Tiresias (typeface)
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Tiresias is a family of
TrueType TrueType is an Computer font#Outline fonts, outline font standardization, standard developed by Apple Inc., Apple in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe Inc., Adobe's PostScript fonts#Type 1, Type 1 fonts used in PostScript. It has become the ...
sans-serif
typeface A typeface (or font family) is a design of Letter (alphabet), letters, Numerical digit, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display. Most typefaces include variations in size (e.g., 24 point), weight (e.g., light, ...
s that were designed with the aim of legibility by people with impaired vision at the Scientific Research Unit of
Royal National Institute of Blind People RNIB (formally, the Royal National Institute of Blind People and previously the Royal National Institute for the Blind) is a British charity, founded in 1868, that serves people living with visual impairments. It is regarded as a leader in th ...
in London. The font was originally designed for the RNIB by Chris Sharville of Laker Sharville Design Associates who was working with John Gill at the time. The family includes * Tiresias Infofont – for information labels, optimized for maximum legibility at a distance of 30–100 cm. * Tiresias Keyfont – for labeling the tops of keys of keyboards, PIN pads, appliances, remote controls (features exaggerated punctuation marks, no descender on the J) * Tiresias LPfont – for large-print publications. A wedge-serif design. * Tiresias PCfont – for raster displays * Tiresias Screenfont – for television subtitling and on-screen user interfaces * Tiresias Signfont – a more open spacing for use on signs In late 2007, all Tiresias fonts except Tiresias Screenfont were released under the
GNU General Public License The GNU General Public Licenses (GNU GPL or simply GPL) are a series of widely used free software licenses, or ''copyleft'' licenses, that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, or modify the software. The GPL was the first ...
version 3 or any later version. The name likely refers to
Tiresias In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; ) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, Greece, Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes (mythology), Everes and the nymph ...
from Greek Mythology, a blind prophet of Apollo.


Tiresias Screenfont

Tiresias Screenfont was developed as new font for digital television subtitles. It was mandated for use on UK (
DVB-T DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Fe ...
) by the
Independent Television Commission The Independent Television Commission (ITC) licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom (except S4C in Wales) between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003. History The creation of ITC, by the Broadcasting Act ...
and is still one of the fonts recommended for use by
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
. However, the font has come in for criticism for the development and testing process, the lack of italics and design. The Tiresias Screenfont was sold by Bitstream Inc., who in 2012 were acquired by
Monotype Corporation Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., founded as Lanston Monotype Machine Company in 1887 in Philadelphia by Tolbert Lanston, is an American (historically Anglo-American) company that specializes in digital typesetting and typeface design for use wit ...
. The acquiring company continues to market Tiresias on its websites.


See also

*
List of typefaces This is a list of typefaces, which are separated into groups by distinct artistic differences. The list includes typefaces that have articles or that are referenced. Font superfamily, Superfamilies that fall under more than one category have an ast ...


References


External links


Debian font package
{{free and open-source typography Sans-serif typefaces Free software Unicode typefaces Typefaces and fonts introduced in 2001