Your feedback from within the app and on Twitter tells us there’s room for improvement. So most of this week’s changes focus on just that – making stuff clearer and less cumbersome or fussy.
Getting started
To make using Typecast easier for new and upcoming users, we recently created a What You Need to Know slide deck. It only takes a minute to go through and sets out how Typecast works. It also explains those behaviours that differ from the drawing and coding tools you use.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The slides launch when new users log in for the first time. But if you’ve had an account for a while, you can open it with the link at the top right of your dashboard.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The slides also appear on our new Getting Started page. This page is mainly for the benefit of upcoming users who are waiting to join our beta, but if you already have your account, feel free to take a look too! You’ll find designers explaining why they chose certain typefaces for their sample projects as well as some FAQs.
Columns renamed
Within the app, we’ve made a minor but important change by renaming columns. Remember Inigo Montoya in the 80s classic The Princess Bride? “I do not think it means what you think it means.” It was a bit like that.
We realised that the term ‘column’ made most of you expect them to behave like the columns in Quark and InDesign do. So they’re now called ‘containers’ to better reflect how they actually work – like divs. This will hopefully help them make a bit more sense to everyone.
Our blog
As you’ve been reading this, you might have noticed our blog looks different. In honour of spring, we’ve freshened up its look and feel and hopefully made it a bit easier for you to browse. Gone is the string of full-length articles back-to-back.
We’ve also changed the design of the sidebar to highlight our best articles (not just latest ones) more clearly and give you more details about the additional resources we’re recommending. You’ll also find a new ‘Recommended Viewing’ section with videos by industry experts on design and typography. First up are talks from this year’s Build conference by Tim Brown, Wilson Miner and Jason Santa Maria.
Footer changes
Finally, we’ve updated the site’s footer – moving some items around, adding gallery thumbnails and getting rid of some repetition.
That’s all for this week.
Make sure to check in next week for a preview of what we’ll be working on in April!