Aesthetics also provide a strong argument for web fonts. There are many beautiful and interesting fonts that can improve aesthetics and increase visual variety on the web. Just as I am sometimes stunned by beautiful book designs, I want to be overwhelmed by beautiful web pages. And, I don’t want those beautiful pages to be made up of background images.

Håkon Wium Lie has written another call for more attention to be paid to typography on the web. I’m in complete agreement; being limited to only a small handful of ‘safe’ fonts was okay for a while, as it made people think about the best way to present those fonts; it’s fast becoming a limitation, however – when we’re using images and Flash to get around the problem, it’s way past time to address it.

The two main arguments raised in the article against font embedding – rights restrictions and aesthetics – both have the same solution: responsibility. As a website maker, it will be up to you to use fonts that you have the right to use, and to use them in a way that doesn’t look like an explosion at a print factory. Legibility must still be the first rule of web typography.

All signs indicate Opera 9.5 will be the first browser to allow font embedding using the @font-face declaration; if so, it’s another good reason why there’s so much anticipation of its release.