How to create good looking documents?
© 2007, Abonyi-Tóth Zsolt
Szent István University
Faculty of Veterinary Science
Budapest
Typography
(typos) graven figure (grapho) to write
Typography:– Developing of printed materials– Forming the text, aligning the text and pictures
Typography: developing letters and developing with letters
Point size
Inch based (pica)– 1 inch = 6 picas = 25,4 mm– 1 pica = 12 points = 4,233 mm– 1 point = 0,352 mm
Point size
Didot-Förster– 1 point = 0,376 mm = point– 4 points = 1,504 mm = diamond– 8 points = 3,008 mm = petit– 10 points = 3,761 mm = garamond– 12 points = 4,513 mm = cicero– ...
Who do you trust?
Name: John SmithsPlace of Birth: LondonDate of Birth: 12.09.1978.
Education:Blackwell College, EaswickveterinarianNDA High School
Hobby:swimming
name: John Smiths Place of Birth: LondonDate of Birth: 12..09. 1978Education : Blackwell College,
Easwick veterinarian, NDA High School
Hobby: swimming
Letters
Budapest Font size
– more 10-20% place between rows• Less space is confusing (you miss the rows)
• More space is a wastage, and breaks the train of thought
Letters
Linear impression is needed, when you change the size– Use an exponential scale!
E.g. this one:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 24, 28, 36, 48, ...
Letters
Width of letters– Equal width on typewriters– Letters should have different width!
• We need rhythm
Letters
Font type: letters have been developed by the same graphical idea
The needs:– Easy to read– Nice shape– Own, special looking
Letters
The needs of easy reading:– The looking should be uniform, but the letters
must be easy to distinguish– The picture of words should be good-looking– The shape of the letters should produce a good
rhythm of lines• DON’T WRITE WITH UPPERCASE LETTERS!
Letters
Other properties– Type
• Letters with the same graphical elements
– Variant• How to modify the given type
– Size
Font: the above 3 things together– E.g. Times Bold 10
Letters
Variants– Italic
• Letters may become unreadable
• Oblique (cursive), if it has been developed separately
QWERTYUIOPasdfghjkléá QWERTYUIOPasdfghjkléá
Letters
Variants– Small capitals
• The shape of the letters is uppercase
• Wrong line width transforming by the computer!
QWERTYUIOPasdfghjkléáQWERTYUIOPasdfghjkléá
Letters
Special effectsHyphenation and dash is not the same!
- – .
n-dash with space, orm-dash without space
Letters
With feet– Normal, continuous text
Without feet– Bigget size, titles, etc.
Fixed width letters– Highlighting
mm
Do we read letters or words?
Veetrinarnais paly a mjoar rloe in the halethcrae of ptes, lviseoctk, and zoo, spronitg, and loabarrtoy amnalis. Smoe veeritniarans use tiher silkls to ptocert hmunas aagnist disseaes cierrad by amanils.
Letters
Renaissance types– Varied lines – Simulate quill-pen– Feet– Axle is not vertical
• E.g. Gaudy, Garamond
Letters
Baroque types– Bigger difference between the width of the
lines– Axes are nearly vertical
• E.g. Times, Plantin, Baskerville
Letters
„Classical” types– Don’t follow handwriting– Light feet– Very different line widths– Thin horizontal, thick vertical lines– Axes nearly vertical
• E.g. Bodoni, Walbaum, Primous
Letters
Linear with feet (Egyptienne)– Line widths are nearly the same– The end of the lines are angled– Axes are vertical
• E.g. Memphis, Figaro, Courier New
Letters
Clarendon (newspaper)– Uniform line width– The end of the lines are angled– Axes are vertical
• E.g. Clarendon, Volta
Letters
Grotesque (linear without feet)– Exactly the same line widths– Regular development (geometrical forms)– No feet
• E.g. Helvetia, Futura, Reform, Univerz, Arial
Letters
Handwriting– Simulates handwriting– Movement in lines, in the connection between
letters– Don’t use for long text! Hard to read!
