Home / ATypI Tech Talks 2021
Date Tuesday, May 4th 2021

Variable Font Hinting in Microsoft Visual TrueType (VTT)

Michael Duggan

Variable fonts have been adopted by all major browsers and are fast entering the mainstream as the newest exciting advance for fonts on the web.

This workshop, led by hinting expert Michael Duggan, will teach the basics of setting up and hinting variable fonts in the latest version of Microsoft Visual TrueType (VTT). Attendees will learn how to use the built-in autohinter in VTT to add hinting to variable fonts and easily fine-tune the results. With a focus on how hinting can be added to variable fonts simply and efficiently, this session will illustrate how attention to detail has a significant impact on making the most legible type for the screen.

This workshop will be instructional—no laptop is required. Note-taking is advised.

Duration: 2 hours

Speaker

Michael Duggan

Michael Duggan is an Irish type designer. He is an expert in hinting both static and variable fonts using Microsoft’s Visual TrueType Tool. Duggan holds a degree in visual communications from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Before going freelance in 2019, Duggan worked at Microsoft for many years, playing a key role in the development and hinting of core fonts and new typefaces targeted for screen legibility. Duggan was the typographic technical lead on the ClearType Font Collection project and the lead program manager on the optically scaled Sitka font family designed by Matthew Carter.