From the course: Backgrounder: A History of Web Typography

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Font customization and website performance

Font customization and website performance

From the course: Backgrounder: A History of Web Typography

Font customization and website performance

(upbeat music) - [Instructor] So we're done here, right? We have custom web fonts and all is well with the world? Not quite. To understand where web fonts are today, we need to take one more detour back into history, way, way back into history. (dramatic music) Ever wondered why capitalized letters are called uppercase, and lowercase letters are called lowercase? Way back in the days of movable type and the printing press, typesetters would meticulously add each glyph to be printed to a tray and set the text of a page. At the desk, the typesetter would have the font, large wooden cases with small compartments containing movable type, little metal pieces, one for each glyph or symbol. The frequently used lowercase letters sat in the lower case within easy reach, while the lesser-used capitalized letters would be in the upper case. Each font had multiple sizes, and each size had one or more font weights, how thick or…

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