Press Release: Changing the face of the web: W3C Web Fonts Working Group and MPEG recognized with a Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award

Dear friends of W3C,

We are pleased to announce that today the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Fonts Working Group and MPEG together will receive a 2021 Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award for standardizing font technology for custom downloadable fonts and typography for web and TV devices.

Web Fonts have enhanced the way we see and read text on the web, how we communicate; and they have literally changed the typographic face of the web. This Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award for Web Fonts represents the culmination of a quarter-century of work at the Web Consortium. 

“Web Fonts heighten consumer experience and give web professionals greater aesthetic and creative choices. In many ways, though we often take fonts for granted, they act as a visual language in themselves. Fonts can be both medium and message.” stated Vladimir Levantovsky, Chair of the W3C Web Fonts Working Group.

Read more about the work of Web Fonts and see some examples at the press release (copied as text below) at: https://www.w3.org/2022/04/pressrelease-woff-emmyaward.html.en

Please feel free to contact me if you have any quesitons or would like to schedule an interview at <w3t-pr@w3.org>.

Yours sincerely,

Amy van der Hiel
W3C Media Relations Coordinator

==================

   [1]W3C For immediate release

      [1] 
https://www.w3.org/


   Changing the face of the web: W3C Web Fonts Working Group and MPEG
        recognized with a Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award
     __________________________________________________________

   [2]Translations | [3]W3C Press Release Archive
     __________________________________________________________

      [2] 
https://www.w3.org/Press/Releases-2022#woff-emmyaward

      [3] 
https://www.w3.org/Press/


   [4]global WebFont usage zero in 2011, rising to 50% by 2015 and
   80% in 2020

      [4] 
https://www.w3.org/Web_Font_Usage.png


   [5]
https://www.w3.org/
 — 25 April 2022 — Today the World Wide
   Web Consortium (W3C) Web Fonts Working Group and MPEG together
   received a 2021 Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award for
   standardizing font technology for custom downloadable fonts and
   typography for web and TV devices.

      [5] 
https://www.w3.org/


  A new face of the web

   Web Fonts have enhanced the way we see and read text on the
   web, how we communicate; and they have literally changed the
   typographic face of the web.

   The invention of the World Wide Web has often been compared, in
   its world-changing impact on society, to the invention of the
   printing press in Europe. The pieces of moveable typeface used
   by Gutenberg helped to lead to a revolution in the sharing of
   information then, and Web Fonts have changed the way we see and
   interact with information on the web now.

   Chris Lilley, co-developer of [6]Web Open Font Format (WOFF)
   and Staff Contact of the W3C Web Fonts Working Group, said: “We
   can often immediately identify, from the pointed heavy shapes
   in the text of a gothic movie poster or the sleek lines of the
   title of a futuristic sci-fi show, its genre. Web Fonts bring
   this aesthetic experience, this added visual layer of
   communication, more easily and more widely to the web. In
   addition to aesthetic experience, fonts can bring identity to
   the written word.”

      [6] 
https://www.w3.org/TR/WOFF/


  A culmination of 25 years of work

   This award for Web Fonts represents the culmination of a
   quarter-century of work at the Web Consortium. In 1996, just 2
   years after the World Wide Web Consortium was founded, Chris
   Lilley, who accepted the Emmy® award for W3C, wrote a
   [7]Rationale for Fonts on the Web, noting: “ a solution for
   Fonts on the web should be a framework, capable of supporting
   current and future technologies (based on content negotiation
   between a knowing and willing sender and recipient), and be
   implementable from publically available specifications.” A year
   later, the W3C Fonts working group released the [8]first public
   draft of Web Fonts, introducing the now-familiar @font-face CSS
   mechanism.

      [7] 
https://www.w3.org/TR/2022/NOTE-font-rationale-20220414/

      [8] 
https://www.w3.org/TR/WD-font-970721


   However, it would be decades of work in order to reach the
   point where downloadable fonts could be easily licensed and
   reliably used in any browser on laptops, mobile and TV.

   Downloadable fonts were not previously common on the web. W3C
   cleared many years of roadblocks and brought together
   communities of web developers, browser and font vendors to find
   a way forward. The new Web Fonts Working Group, established in
   2009, addressed the lack of an interoperable font format and
   font licensing through the creation in 2012 of an
   industry-supported, DRM-free, open font format for the web
   called “WOFF” (Web Open Font Format) whose [9]version 2 –a
   standard since 2018–, is deployed in all major web browsers and
   now powers the vast majority (80%) of sites.

