quicksand ampersand

[garethb30904673]

We have a brand that uses quicksand, from the days before adobe fonts. Now, we want everyone to use the adobe fonts version of quicksand for consistency, but the ampersand is a completely different shape - and there isn't the one we want in glyphs. The ampersand features prominently in most of the work, so what are we to do?

Not sure that i'm going to get a helpful answer, but maybe I can request that when you look to add font families to the site, they at least contain the same elements as the originals!

thanks

[Dov Isaacs]

Moving to the Adobe Fonts community. This is not a general Type & Typography issue.

[Dov Isaacs · Accepted solution]

I did some investigation. The Quicksand family of fonts are sourced from Google Fonts from which you can also download the same fonts https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Quicksand?query=Quick .

The glyphs in the Quicksand fonts downloaded from Google Fonts are exactly the same as the glyphs in the Quicksand fonts available in Adobe Fonts! And that includes the ampersand characters.

Where did you obtain your original Quicksamd font(s) from? Since Quicksand is a “open source” font, you can get the “source” of the font at https://github.com/andrew-paglinawan/QuicksandFamily 

Interestingly enough, reading the description of the font at https://github.com/andrew-paglinawan/QuicksandFamily the history of the font shows the following:

Quicksand is a sans serif typeface designed by Andrew Paglinawan in 2008 using geometric shapes as it's core foundation. It is designed for display purposes but legible enough to use in small sizes as well. Quicksand Family is available in three styles which is Light, Regular and Bold including true italics for each weight.

ChangeLog 2013 October 21 (Andrew Paglinawan) Version 2.0

• Completely re-drawn from scratch
• Increased x-Height from 500 to 515 for better legibility
• Normalized weights
• Refined letterforms
• Improved kerning
• Improved spacing
• Replaced the Ampersand with something less flashy
• Added true italics for each weight
• Added Unicase
• Added Language support for Western, Central, South Eastern European and Afrikaans

2008 October 12 (Andrew Paglinawan) Version 1.0

• First public release

Apparently, the font had major changes made to it seven years ago, going from version 1 to version 2. One of the major changes was in fact to the ampersand character to make it look “less flashy.” We now know the source of the problem. Regrettably, the version 1 of the font is not available from Adobe Fonts, Google Fonts, the Git repository ,or even from the designer's own website at https://andrewpaglinawan.com/typeface-design/quicksand-pro/.

Perhaps you can contact the font's designer at his own website per above and convince him to make a version of the font for you (expect to pay for that service) that restores the old ampersand design. Otherwise, you will simply need to use the very old version you are/were using.

Sorry but there is nothing that Adobe can do to assist you here nor was the change in the ampersand character done by or chosen by Adobe.

[garethb30904673]

Thanks for digging this deep, and finding the answer << Replaced the Ampersand with something less flashy >>.

Interstingly if you google quicksand, a whole lot of stuff comes up showing the "flashy" ampersand and i'd imagine plenty of people have activated the font from yourselves and expected to be able to use it.

I'm interested in your suggestion << Perhaps you can contact the font's designer at his own website per above and convince him to make a version of the font for you (expect to pay for that service) that restores the old ampersand design. >>  Not sure i want a version just for me/us, because we often have external people working on our stuff and not sure I want to muddy the water further by having yet another iteration of the font floating around.

Hypothetically - if I contacted the original designer and he agreed to just "make the original ampersand available" is there a scenario where adobe could just add it to the available glyphs, or would there be an insurmountable mass of legal/contractual/technical/financial stuff preventing that?

thanks!

[garethb30904673]

anything to add? or is that it for my query!

thanks!

[Dov Isaacs]

Regrettably, that is all that Adobe can do to assist you. We are only authorized to make available the “current” publicly available version of that font.

Even more regrettable was that in going from version 1 to version 2 of the font, the original designer didn't use standard OpenType features to make the “flashy ampersand” an alternate to the “regular ampersand” or vice versa. But at this point, that is water under the bridge.

[UncommonSenseTX]

Thank you, Sir!

You disrupt (to use one of their buzzwords) the status quo of tech companies customer Service. 

Your humanity, ACTUAL HUMAN BEING(ness), with your staggering credentials, sharing your wisdom and knowledge with we, the unclean, oft'confused Customers—there are not many like you, sir.