Typography

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Typography

• What font am I?

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Typography Intro.

• Type is emotional on a subliminal level because
  of the connotations it conveys.
• Example Helvetica is the typeface used on IRS
  forms. Now, how do you think you're going to feel
  when you read something set in Helvetica? You may
  not consciously realize that it's the same
  typeface the IRS uses, you may not even know it's
  Helvetica. What matters is that you've seen that
  typeface before, and not under the most pleasant
  circumstances.
• In Switzerland, where virtually everything is set
  in Helvetica (and tax forms end up looking like
  catalogs for both lingerie and heavy
  equipment--the kind you're not supposed to drive,
  or wear, after taking most over-the-counter cold
  remedies), then it won't have the same
  connotations that it has in the U.S.A.

What font am I?
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Type Anatomy
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x Height

• When two typefaces are set in the same point
  size, one often looks bigger than the other.
  Bigger x-height, introduced in the twentieth
  century, make a typeface appear larger.
  Differences in line weight and character width
  also affect the letters' apparent scale.

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Font Size

• (So, whats a 12 point font mean?)
• The point system, used to measure the height of
  a letter as well as the space between lines (
  leading ), is the standard measurement for type.
  One point equals 1/72 inch or .35 millimeters.
  Twelve points equal one pica, the unit commonly
  used to measure column widths.
• Typography also can be measured in inches,
  millimeters, or pixels. (A point is roughly
  equivalent to a pixel.) Most software
  applications let the designer choose a preferred
  unit of measure picas and points are a standard
  default.

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Font Families and Classification

• What is a font family?
• A complete family is one that has a bold, italic,
  regular, small caps, semi-bold, semi-bold italic,
  and expert numerals (123 vs. 123)
• Classification
• Humanist (Old Style) roman typeface
• Transitional sharper serifs (A)
• Modern thin straight lines (A)
• Egyptian (slab serif) bold and decorative
• Humanist sans serif sans serifs 1st
  appeared1928
• Transitional sans serif uniform upright
• Geometric serif build around geometric forms
  (ie. The circle)

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A Few Good Fonts
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Leading, Kerning, Tracking

• L eading
• The term kerning refers to adjusting the space
  between two letters.
• K e r n i n g
• Adjusting the spacing across a word, line, or
  column of text is called tracking, also known as
  letterspacing.
• Tracking
• Vertical spacing of lines

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10 Rules of Thumb

• 1. Body text should be between 10 and 12 point,
  with 11 point best for printing to 300
  dot-per-inch printers. Use the same typeface,
  typesize, and leading for all your body copy.
• 2. Use enough leading (or line-spacing). Always
  add at least 1 or 2 points to the type size.
  Example If you're using 10 point type, use 12
  point leading. Automatic line height will do this
  for you--never use less than this or your text
  will be cramped and hard to read.
• 3. Don't make your lines too short or too long.
  Optimum size Over 30 characters and under 70
  characters.
• 4. Make paragraph beginnings clear. Use either an
  indent or block style for paragraphs. Don't use
  both. Don't use neither, either.
• 5. Use only one space after a period, not two.

What font am I?
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10 Rules of Thumb cont.

• 6. Don't justify text unless you have to. If you
  justify text you must use hyphenation.
• 7. Don't underline anything, especially not
  headlines or subheads since lines separate them
  from the text with which they belong.
• 8. Use italics instead of underlines.
• 9. Don't set long blocks of text in italics,
  bold, or all caps because they're harder to read.
• 10. Leave more space above headlines and subheads
  than below them, and avoid setting them in all
  caps. Use subheads liberally to help readers find
  what they're looking for.

What font am I?
11
One Last Rule of Thumb - for fun!

• Sans serif typefaces are often less legible than
  serif typefaces.
• Body text (text that is meant to be read
  continuously) serif typefaces are naturally
  better suited than sans serif typefaces.
• Serifs are the small finishing strokes on the
  arms and stems of letters, and serve to form a
  link between letters. This link is important
  because when we read, our mind (in most western
  cultures anyway) is trained to recognize the
  shapes of words rather than reading letter by
  letter.
• All of the serif text faces are appropriate for
  continuous reading. Many sans serif typefaces are
  as well.
• Consider sans serif fonts such as Gill Sans,
  Goudy Sans, and Optima for setting text meant for
  continuous reading.
• This isnt to say that you shouldnt use other
  sans serif fonts for body text, but generally
  speaking, avoid setting long passages of text in
  geometric sans serif typefaces such as Futura,
  for example, which is better suited for
  headlines, captions, and other short chunks.
• When designing forms such as time sheets,
  invoices, expense reports and order forms,
  consider using sans serif typefaces rather than
  serifs.
• Sans serifs naturally look better when aligned to
  vertical and horizontal lines, which are
  obviously very common in forms. For best results,
  use loosely spaced All Caps set at a small size
  (8 points and below). Typefaces such as Futura
  and Franklin Gothic are particularly well-suited
  to designing forms.

What font am I?
12
Try it out!
Interpret/ create the meaning of a word by
adjusting the spacing, scale, and position of
letters on a page. (Make 5).