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Text type is more common than any
other. Text makes up the acres of gray
in books, magazines, reports, and
hundreds of other documents. When
readingss the primary goal, it's the
designer's job to ensure that the text
is smooth, flowing and pleasant to
read. The hallmarks of good text type
are legibility and readability. Legibility
refers to clarity; it's how readily one
letter can be distinguished from all
others. Readability refers to how well
letters interact to compose wonts,
sentences and paragraphs. When
evaluating the choices, the operativeword is medium.
0269 selecting text type
An example of medium is ~
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1. Pick a typeface with similar character widths
For the smoothest appearance, an alphabet's charac-
ters should have similar widths. Reading has a nat-
ural rhythm: all alphabet such as Furuta (below, top)
with 'widely varying character widths disrupts it.
2. Medium height-to-width ratlo
We identify letters by their physical characteristics-
stems, bars, loops, curves and so on; tbe clearer
they are the more legible the letter. As letters are
compressed (or expanded), these features get dis-
torted-diagonal strokes, for example, become quite
vertical-and so are harder to identify.
H H
oel isrrr
aefjsrm
widely varying widths Futu~
5 -
Similar widths r imes N ! ! . l 1 L & Q l l l 2 D
Medium height-
to-width ratio
l Ie Stone Serif
compressed
height-to-width
ratio Racer
3. Medium x-height
The x-height of a typestyle is the height of its
lowercase characters. The larger the x-height, t ile
denser the type will appear. Youwant medium;
unusually tall or short x-heights are better suited
for specialty projects.
4. Look for small variations in stroke weight
The best text faces have stroke weights that vary
somewhat, which make converging lines that help
the eye flow smoot.hly. But avoid extremes. Modern
styles (below, left) vary too much; at high resolu-
t ion their beautiful, superthin strokes disappear in
a dazzle. Sleek geometric styles (below, right) vary
lit tle or not at all, so are too uniform,
Medium x-heights
x-hetght varlatlons Incredibly, all f o u r t y pe f ac es below a re t he
s ame s iz e : 112 p o in ts . F or te xt , a vo id t ile e xtr em e 0 11e ac h e nd .
Too different
Bauer Bodoni
iMedium difference Nodifference
T imes NewRQ!llill Futura Medium
C G Bernhard
illb.iQn
BHtlt'r 13Lidolli11i"xllln' .uu l
n~I....' llrl I ' X : . l 1 i n t - : " PIHlll1i!l1 o r il
:-.llf}olirlg. SII~,llr [·~)rll:.:II·~lll~-
ulur IIiH (III : . J . . . .Ii r- . h - ur u r{'!"!I~lrl
tll~rl f"iiJ1l prTI:I. li':-; 1fJ1'f'. this
1 1 1 1 " " ' < " I, "s il > I, ·. S il k. a hu st , 1 , ,[ > ,·
a n d I ic ha s rt h« thin «hack . I
hl\T l.u II} :-on\'. '\ '1 1\ ~ I]t':-~lnl
Futurc Medium I Texture th e
net exating end mis t of it snool-
ing. sp o f f fori ;",'t c ub ulo r b ut
quosfic, leam restart that can't
prencst . I t's t o p e , this Ruant
chosible. Silk, shcst, lope and
behast Ihe thincheck.Ihave lo t
to say. Why? Elescra and order
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5. Watch out for mirrors
Geometric typestyles are so uniform that their
letters are often minor images. For text, this is not
ideal-the more dist.inct each letter is, the more
legible whole words will be. look for typestyles
that don't mirror,
Mirrored HelvetiC..ii..t'JeueRoman
7..Avoid quirkiness
Typographic sprites are fun to look at.and great
for heads, but in text they wear out their welcome
fast Why? The extra swashiness gives the eye too
much to follow and isvery tiring.
Fun, but too quirky for text 6elwe
Texture and t lasp net exating end mist of it
snoolinq, Sparr for i isn' t cubu lar but quastic:
learn restart that can"! preast, It's tope. this
fluanr chasible, Sill:1.chest, lape and behast
the thin chace. IThas larch to 5a y fan. Why?