      [9] 
https://www.w3.org/TR/WOFF2/


   “Web Fonts heighten consumer experience and give web
   professionals greater aesthetic and creative choices. In many
   ways, though we often take fonts for granted, they act as a
   visual language in themselves. Fonts can be both medium and
   message.” stated Vladimir Levantovsky, Chair of the W3C Web
   Fonts Working Group.

  Making Web Fonts on the web work for everyone

   Web Fonts enable people to use fonts on demand over the web,
   without requiring installation in the operating system. The
   technology developed by the W3C Web Fonts Working Group
   significantly improves compression efficiency and lowers
   network bandwidth. The Brotli compressor used in WOFF2 is so
   efficient that it was also adopted into HTTP, providing
   benefits to the web for HTML, CSS and Javascript files as
   well.

   At the start of the web, using “web core” font pack was the
   only option and many sites looked the same. To us today, the
   text on some older websites look a bit drab and almost funny.
   Now, thanks to WOFF, we have a wide range of open, easy to use
   fonts which make it easier for designers and creators to
   express themselves, share meaning and bring greater richness
   and creativity to the web.

   "W3C is immensely honored to be recognized with this, our third
   Emmy® Award in Technical & Engineering in seven years, for work
   by Web Fonts Working Group and MPEG of standardizing web font
   technology. We are proud that W3C was able to provide a space
   where solutions can be found and groups can together improve
   technology, artistry and expression for web users. Congrats to
   the Web Fonts Working Group for the culmination of many years
   of work and on this well deserved honor." said Jeff Jaffe, CEO
   of W3C.

   In 2016 W3C was recognized with a Technical and Engineering
   Emmy® for the Timed Text Markup Language (TTML) standard that
   helps ensure that the needs of people with disabilities,
   particularly people who are deaf or hard of hearing, are
   addressed and in 2018 W3C received a Technical and Engineering
   Emmy® for worldwide media standard enabling a Full TV
   Experience on the Web, bringing videos to the Web with HTML5.

  Try it live!

   This press release comes with four alternative styles, each
   with the section titles in a different font. If your browser
   supports alternative styles, you can select them from the View
   → Page Style menu. Otherwise, use the button below to cycle
   through them. (The fonts come from the large collection at
   [10]Google Fonts.)

     [10] 
https://fonts.google.com/


   (BUTTON) Next style

  Web Fonts for minority languages

   A typical computer does not have fonts for all scripts. E.g.,
   here is article 1 of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights
   in [11]Tai Khün, written in the [12]Tai Tham script, first
   without Web Fonts and then with. Many browsers will not display
   it without Web Fonts.

     [11] 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kh
ün_language
     [12] 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Tham_script


     ᨾᨶᩩᩔ᩼ᨴ᩠ᨦᩢᩉᩖᩣ᩠ᨿᨠᩮ᩠ᨯᩨᨾᩣᨾᩦᨻ᩠ᨦᩈᩁᩓᩢᨹ᩠ᨿ᩵ᨦᨻ᩠ᨿᨦᨠ᩠ᨶᩢ ᨶᩱᨠᩥᨲ᩠ᨲᩥᩈ᩠ᨠᩢ
     ᩓᩢᩈᩥᨴ᩠ᨵᩥ ᨲ᩵ᩣ᩠ᨦᨣᩳ᩶ᨣᩢᨾᩦᨾᨶᩮᩣᨵᨾ᩠ᨾ᩼ᩓᩢ
     ᨣ᩠ᩅᩁᨷᨭᩥᨷ᩠ᨲᩢᨲᩳ᩵ᨠ᩠ᨶᩢᨯᩢ᩠ᩅ᩠ᨿᨣ᩠ᩅᩣ᩠ᨾᨹ᩠ᨿ᩵ᨦᨻ᩠ᨿᨦᨠ᩠ᨶᩢ

     ᨾᨶᩩᩔ᩼ᨴ᩠ᨦᩢᩉᩖᩣ᩠ᨿᨠᩮ᩠ᨯᩨᨾᩣᨾᩦᨻ᩠ᨦᩈᩁᩓᩢᨹ᩠ᨿ᩵ᨦᨻ᩠ᨿᨦᨠ᩠ᨶᩢ ᨶᩱᨠᩥᨲ᩠ᨲᩥᩈ᩠ᨠᩢ
     ᩓᩢᩈᩥᨴ᩠ᨵᩥ ᨲ᩵ᩣ᩠ᨦᨣᩳ᩶ᨣᩢᨾᩦᨾᨶᩮᩣᨵᨾ᩠ᨾ᩼ᩓᩢ
     ᨣ᩠ᩅᩁᨷᨭᩥᨷ᩠ᨲᩢᨲᩳ᩵ᨠ᩠ᨶᩢᨯᩢ᩠ᩅ᩠ᨿᨣ᩠ᩅᩣ᩠ᨾᨹ᩠ᨿ᩵ᨦᨻ᩠ᨿᨦᨠ᩠ᨶᩢ

