isn't a checklist — these are principles for thinking about type in video specifically: |
27 | | - |
28 | | -- **Tension should mean something.** When two fonts are paired, the pairing should embody some contradiction the content itself contains — mechanical vs human, public vs private, institutional vs personal. If you can't articulate the tension, the pairing is arbitrary and reads as such. |
29 | | -- **Register switching.** Different fonts can carry different communicative modes — one voice for statements, another for data, another for attribution. This isn't hierarchy on a page; it's voices in a conversation. Each font is saying something different _about_ the content it carries. |
30 | | -- **Tension can live inside a single font.** A font that looks familiar but is secretly strange creates tension with the viewer's expectations — no second font required. Some of the strongest type-driven compositions use one font confidently. |
31 | | -- **One variable changed = dramatic contrast.** Same letterforms, monospaced vs proportional. Same family at different optical sizes. Changing only rhythm while everything else stays constant produces contrast without complexity. |
32 | | -- **Double personality works when fonts share attitude.** Two expressive fonts can coexist if they share an underlying attitude (both irreverent, both precise, both eccentric) even when their visible forms are completely different. |
33 | | -- **Time is hierarchy.** The first element to appear is the most important. In video, sequence replaces position — what would be top-of-page on the web is first-to-enter on screen. |
34 | | -- **Motion is typography.** How a word enters carries as much meaning as the font it's set in. A 0.1s slam and a 2s fade say completely different things with the same letters. |
35 | | -- **Fixed reading time.** Three seconds on screen means the line has to be readable in two. That forces fewer words and larger type than web type-setting habits assume. |
36 | | -- **Tracking tighter than web.** Display sizes in video want `-0.03em` to `-0.05em` of letter-spacing. Video encoding compresses fine letter detail, and tighter tracking compensates. |
| 24 | +- **Tension should mean something.** Don't pattern-match pairings. Ask WHY these two fonts disagree. The pairing should embody the content's contradiction — mechanical vs human, public vs private, institutional vs personal. If you can't articulate the tension, it's arbitrary. |
| 25 | +- **Register switching.** Assign different fonts to different communicative modes — one voice for statements, another for data, another for attribution. Not hierarchy on a page. Voices in a conversation. |
| 26 | +- **Tension can live inside a single font.** A font that looks familiar but is secretly strange creates tension with the viewer's expectations, not with another font. |
| 27 | +- **One variable changed = dramatic contrast.** Same letterforms, monospaced vs proportional. Same family at different optical sizes. Changing only rhythm while everything else stays constant. |
| 28 | +- **Double personality works.** Two expressive fonts can coexist if they share an attitude (both irreverent, both precise) even when their forms are completely different. |
| 29 | +- **Time is hierarchy.** The first element to appear is the most important. In video, sequence replaces position. |
| 30 | +- **Motion is typography.** How a word enters carries as much meaning as the font. A 0.1s slam vs a 2s fade — same font, completely different message. |
| 31 | +- **Fixed reading time.** 3 seconds on screen = must be readable in 2. Fewer words, larger type. |
| 32 | +- **Tracking tighter than web.** -0.03em to -0.05em on display sizes. Video encoding compresses letter detail. |
37 | 33 |
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38 | 34 | ## Finding Fonts |
39 | 35 |
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