How did they get the font to work on the Adobe MAX website?

[Think Seed]

I just went to the Adobe MAX website, max.adobe.com, and saw a headline with an interesting sans serif font:

Adobe MAX 2010
October 23-27, Los Angeles, CA.

I just checked the page source and that line is coded like this:

<h1 id="header">Adobe MAX 2010<br>October 23-27, Los Angeles, CA</h1>

I then followed the css file to find this:

h1#header {
  font-family: Arial;
  color: #242424;
  font-size: 21pt;
  padding: 0 0 0 0;
  margin-top: 0px;
  margin-bottom: 12px;
}

Am I reading this correctly? I know the font on that page is not Arial.

How did they get that non-arial sans serif font to look the way it does?

Thanks!

[Thomas Phinney]

I believe the typeface is the light (or extra light?) weight of Adobe Clean, their new UI/branding typeface.

As for how it's done, I think this is a strong clue:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/styles/sifr.css?005" type="text/css" media="screen" />

That would strongly suggest they used sIFR.

http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/sifr

Now, although sIFR is a very clever hack, it is a bit of a hack, that allows use of Flash text as if it were HTML text. It works, but not so well for body text, and it has some issues. Even the inventor of sIFR himself is on the record as saying that the new developments in @font-face support in browsers have made sIFR pretty well obsolete. "It’s almost time to walk sIFR peacefully into the sunset." (Dec. 15, 2009)

There are licensing complications for any solution one might like to use, whether sIFR or @font-face, by the way. That has led to font hosting services based on @font-face technology, such as our own WebINK from Extensis. (http://www.webink.com)

Cheers,

T

Thomas Phinney

Sr Product Mgr, Fonts & Typography

Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc.

[Think Seed]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply!

I had been reading about @font-face and suspected it was at work on the site. Since I couldn't find any reference to it, I was confused. I had heard about sIFR (and another technology hack) and pretty much avoided it, mainly for the licensing issues.

It's nice to see that Extensis is offering a solution as well. I do, however, struggle with the concept of a subscription based service. I understand the trend these days is to get people to subscribe for the potential to make more money, but I've been a designer for 20 years and the thought of subscribing to a font sounds so limiting. I sometimes put a website up and forget about it. At times I don't even update my portfolio site for 4 years at a time. And that's just one website I'm managing out of many. I could see what I'm paying for a font ballooning out of proportion if I'm not paying attention. If I have to now start scheduling and renewing fonts, it just adds a level of complexity I'm not used to and frankly choose to avoid. Don't even get me started on trying to justify to a client why they need to subscribe to a font and having to explain and then pass on that headache.

I may even sit out @font-face as well. It seems to be the most graceful solution to date, but it's the licensing that's holding me back.

I will, however, keep your site in mind. I am intrigued by the service and will wait to see how the market plays out and to see if it's right for me or any of my clients.

Thanks again for the assist!