Typography – the art and process of
arranging type – is an essential component of every media campaign, from
beautifully designed press advertisements, to fast moving TV credits,
information in brochures to every single web page on the internet. Typography,
like so may other creative processes, when created well fades into the
background so that the reader is not even aware of how it is influencing the
pace, order and sentiment of how they are reading. But it can have a huge
impact on whether your communications are hitting the right tone for your
audience.
We all know how
it feels TO HAVE AN EMAIL SENT TO US IN
CAPITALS – as though the sender is shouting at us, making the message feel
aggressive and unfriendly. There are many other more subtle and positive ways
in which a designer can influence the feel of a piece of writing – and which it
helps to know if you are setting blogs, emailers and web pages yourself which
will be seen by your customers. We’ve
created a short ‘how to’ guide here on understanding the basics of typography –
with the aim of helping you ensure your messaging always feels, and looks,
right.
Understanding The Basics
- The Type Size, also called the Cap Height, is the
overall height of capital letters in the formation of words.
- The Ascender is the upward tail on letters like h, l,
t, b, d, and k.
- The Descender is the downward tail for letters like g,
q, and y.
- The Counter is the white space located inside letters
like o and p.
- The X Height is the height of the letter, and does not
include ascenders or descenders.
- Baselines are the boundary that the lowest part of the
letter rests on. Take a look at the y, p, g, p and y letters in the
illustration above. The solid line they are resting on is the baseline.
Have you ever seen a paragraph where the
letters appear either s p a c e d w a y out or scrunched all up so it was hard
to read? The effective use of kerning and leading avoids that problem. Kerning
is the space located between individual letters of a word. Leading is the space
between the lines of text. By adjusting the amount of kerning between letters,
and of leading between lines, the text becomes much more readable and less
pinched. There are theories and rules galore which designers instinctively
refer to when setting type; but a simple rule is to look back from the page you
are writing, and ask yourself does this look ‘right’? Kerning and leading
adjustment tools can be found in any word processing software and can make a
real difference when making your typography easy to read.
Type Alignment
How do you want your text to line up? Is this
a standard body of text, a headline or are you in need of a more professional
finish? Depending on the type alignment,
you may inadvertently create the wrong impact based solely on the placement of
your message.
- Left alignment is the most commonly used to create easy to read text
for the reader. It is the way we are taught to read, from left to right
across a page, and is the most comfortable alignment for documents
containing lots of words – referred to as ‘long copy’ documents.
- Centre alignment is used to draw attention and is used mostly for
Headlines or Titles.
- Right Alignment is a clean crisp professional look and is used quite a
bit for letterheads, business cards and a variety of other applications
where a formal style of alignment is needed. It can be tricky to use
correctly and is best left to designers to set; it is not a good alignment
for any long copy documents as the eye will fight against reading it
easily.
- Justified alignment is usually reserved for body text for textbooks, and
is more difficult to work with. This type of alignment creates perfect
alignment on both the left and right margins without regard for the actual
characters. This can lead to a condition called tracking, or the creation of “rivers” of white space throughout the text body.
If this happens, the tracking needs to be altered manually to correct the
illusion.
Type categories
- Serif type has extensions or strokes on the ends of the
letters (the ‘serifs’). Times New Roman is a perfect example of this. This
type of font is easy to read for longer pieces and tends to look classy
and conservative.
- Sans-Serif (meaning ‘without serif’) does not have extensions or
strokes on the ends of the letters and is used mostly for short copy, such
as headlines, subheads, captions etc. Sans serif fonts can also be read
more easily from a distance, and so are perfect for signage – think of
road signs and the Underground. Sans serif fonts have a contemporary feels
to them and can be used to make any design look clean, modern and simple.
- Script, specialised
and decorative type are all styles
of type categories to create a specific feel or message. The styles
available are endless, from 50s diner style American fonts to script fonts
full of swirls and curves. Take care when using any decorative fonts and
use them sparingly; they are often difficult to read in anything other
than short sentences, and used too much will look fussy, but they can add
style and flair to any design when used sparingly.
Font hints and tips
The fonts you choose should not dominate the piece. Use care
when mixing fonts; too many in one piece can look confusing and put people off
reading what you need them to read!. When in doubt, stay with something a
little more conservative then add one splash of notice
me.
Use consistency in your layouts. Choose
three fonts at most and stick to them; many fonts come in different weights
such as thin and heavy, so you can stick to one font family and still make the
piece interesting and add pace without making it too busy.
Think about size. Using an 11 or 12
point font size and a serif typeface results in the most legible feel for long
copy documents.
Use Italics
and Bold to point out areas of
interest or draw quick reference to information.
Use color for emphasis. Draw on colours
used in the pictures you have chosen to illustrate your article, or maybe from
your logo but be aware of what colours can signify – e.g red is a very strong
colour for drawing the eye, but is associated with sales and debt so should be
used with care! We’ll be adding a ‘how to’ guide on colour shortly with lots of
hints and tips on using colour correctly.
Typography inspiration
When choosing fonts, it’s important to remember that
some are only suitable for use in print, and others have been designed
specifically for use on the web and in digital media. Print fonts will normally
be chosen for you by a designer who will package them for printers to use. They
are often licensed and can only be shared with prior permission so it’s best to
leave them to the professionals. However web fonts are often free and can be
downloaded from a variety of sources. If you’re looking for some unusual and
safe web fonts, take a look here
Typography, like all aspects of design, is hugely
subjective; as well as making sure it reads correctly you need to like it and
like what it does for your brand. There are thousand of fonts to choose from;
we’ve listed a few resources here that can be found on the web to help you
discern what you like and don’t like.
http://typeinspire.com/
http://www.typographyserved.com/
http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/50-new-examples-of-beautiful-typography-inspiration/
Remember, typography is a learned skill that
designers spend many hours perfecting, but don’t be afraid to experiment and
have some fun! Hopefully this guide will help you develop your type in the
future; if in doubt, feel free to contact apt marketing for some expert advice!
