Typographic Curiosities

An exploration of performance and expression with type

Jason Pamental (@jpamental) | Principal Designer @ Chewy.com
irrepressibly curious about almost everything

smashing conf NYC, 8 October 2025

Where are we going & why are there no cats?

curiosity

[ kyoor-ee-os-i-tee ]

  1. greek: periergia
  2. a strong desire to know about something
  3. an unusual and interesting thing

Performance is the first visible aspect of design*

give the browser a map & directions

* thanks Brad
1.216s
.023s
0.000s

idle curiosity

how much can I eat?

Be prepared

<link 
 rel="preconnect" 
 href="https://curious-typography-demo.netlify.app" 
/>

<link 
 rel="preload" 
 href="./assets/css/webfonts.css" 
 as="style" 
 fetchpriority="high" />

<link 
 rel="preload" 
 href="./assets/css/styles.css" 
 as="style" 
 fetchpriority="high" />

<link 
 rel="preload" 
 href="./assets/fonts/NunitoSans/NunitoSans-Varia..."
 as="font" 
 fetchpriority="high" 
 crossorigin />

<link 
 rel="prefetch" 
 href="./assets/fonts/NunitoSans/NunitoSans-Ital..."
 as="font" 
 crossorigin />

Optimizing wisely

* shorter bars are better

@font-face {
 font-family: 'Nunito Sans';
 ...
 font-display: swap;
}
@font-face {
 font-family: 'Adjusted Arial Fallback';
 src: local(Arial);
 size-adjust: 100%;
 ascent-override: normal;
 descent-override: normal;
 line-gap-override: 24%;
}

* more axes are better :)

width
width
weight
weight
x-height
x-height
https://variablefonts.io
slant
https://variablefonts.io 
<img
 src="./assets/images/leo_lounging.webp.webp"
 alt="Leo lounging around on his back"
 width="500" 
 height="439"
 fetchpriority="high" />

<img 
 src="./assets/images/henry_and_leo.jpg" 
 alt="Leo with tiny puppy Henry" 
 width="1000" 
 height="621" 
 loading="lazy" />
1.123s
.006s
0.000s

morbid curiosity

how many is too many?

Resolution revolution

how responsive can we be?

Type is the clothes our words wear

don’t stop at just getting them on the screen

Text orientation & visual friction

sometimes we need some intentional tension

Text flow, wrap, and balance

Call me Leopold. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation.

“Call me Leopold.” Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation.

Call me Leopold. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation.

Reimagining an advertising artform

“a kind of aimless, witless tendency to pry into things that didn’t concern us”

Aristotle—according to British writer Philip Ball

thank you

slides: noti.st/jpamental/3AhnW9
instagram, bluesky: @jpamental