   Here is the same text in [13]Sanskrit using a script called
   [14]Grantha. Again first without Web Fonts and then with:

     [13] 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit

     [14] 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grantha_script


     𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇 𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌵𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑍍𑌵𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌰𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑌮𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌪𑌨𑍍𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌵𑌰𑍍𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍇 𑌅𑌪𑌿 𑌚,
     𑌗𑍌𑌰𑌵𑌦𑍃𑌶𑌾 𑌅𑌧𑌿𑌕𑌾𑌰𑌦𑍃𑌶𑌾 𑌚 𑌸𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌏𑌵 𑌵𑌰𑍍𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍇। 𑌏𑌤𑍇 𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇
     𑌚𑍇𑌤𑌨𑌾-𑌤𑌰𑍍𑌕-𑌶𑌕𑍍𑌤𑌿𑌭𑍍𑌯𑌾𑌂 𑌸𑍁𑌸𑌮𑍍𑌪𑌨𑍍𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑌨𑍍𑌤𑌿। 𑌅𑌪𑌿 𑌚, 𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇𑌽𑌪𑌿
     𑌬𑌨𑍍𑌧𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌵-𑌭𑌾𑌵𑌨𑌯𑌾 𑌪𑌰𑌸𑍍𑌪𑌰𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌯𑌵𑌹𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍁।

     𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇 𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌵𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑍍𑌵𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌰𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑌮𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌪𑌨𑍍𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌵𑌰𑍍𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍇 𑌅𑌪𑌿 𑌚,
     𑌗𑍌𑌰𑌵𑌦𑍃𑌶𑌾 𑌅𑌧𑌿𑌕𑌾𑌰𑌦𑍃𑌶𑌾 𑌚 𑌸𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌏𑌵 𑌵𑌰𑍍𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍇। 𑌏𑌤𑍇 𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇
     𑌚𑍇𑌤𑌨𑌾-𑌤𑌰𑍍𑌕-𑌶𑌕𑍍𑌤𑌿𑌭𑍍𑌯𑌾𑌂 𑌸𑍁𑌸𑌮𑍍𑌪𑌨𑍍𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑌨𑍍𑌤𑌿। 𑌅𑌪𑌿 𑌚, 𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇𑌽𑌪𑌿
     𑌬𑌨𑍍𑌧𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌵-𑌭𑌾𑌵𑌨𑌯𑌾 𑌪𑌰𑌸𑍍𑌪𑌰𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌯𑌵𑌹𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍁।

About the World Wide Web Consortium

   The mission of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is to lead
   the Web to its full potential by creating technical standards
   and guidelines to ensure that the Web remains open, accessible,
   and interoperable for everyone around the globe. W3C well-known
   standards HTML and CSS are the foundational technologies upon
   which websites are built. W3C works on ensuring that all
   foundational Web technologies meet the needs of civil society,
   in areas such as accessibility, internationalization, security,
   and privacy. W3C also provides the standards that undergird the
   infrastructure for modern businesses leveraging the Web, in
   areas such as entertainment, communications, digital
   publishing, and financial services. That work is created in the
   open, provided for free and under the groundbreaking W3C Patent
   Policy.

   W3C's vision for "One Web" brings together thousands of
   dedicated technologists representing more than 400 [15]Member
   organizations and dozens of industry sectors. W3C is jointly
   hosted by the [16]MIT Computer Science and Artificial
   Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the United States, the
   [17]European Research Consortium for Informatics and
   Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France, [18]Keio
   University in Japan and [19]Beihang University in China. For
   more information see [20]
https://www.w3.org/.


     [15] 
https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Member/List

     [16] 
https://www.csail.mit.edu/

     [17] 
https://www.ercim.eu/

     [18] 
https://www.keio.ac.jp/

     [19] 
https://ev.buaa.edu.cn/

     [20] 
https://www.w3.org/


   End Press Release

Media Contact

   Amy van der Hiel, W3C Media Relations Coordinator
   <[21]w3t-pr@w3.org>
  mailto:w3t-pr@w3.org

   +1.617.253.5628 (US, Eastern Time)
     __________________________________________________________

   [22]Translations | [23]W3C Press Release Archive

     [22] 
https://www.w3.org/2022#woff-emmyaward

     [23] 
https://www.w3.org/Press/

Received on Monday, 25 April 2022 12:41:24 UTC