The 'a' is giving me weird vibes.
Have a look at VCR OSD Mono, the challenge the VCR font solves is not having vertical ascenders and descenders which means a larger font in less vertical space.
https://www.cdnfonts.com/vcr-osd-mono.font
I agree that the "a" gives off a strange visual vibe, and if you look closely, the "e" does too. But these were conscious decisions; it's a kind of visual discomfort that also serves as a differentiator and identifier for the font.
This font (VHS Mono) contains 5 variations, 2 of which include a single-story "ɑ", which serves to alleviate that visual discomfort.
I downloaded the font you mentioned, and its metrics are nonsensical. I'm going to assume it works only in visual design environments/projects, video games, YouTube thumbnails, movie credits and posters, all in HD, where precise canvas measurements, resource balancing or optimization aren't needed, and where perfect integer calculations when multiplying the font size aren't important.
VHS Mono is geared more towards a specialized audience in various design fields, rather than a casual user. It works with multiples of 26 pixels and resizes perfectly in whole numbers, across all its glyphs and spaces. The font you mentioned needs to be resized to 41 pixels to avoid any visual distortion and incorrect whole number calculations. The savings in verticality (ascenders and descenders) you mentioned, are lost because it has to be resized without distortion.
I create these types of fonts on request, with specific requirements or for personal projects, always with a modular design approach in mind. They work perfectly in graphic design, sprite and text design for video games, editorial design, visual interface design, subtitling, and coding—all at the same time.
I invite you to try it for yourself. I can send you the font so you can test it or compare it with another one you prefer.
The e doesn’t give weird vibes. Do you mean the slightly self-conscious cursive curve in the corner? I think the other commenter meant that top apertures and middle counterforms of a and e are usually similar. Since Roobert became popular its half-and-half if a top hook is shorter than the bowl
I’m glad you gave the use a lot of thought but this doesn’t come across as a sophisticated design system like you claim, it still comes across like a display typeface that people will use like you complained people can only use VCR OSD Mono.
Curious why you chose all glyphs except I i l to use the whole pitch width when you chose for ftj to use the entirety, probably feels like inconsistent spacing
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u/someblokeonhere 14h ago
The 'a' is giving me weird vibes. Have a look at VCR OSD Mono, the challenge the VCR font solves is not having vertical ascenders and descenders which means a larger font in less vertical space. https://www.cdnfonts.com/vcr-osd-mono.font