Text can be beautiful, simple, wild, engaging, exciting and a wide number of other things. It can stir emotion and helps users understand your message. Type can be a wide number of things but one thing is common – it must be readable.
I hate going to a Web site and struggling to read the text. Sometimes trying to be cute just makes the site unreadable.
I’d just be happy if Gruber would realize white text on his “dark blue slate thing” background is hard to read.
I agree, but that’s his brand. Like his assessment of Helvetica Neue in Yosemite, he’d probably say it’s “legible enough.”
Once again, classic principles for good print design are often adaptable to Web design.