> ignore the fonts already loaded on your computer and the free fonts that inundate the internet. Instead, buy a professional font
Don't agree with this at all. There are many great free fonts. Cascadia Code, Ubuntu Sans, IBM Plex, Fira Mono, etc. are great enough fonts that are free.
Judging from the author's other assertions, this suggestion probably comes from a place of not limiting yourself to system fonts given that they're so prevalent. I can't say I agree either, and would add that some of the "free fonts that inundate the internet" are professionally designed by well-respected foundries.
That said, perhaps we should view these "rules" as laying a foundation for people who know nothing. I see the equivalent in fashion all the time, where breaking the standard set of fashion "rules" without knowing them in the first place can lead to disaster. Only by internalizing the rules can you then subvert them successfully.
> "That said, perhaps we should view these "rules" as laying a foundation for people who know nothing."
Well, I am one of those people. I have never earned a dime as a graphic designer. Never even completed a MOOC or a regular course in this subject.
But I do take presentation seriously, and meddle in fonts, colors, design, etc., and have designed friends' wedding invitations, greetings cards, and so on. I also took typography seriously when turning in college assignments, my Master’s thesis, etc.
Even to a sub-rookie like myself, I simply don't agree with that point. And when two of ten minutes go to a point that I simply find wrong, I think it should be pointed out loud and clear, and it reduces the value of the list significantly.
Yeah IIRC he has a page elsewhere listing system fonts and proposing alternatives, including several free fonts. I'm pretty sure the reason is just that free fonts tend not to be "full featured." His typographic style is based on classic printing, so it really depends on the font having features like small caps, tabular, lining, & proportional number options, etc.
> never choose Times New Roman or Arial, as those fonts are favored only by the apathetic and sloppy.
Its a pity the author doesn't explain why.
For some reason times new roman looks very good printed but is not very well readable on screens. Personally I don't like Arial much. A big no no is the capital i being indistinguishable from the l of lima.
> Fame has a dark side. When Times New Roman appears in a book, document, or advertisement, it connotes apathy. It says, “I submitted to the font of least resistance.” Times New Roman is not a font choice so much as the absence of a font choice, like the blackness of deep space is not a color. To look at Times New Roman is to gaze into the void.
Don't agree with this at all. There are many great free fonts. Cascadia Code, Ubuntu Sans, IBM Plex, Fira Mono, etc. are great enough fonts that are free.