Notes on usage

6px uses vector outlines, and will generally work fine regardless of scale when using vector drawing software like Adobe Illustrator.

When designing for the web or using raster software, such as Adobe Photoshop, you will need to be more careful, as the forms easily become distorted if certain variables are not considered.

Firstly, the correct corresponding size needs to be selected for accurate rendering, especially at smaller sizes. I say ‘corresponding size’

because most programs use points as a unit for type. A good method is to zoom right in and determine what point size corresponds to the natural size of six pixels. Once this is known, all larger sizes should be multiples of the minimum point size for the forms to render in the correct proportions. For example, in the title graphic above, the six-pixel text in the bottom right was set in 8pt. Hence, larger type should be set in 16pt, 32pt, 40pt,

48pt, 56pt, 64pt, etc. This becomes less critical at bigger sizes as distortion becomes less apparent, but it is probably not a bad idea to stick to multiples as a general rule of thumb.

Secondly, anti-aliasing or ‘font-smoothing’ should be turned off when setting type in 6px. Paradoxically, smoothing the edges actually decreases

its legibility, at least at small sizes. Soft edges is not what this typeface is about.