• E.g. Ariston, Signal, Slogan
Letters
Decorative types (advertisement, decoration)– Not easy to read– Unusual form
• E.g. Broadway, Stencil, Uncial
Letters
The similarity of the meaning and the form– Poems: renaissance– Polite literature: baroque, renaissance– Technological: egyptienne, „classical” – Advertisement: grotesque, egyptienne
Rules of typography
Don’t use several font types, it suggests unstability
Small difference is no difference, only „dramatic” changes are acceptable
Few text on big surface: dependable, worthy of note
Rules of typographySpaces: the same size in the same lineToo big spaces brake the textDon’t allow „channels” I n e x p a n d e d t e x t spaces should be
expanded also space between letters < space < space
between paragraphs < margin size
Rules of typography
Hyphenation– Not more than 4 consecutive hyphenations or
signs at the end of the lines– Minimum 3 letters together– Compound words at the composition
Check grammar– Algorithm + exception dictionary
Rules of typography
Hyphenation– Too many hyphenations mean, that column
width is too small
10 points font size 20 cicero (9 cm) column width
Column width should be minimum 3.5 cm
Highlighting
A light highlighting (cursive) A s t r o n g e r highlighting (expanded) More STRONGER highlighting (small capitals) A STRONG highlighting (all capitals) Very strong highlighting (bold)
Others: Unuseful, UnofficialUnofficial, UnofficialUnofficial
Drop Caps
HIS way it can be aligned on two sides
HIS way it should be aligned on four sides, otherways it looks horrible, and everyone will think, it is not a correct solution..
T
T
Drop Caps
If you start one chapter that way, do the same with all chapters
Connect it to the first word: move closer or use small capitals
Use the second way (previous slide) if it was higher than two lines
The top of the Drop Caps shouldn’t below the top of the first line
Be careful
Don’t use handwriting and capital lettersDon’t expand coursive handwritingDon’t use light Drop Caps with dark fontsDon’t type ‘dot’ at the end of titlesDark text on dark background: max. 30%Light text on dark background: min. 50%White paper: no light text
Paragraphs
Paragraphs should be separated to show the reader, that a new topic will be started there.
So the reader will be able to recognize, what a hell we talk about.
In case he’s wondering...
Paragraphs
Paragraphs should be separated to show the reader, that a new topic will be started there.
So the reader will be able to recognize, what a hell we talk about.
In case he’s wondering...
Indentation is usually 2 or 3 times the font size
All indentations should have the same size in the document, independently of different font sizes
Paragraphs
Numbered list
1. Britney Spears
2. Prodigy
3. Modern Talking
4. Metallica
– Correct form: 1. a)• (might be different in different languages)
To highlight longer text
Align to the centerLeft and right indentationLeft indentationSummary: bold (bigger)
IMPORTANT
ENTER means the end of the paragraph only. Never use to start a new line only!
Tabulator, space should not be used for indentation!
Chapters
Chapters separate the document by subjects. It is important to give the same looking to the chapters.
Titles
If the document could be separated to smaller parts, titles and subtitles should be used.
Highlighting usually with size and alignment Visible contrast between title and regular text Don’t align to center a coursive line (the whole
page seems to be turned) Decimal numbering in scientific documents
Titles
No more space below the titles than above them
Title should be on the same page as the text below
In case of two-line titles don’t use very similar or very different line width
For more-line titles use the rules on next slide for every three lines
Picture titles
It should be different from regular textSame size or smallerClose to the pictureUsually the coursive or smaller and bold
variant of regular letters
Orphan and widow control
Last page should contain min. four linesNo single line on the bottom of pageNo first line of a paragraph above a pictureNo last line of paragraph on the top of a
page or below a pictureOne or two lines should not be separated
Alignment
Free alignment– One side or the middle of the lines are closed.
Justified alignment– Both sides of the lines are closed (to a vertical
line)
Symmetry
Symmetry: calm, balanced lookingAsymmetric: more freedom, but hard to
determine the place of the axis. Dinamical, lively looking.
Spots
The most important parts should be the most conspicuous
White areas are also important – the negative should also be harmonical
Contrast
Makes the document lively and good for the eyes Avoid minor changes in size Details are more visible on big pictures. They
seem to be bigger if they had a smaller picture in the neighborhood size is relative
Portrait and landscape pictures Rounded and angular Dark and bright
Geometrical and optical centre
Raise what you want to see in the middleBottom margin should be bigger than top
margin
Columns
Not more than 60-70 letters in one lineSeparator line between columns if they
contain different articles
Paper size
A0 - 1m2 – Ratio of sides 1:2– 841x1189 mm– A1 – fold it in half– A2 – fold it in half again– …– A4 210x297 mm
Paper size
B0– Ratio of sides 1:2– 1000x1414 mm– B1 – fold it in half– B2 – fold it in half again– …– B5 ‘írólap’ in Hungarian shops