Kuvakefontti

Kuvakefontti, also known as icon font, is a typographical technique where fonts are used to display scalable vector graphics, typically icons. Instead of using separate image files like JPG or PNG for each icon, a single font file contains all the desired icons as characters. When the font is applied to text, the characters render as the corresponding icons. This method offers several advantages, including ease of scaling without loss of quality, simpler implementation through CSS, and reduced HTTP requests as only one font file needs to be loaded.

Commonly, kuvakefontti is implemented using CSS to map specific characters or Unicode Private Use Area (PUA) characters to different icons. Developers can then use HTML elements, such as `<i>` or `<span>`, with specific classes to display the desired icon. For example, a class like `icon-home` might be associated with the character representing a house icon in the font file. This approach allows for consistent styling of icons alongside text, enabling properties like color, size, and even text shadows to be applied directly using CSS.

Popular libraries like Font Awesome, Material Icons, and IcoMoon provide extensive collections of kuvakefontti, making it easy for designers and developers to integrate a wide range of icons into their projects. The scalability of vector graphics ensures that icons look sharp on any screen resolution, from low-density displays to high-resolution Retina screens. While initially popular for its performance benefits, the rise of SVG as a preferred format for icons has led to a more balanced adoption of both technologies, with kuvakefontti still remaining a viable and efficient choice for many web and application development scenarios.