Seems like Page 8 in the PDF/leaflet from the repository talks about it:
> The principle of ‘ink traps’ has existed as long as typography has: it is a small indentation at the junction of letter strokes which ‘traps’ the ink on small characters, so that it doesn't block the junction and affect the legibility. In the case of B612, the ‘light traps’ accentuate the counterforms 7, particularly for the sharp angles� The indentations are always well distinguished, even at a small size, and the contrast between the different strokes of the character is reinforced.
> An incise is a small serif which interrupts the regularity of the vertical line: here it allows to accentuate the clarity of the leading stroke (top part) of the vertical stem 8 to avoid it being rounded off when antialiasing.
Just in case anyone is wondering about the name: B612 is Saint-Exupery's "Little Prince"'s planet (asteroid). A real-life asteroid has then been named B612, but its number is actually 46610.
This seems as good a thread as any to post this in:
If you're fond of aviation aesthetics, I was recently looking for a workshop cart to occupy a 60x40 cm space and couldn't find any, until I realized that (a) standard issue half-size ATLAS airplane galley trolleys are 30x40 cm and (b) they can be bought by regular people and are very price-competitive with professional grade workshop and office furniture.
In my opinion, the newer Atkinson Hyperlegible (Next) looks easier to read long term. Maybe B612 is 'better' when you have to read just a few words on a screen, but I've switched to Hyperlegible recently for ebooks and have enjoyed it.
Designed for ease and efficiency of reading and to make letters unambiguous by "maximising the distances between forms to allow for easy, clear identification of each character" [0, p. 7]. Compare FE-Schrift [1], which is designed for number plates to make letters unambiguous in the sense of hard to convert one into another by masking or adding parts:
> Apparently, the link to Intactile DESIGN - intactile[dot]com - in the README file is now redirecting to a gambling site, probably due to Intactile going out of business?
Something I have never been able to find an explanation for with B612: why is the final sigma character (ς) vertically offset downward from every other Greek character? It makes for very jarring text, and there doesn't seem to be any explanation anywhere.
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[ 17.0 ms ] story [ 1300 ms ] thread> The principle of ‘ink traps’ has existed as long as typography has: it is a small indentation at the junction of letter strokes which ‘traps’ the ink on small characters, so that it doesn't block the junction and affect the legibility. In the case of B612, the ‘light traps’ accentuate the counterforms 7, particularly for the sharp angles� The indentations are always well distinguished, even at a small size, and the contrast between the different strokes of the character is reinforced.
> An incise is a small serif which interrupts the regularity of the vertical line: here it allows to accentuate the clarity of the leading stroke (top part) of the vertical stem 8 to avoid it being rounded off when antialiasing.
https://github.com/polarsys/b612/blob/master/docs/sample.png
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/B612+Mono
In particular, a screen of an Airbus screen and a video showing parts of the creation are provided.
If you're fond of aviation aesthetics, I was recently looking for a workshop cart to occupy a 60x40 cm space and couldn't find any, until I realized that (a) standard issue half-size ATLAS airplane galley trolleys are 30x40 cm and (b) they can be bought by regular people and are very price-competitive with professional grade workshop and office furniture.
Now I own these and they're amazing:
https://mero.ng/i/xnZNqouw.jpg
I especially like the little pull-out tables at the top (they're right next to https://eikehein.com/assets/images/makercorner.jpg).
It's also nice to have a constant reminder to stow them in case I take off or land my office.
[1] https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Atkinson+Hyperlegible+Next
https://airbus-shop.com/en/52-watches
[0] https://github.com/polarsys/b612/blob/master/docs/B612-Leafl...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FE-Schrift
Some previous discussions:
2019: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18946601
2023: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37517567
I kid …
https://github.com/polarsys/b612/issues/37
I'm not sure I'd use it for written documents, although the monospace version is a very welcome replacement for courier.