People often mistake and mix-up the meaning of typography and font, while these are completely different things. Font is a part of typography, while typography is a visual representation of a written word.
Typography Definition
Typography is not just art, but it’s a skill too. Its history can be traced to centuries, where wood and metal were used for printing presses. It was a long time ago. Things for sure have changed now.
If you like typography and want to get better at it, then there are a few tips that you can follow. Typography is used in resumes, newsletters and even business cards and that’s why learning more about it will benefit your business.
Without delaying further Let’s get to the topic.
Importance of Typography & Fonts
Here we are going to discuss the importance of typography and fonts in 10 different ways that help you to improve your typography design and will make it more appealing.
1. Mood & the Message
When you are writing a serious message using typography web design, then the typeface you choose has to reflect that seriousness. This is similar in the case of writing a message, which is meant for entertainment purposes only. When you are choosing a font for your typography, you need to analyze what a specific font is saying to you and if it goes with your design or not.
For example, if you want to print a resume, then you will choose the Sans Serif type of typography, which is Verdana regular. This type of typography design is best for printing titles and body paragraphs. They are very smooth and professional.
On the other hand, if you are making a brochure for a party, then you can use decorative typography, which is readable and appropriate for artistic text elements.
If a shop that has been around for some time, wants to communicate the history and craftsmanship, then they will choose a typography design that is a match for both elements. Similarly, if someone is writing a traditional book, but also wants to give it a modern edge, then they would use serif typefaces, because they seem more fitting to this type.
If we talk about the type of fonts designs then there are many fonts available out there that can be used in your designs but few of them are top notch and helvetica font is one of them. The helvetica font is one of the typography fonts which is mostly used for print and digital news purposes. It is used in headlines and body, which is why it is an extremely important font.
2. Mood & the Audience
Once you have chosen a font, now you need to see how your audience is going to perceive it. The way you perceive a font and the way your audience perceives it is going to be different, but it has to be the same. For example, one group might see the same font as trendy, while the other would see it as outdated.
If you want to improve your typography design, then it is best to get input from at least two people and satisfy yourself.
If your design is for a wide range of people and not just a specific group, then you need a more neutral typeface. This kind of typeface should not have an obvious personality and must blend into its surroundings. This could be serif or sans-serif fonts, as they can be used almost everywhere. They don’t even draw much attention to themselves.
3. Point Size
In a typography design, it is best to match the size of the font, with the design context. When you arrange and choose typography fonts, it should be readable. However, if you keep it too small, then your audience will become frustrated, and if you keep it too large, then the audience will become annoyed.
Based on the context, you need to choose and understandable design. A general rule of thumb requires that the body text should be between 10-12 font size, and 15-20 pixels on the web.
If you want typography examples for font size, then you should consider a business card. If there is a lengthy passage on a business card, then it should have a smaller size font. However, the font has to be clear, and shouldn’t be decorative.
Another example is a poster, which can handle a sized-up font, because it has more space. You can use decorative typography fonts here, and get creative with the poster style.
4. Typography Hierarchy
In a typography design, you need to make a well-organized hierarchy, so it becomes easy to navigate for your audience. When there are heavy texts, like newsletters and magazines, then typography hierarchy becomes important.
First of all you have to use different size fonts to prioritize information, and then use enough space to create a structure that the audience can scan easily. If there are related items in a magazine, then it is bad to group them together, like food recipes should all be displayed together.
A good typography design will have clear sections, like heading and subheadings, so that the reader knows what the text is all about.
5. Spacing & Alignment
In typography design, you have to look after spacing and alignment. Tracking is a type of spacing, which uses the horizontal space between letters in a massage. When you decrease tracking, you are saving space, but when you increase it, you are emphasizing on your text.
For example, when there is an article in the newspaper, and you want to emphasize a quote, you use tracking. Moreover, white space, even though it seems like a waste of space, is important for giving a rest to the eyes of the reader.
When doing typography design, make sure to avoid justified alignment, because it creates irregular spacing. Moreover, pick one style for your body paragraphs and then stick to them.
6. Kerning
Kerning is an important part of typography design, as it is a way of adjusting the space between two letters. The main objective of kerning is to equalize the white space appearance between two letters. Tracking is the automatic tool which people use for kerning in typography design.
7. Pairing Fonts
If you want to improve your typography design, then you should learn how to pair fonts. Find typefaces with different style variants, and don’t over-complicate your designs. For example, if you have chosen Arima Madurai font, then you can combine it with a light-colored background.
8. Contrast
If you want your font to stand out in typography design, then you need to create a good contract between your font and its background. For example, if you look at the McDonald’s sign, then they use a bold and white typeface, along with a darker red contrast in the background. This type of contrast captures the attention of the reader.
9. Readability
A key point of typography design is readability. If someone can’t read the message you have written, what is the point of it? Make your sentences, easy to read, and don’t use hard vocabulary. You need to use simple and short words. Nobody wants to waste their time reading an article, which they don’t understand a word of.
10. Line Limit
If your paragraphs are long and have long sentences, then that will be a headache for the reader to read them. When a line length is not easy to gauge, then it becomes a problem and negatively impacts the reader’s ability to concentrate.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Here I have listed few of the more frequently asked questions about typography design.
1. What Are Typography Skills?
If you have typography skills, then this means that you have an understanding of the difference between different typefaces.
Also, which typefaces to use when. Moreover, having these skills gives you the ability to know which typeface would be suitable for headline and the body of an article.
2. What Are Typography Tools?
There are multiple typography tools available online for your assistance. These tools include Typesetter, WhatTheFont, CSS Typeset, Baseline Rhythm Calculator, Font struct and Microsoft Typography. These are online tools, which will help you identify different fonts and typefaces.
3. What Are Typography Tips?
The typography tips which this article discusses in detail is to assist a graphic designer. It will help them learn how to be better at typography design.
They will be able to use these tips. For example, matching the mood of the message and the audience and be better at typography design.
4. How Are Typography and Calligraphy Difference?
There is a simple difference between typography and calligraphy. When someone is good at calligraphy, then they have the art of writing letters and their penmanship is strong.
Typography is about the style and appearance of letters, which are found in print material; it is the art of arranging them in a way that it appeals to the reader.
5. What Are Typography Projects?
A typography project usually consists of a series of posters, made for a specific event or film.
For example, in 2015 when the Star Wars the Force Awakens was released, Fernando de Carrabassett created Star War-themed posters, which showed his unique typographic style.
6. How Can Typography Influence a Reader?
When you use typography web design, then it makes the text more appealing. It appeals more to the reader. It catches their attention. Also, keeps them focused on the message you are trying to convey.
7. Where Do We Use Typography?
Typography basically sends a message, and reveals the mood of the sender behind the message, to the reader.
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