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The Evolution of 20th Century Type Design Understanding Typography Part Two

Legibility issues and typographic design principles

Leading: The space in between lines of text Term refers to lead pieces inserted in between lines of type to add more space on old fashioned printing presses

Adjusting Text Spacing Leading and Kerning

Kerning: Spacing in between individual letters and words in a single line of text

Adjusting Text Spacing Leading and Kerning

Legibility: Making sure the audience can read your text Similarity, alignment: Creating organization of information Uniformity and consistency: Repeating elements in a composition to direct the viewer’s attention and create design harmony Hierarchy: Organizing information in terms of its importance to the viewer Contrast: Creating interest and distinguishing different types of information with different typefaces

Typographic Design Principles

Legibility is a combination of factors: Font family Font size Letter, word, and line spacing Alignment Font and background colors

Typographic Design Principles Legibility

Font sizes above 14 points break down the continuity of large blocks of text, making words difficult for readers to follow


Other Legibility Issues: If letters, words, or lines are too close together, readers have a hard time because text blocks tend to look too dark


Other Legibility Issues: If letters, words, or lines are too far apart, readers have a hard time because blocks of text tend to look too light, causing readers to lose a sense of continuity


Other Legibility Issues: Spacing between words should be consistent to promote legibility; too much variation in letter and line leads to eyestrain


Other Legibility Issues: White type on a black background can also make large blocks of text difficult to read

This type of typographic treatment usually works best on headline or subhead areas of a layout


Other Legibility Issues: Certain color combinations, particularly those lacking strong contrast (such as yellow type on white background) are difficult to read


To maintain overall uniformity, limit the number of different font families per page to two or three at most

Use the same font for headings and body text to produce a uniform look; this is known as concordance

Typographic Design Principles Unity and Concordance

Using the same font family throughout a layout creates uniformity but may make documents seem visually boring

To add contrast, combine two font families (for example, one serif and one sans serif or script font)

Heading and body type can use different fonts to separate information and create visual interest

Typographic Design Principles Contrast

Hierarchy helps your audience distinguish between levels of information, such as title, header, subhead and body

Information can be set apart by changing font family, font type, size, color

To maintain unity, keep typographic choices consistent for each section throughout a layout

Typographic Design Principles Hierarchy

Top-level headings can use unconventional typographic treatments

Different levels use different font sizes, families, colors, and leading to arrange and separate information

Typographic Design Principles Hierarchy

Copy length: Choose fonts that will allow for the best readability and flexibility of arrangement (kerning, leading, etc) when typesetting large amounts of text

Line length: Blocks of text that are either too long or too short are difficult to read Character count should be between 35 to 70 characters long as general rule of thumb

Type should not be adjusted by stretching it on the computer; this distorts its appearance Use the kerning and leading tools available in computer software instead

Typographic Design Principles Other Things to Consider

Type lines up on the left with “ragged” the right margin Advantage: Easy to read in large blocks Disadvantage: Pay attention to the “shape” made by the right edge of the text Text shape should be convex (curve outward) rather than concave (curve inward) Avoid putting very short lines of text next to long ones

Text Alignment Flush Left

Aligns text to the right; leaves “ragged” left edge Advantage: Allows designer control over kerning spacing of text on individual lines Disadvantage: Can be hard for the reader to follow lines of type if they don’t line up under one another on the left Best used for small amounts of type

Text Alignment Flush Right

Text Alignment Centered

Type that aligns along the middle axis in a composition Advantage: Just like with left and right justification, designer can control word spacing for good legibility Disadvantage: Can be difficult for the reader to find the beginning of the next line of text when lines don’t justify left Works best using small areas of type, such as lists, headlines, etc.

Aligns type on both the left and right edge Advantage: If done correctly, this can make areas of text appear uniform and clean, giving crisp edges on both sides of an area of text Disadvantage: Harder to control word spacing

Text Alignment Justified

No apparent structure to type Advantage: Can be used to create unusual or unexpected effects Disadvantage: Can be extremely difficult for readers to follow due to lack of apparent structure

Text Alignment Random Asymmetrical

Aligned text creates a visual line in a design; such lines help readers draw connections between different parts of a document

Text Alignment Organization with Alignment

Rivers: Bad words spacing can create “rivers,” or unintentional areas of white space that flow down a page and create a visual distraction for the reader

Text Alignment Other Considerations

Orphan: An orphan is a short line that appears at the top of a column Occurs when the last word of a paragraph continues onto the next page A word that “floats” on a page by itself is distracting and confuses the reader Also applies to paragraphs- bad typography to begin first sentence of a paragraph at the end of a page


Widow: A very short line at the end of a paragraph Can be a single word, short phrase or the last syllable of a hyphenated word


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