Typography

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Typography

• EDU1472

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Objectives

• Define typography
• Describe characteristics of type
• Discuss factors in placing type
• Outline typographic rules of thumb

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Principles of Typography

• Typography
• Is the selection and arrangement of typefaces,
  sizes and spacing on the printed page.
• Gives a page a 'personality' and an overall
  feeling.

Typographic arrangement should achieve for the
reader what voice tone conveys to the
listener. El Lissitzky
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Typefaces Fonts

• Typeface
• The design for a family of characters and symbols
• Helvetica, Times, Palatino
• Font
• Specific size and variety of a letter or
  character from a family
• 12 point Helvetica Bold
• 10 point Palatino Italic

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Type Characteristics

• Size
• Vertical height from the top of the capital or
  ascender (whichever is higher) to the bottom of
  the descender (in points).
• 12 points 1 pica 6 picas 1 inch
• 1 point 0.35 mm 1 mm 2.83 points

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Type Characteristics

• Weight
• Width
• Slant
• roman italic
• Style

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Serif Sans Serif
T Serif
T Sans Serif
Wanted! Dead or Alive.
Wanted! Dead or Alive.
Readability means using type that is easy to
follow. Many studies have shown that serif type
is easier to read in long blocks of text.
Legibility refers to the ability to recognize the
characters within the text. Sans serif text is
best used for display type such as headlines and
signs because of its inherent legibility.
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Sample Typefaces
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Anatomy of Type

• Widths of characters
• Typewriters used fixed width (pitch)
• Set type is proportional
• Measured in units of el, en and em

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Leading

• Vertical space between lines of type
• Sum of the type size and space between lines (in
  points)
• 10 point type with 2 points between lines is
  described as 10 point type on 12 point leading
  10/12 or 10 on 12

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Line Length

• Known as the measure
• Traditionally measured in picas and points
• The longer the line length the larger type should
  be
• Readability is related to the balance among type
  size, leading and line length

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Alignment

• Flush left
• Centred

• Flush right
• Justified
• Avoid justification of type where there are few
  words per line.

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Emphasis

• Boldface
• Generally the most effective
• Less legible in small sizes
• ALL CAPS
• Works well in headlines
• All rectangular word shapes
• Avoid in running text
• Rules
• In various point sizes and styles

• Italic
• Actually softer than roman text
• More difficult to read
• Use for contrast rather than emphasis
• Underlining
• Relic from typewriters
• Often too close to text
• Use rules instead

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Rules of Thumb

• Avoid too many typefaces
• Use one serif one sans serif for contrast
• Running text is usually better in serif faces
• Use sans serif faces for headings
• Use boldface for emphasis
• Use italics for contrast
• Avoid all capitals in running text
• Avoid underline where possible
• Avoid justifying informal work and short lines