Principles of Principles of TypographyTypography

FontsFonts• Different fonts

send a different message to the reader:– Sans serif– Serif– Script– Decorative–

Sans-serif FontsSans-serif Fonts

• Easy to read, especially online

• Modern and clean• Good for websites or

other online formats• Good for headings in

printed texts• Examples include:

– Arial– Comic Sans MS– Century Gothic– News Gothic MT

Serif FontsSerif Fonts

• Easier to read in print• More old-fashioned or

traditional• Best for the body text

in print documents• Examples include:

– Times New Roman– Book Antiqua– Courier New– Garamond

Script FontsScript Fonts• Hard to read - use

sparingly!• Traditional and

flowery – often used on wedding invitations or menus

• Examples include:– French Script MT– Pristina– Lucida Calligraphy

Decorative Fonts (also Decorative Fonts (also Display)Display)

• Hard to read – use sparingly

• Good for headings• Create a fun, funky

mood• Examples include:

– BeesKnees – Curlz MT– Harlow Solid Italic– Jokerman

Grunge FontsGrunge Fonts• Deteriorated fonts• Designed to

appear “beaten up” with parts of the characters missing or misshapen

Dingbat FontsDingbat Fonts• Symbol sets in

fonts• Often used for

bullets or for accents

• Examples include:– Wingdings– Webdings

Type CheckupType Checkup• Which is serif and which is sans

serif?

Serifs

Type CheckupType Checkup• Which is script and which is decorative?

Text TermsText Terms

• Kerning– The distance between letters– a.k.a Tracking

Text TermsText Terms• Leading

– The Distance between lines– Named for the lead used to separate lines of type in

early printing presses.

This is my first Line of Text

This is my Second

A thirdAnd Finally a fourthAnother?

Text TermsText Terms• Text Styles• Some common styles that can be applied to text:

Bold

Italic

Underlined

Shadow

EmbossedEmbossed

Text TermsText Terms

• Font Size– Measured in points– 72 points = 1’’

12-Point

24-Point36-Point

48-Point

DisplayAscender

Descender

Text TermsText Terms• Alignment

Left Aligned

Right Aligned

Center Aligned

Justified words in a paragraph are shown in these two short sentences. See how they

line up at the left and right?

Text TermsText Terms• Reverse text• Common style used

because white on a dark background is quite striking

• Adds impact and emphasis to words

Mixing FontsMixing Fonts• If you want to use

more than one font in a document, make sure they come from two different font families

• In the improved business card, a sans-serif font is combined with a serif-font for better contrast

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Rupert BuchananWidget Enterprises

1569 Stone RoadToulouse, PQ(800) 325-2532

Type contrasts Type contrasts • There are six different ways of

contrasting fonts:– Size– Weight– Structure– Direction– Color

Type contrast - sizeType contrast - size• You can contrast

any two fonts by making them two different sizes, but make them very different

• i.e. 12 pt. versus 14 pt. isn’t enough

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SchnobblecasterI N C O R P O R A T E D

Type contrast - weightType contrast - weight• You can also achieve

contrast by varying the thickness of type strokes

• i.e. regular, bold, extra bold, and light

• This can be an effective way of organizing information (i.e. use it for headers)

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Carmichael Foods

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Type contrast - structureType contrast - structure• Make sure you pick fonts from two

different families with different structures

• i.e. one serif and one sans serif, one decorative and one sans serif, etc.

• For printed documents, the body text is normally a serif, while the headings are usually sans serif.

Structure - continuedStructure - continued• The examples on

this page look bad because they each combine two fonts from the same family

Some of thisAnd some of that

Some of thisAnd some of that

Some of thisAnd some of that

Some of thisAnd some of that

Structure - continuedStructure - continued• By switching the

fonts around, we can get some decent looking examples of type contrast

Some of this

And some of that

Some of this

And some of that

Some of this

And some of that

Some of this

And some of that

Type contrast - DirectionType contrast - Direction• You can create some

interesting effects by varying horizontal and vertical lines of type

• You should have a good reason for doing this, though. In general, don’t make people read stuff sideways or on an angle.

Experienceteaches

you to

recognize

a mistake—

when

you’ve

made it

again.

Type contrast - colorType contrast - color• Warm colors tend to

come forward and command attention

• Cool colors tend to recede from our eyes

• You need more of a cool color to create effective contrast than you would need of a warm color

CunninghamState College

CunninghamState College

Type contrast – black & Type contrast – black & whitewhite

• Varying the typeface you use can add “color” to a page, even if it’s still black.

• Differences in the weight, structure, space inside letters, space between letters, size of type, and so on can create “color” contrast.

TypographyIf you add some color to your heads and subheads with a stronger weight, or perhaps set a quote, passage or short story in an obviously different ‘color,’ then readers are more likely to stop on the page and actually read it. If you add some color to your heads and subheads with a stronger weight, or perhaps set a quote, passage or short story in an obviously different ‘color,’ then readers are more likely to stop on the page and actually read it.

Type contrast – black & Type contrast – black & whitewhite

• Each font has a different density, so some look darker than others.

• Each of these examples is in Arial, but each has a different “color” or shade of grey.

• Differences in the weight, structure, space inside letters, space between letters, size of type, also create “color” contrast.

If you add some color to your heads and subheads with a stronger weight, or perhaps set a quote, passage or short story in an obviously different ‘color,’ then readers are more likely to stop on the page and actually read it.

If you add some color to your heads and subheads with a stronger weight, or perhaps set a quote, passage or short story in an obviously different ‘color,’ then readers are more likely to stop on the page and actually read it.

If you add some color to your heads and subheads with a stronger weight, or perhaps set a quote, passage or short story in an obviously different ‘color,’ then readers are more likely to stop on the page and actually read it.

Typography Do’s and Don’tsTypography Do’s and Don’ts• don't mix more than three type styles in

one page • use sans serif in titles and serif in body

text • use italics sparingly • create contrast • don't use display fonts or too many colors

in body copy • don't forget that typography is supposed

to make the text easier to read

Combining contrastsCombining contrasts• Most effective layouts take advantage of

more than one type of contrast. • Look through magazines for examples

and ideas. • Try to verbalize what you see in a good or

bad example. You should also be able to provide a rationale for any design decision you make (not just “it looked better”).

Critiquing designsCritiquing designs• Try do identify the problem. How effective

is the contrast in weight? Size? Structure? • Try to name the differences, not

similarities. Are two font faces competing with each other because they are both all caps? Because they are both sans serif?

• Focus on conflicts. Is the larger type a light weight, and the smaller one a bold weight, so that they fight with each other for emphasis?

Contrast or conflict? Contrast or conflict?

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