Elesara and order is lay of aim. A card whint
not ooum or bent, Pre tty s imple . ' i/1eadand
[arm. Texture and flasp end mist of it 5110-
oling. Si lk shast , lapc and behest the thin
chach, "II has larch to say fan." Why? Elesara
0.269 Selecting text type
6. AVoid overlarge counters
Counters are the enclosed spaces inside letters.
Avoid typestyles whose counters are very large in
relation to the stroke weight. In the case ofAvant
Garde (below), 110tehow much greater the space
inside the letters is than the space outside! This will
slow the reader; set in text (bottom), Avant Cards
looks like Swiss cheese!
overlarge counters,
II C A va n t G ar de G o th lk
Texture and flasp net exating end mist of it snooling.
Spaff for i isn't cubulor but quostlc.Isom restart thot can't
prebast . l t's tope. this f luont chasible. Si lk .shost .Iope
and behast the thi n chock. It has larch to say fan. Why?
Elesara ond order is fay of aim.Acard whint not oogum
or bont. Prett y simple. glead and tarm. Texture and I lasp
net exat ing end mist of it. Fori isn't cubular but quast lc .
learn restart that con't prebast. Whint not oogum or
bont! Pretty simple, glead and term, Texture f iasp. Silk.
shost. lope and behest the thin chock, "It has larch
Favorite text faces
While many ty p efaces meet the requirements
of legibility, readability and. beauty, the foHawing
four are the ones we turn to most often:
exture and flasp~Tex tu re .R" li stf i t s noo l inmist of It5
cubular bUI qU',stic, leom restart t r , ; ; ; : -can' t p rebast, I t' s t ope , rhis fluan r
chasible. Silk, shnsr, lape and behnst
t he t hi n c ha ck , It has larch to s ny
1 ' 0 . 1 1 . \¥hy? Elesam and order is t < 1 ) '
0[ ,,1111. A cord whint not oogum or
Adobe C.nImi (11/12.75 pt)
Firs t c ho ic e f or b oo k s. c as lo n m ay be th e
R oman a lp h ab e t's m o st r ea da b le t ypeface.
It s le tte rs a re n't b ea utif ul, b ut s tr un g in to
s eu te ne es a nd p ar ag ra ph s th ey h av e fi t ,
texture, b ite , a nd c an b e r e ad c om f o rt s bl y
f or h o u rs . easton w ill w it hs ta nd e ve n th e
tightestleading.
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Favorite text 'faces
exture and Rasp n ;Te,'tllre,alllist of it snooling Jn11'( o f ir s
c ub u la r b u r q ua sri c, le ar n r es ta rt [hac
c an 't p re b as r, lr 's t op e, t hi s li un n ti b!e ,
Silk, shnst, lape an d b ehas r the thin
c hu ck . lr h as la rc h (0 '"Y t ,m , W h a ra
an d o rde r is fay oFalm.'A card whir
nor oogum or"bonr . Prerry simple
dobe Ga.~amond (11,5/12]5 pt)
I fwe could have only a ile wpef~ce, this
would be it;aararncnd is easy to read and
elegant, 100.A l it tle on the dressy side,
Garamond is a fine display face-rare in
this c lass-sane as a result can carry a doe-
ument all by i lSel l, aaramond sets small ;
set text in ten-po int minimum with aboutten percent extra leading.
ex ture an d Hasp TIe;
Texture anf it snoolmg. Spaffof Itsnoolt
but quast ic, leam restj lr t t lult can 't
prebast, It', top', this fluanr chnsible.
S ilk , shast, l ape and behnst the thin
c ha ck. It ha s 1 ",<: 11to s ay ro n. Why?
Elesara0 11<1 order is fa y of alm. A card
whint not oogum or bont. Pretty slm-
IlC Stol!e serif (9.5/12.75 pt)
Stone is bori I1gto look at but but ter .y to
read, Characterized by its stubby, lower-
caser that tucks snugly to i ts ne ighbors,
Stone is designed for outstanding fit, It
sets large; n ine-po int Isas big as you
should go, use at Ieast thirty-five percent
extra leading.
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ex tu re and fla s p n e
T e xr u r e. " n f it snoolinz. SpafI II 1St"of It. t;) ,
cuhular but qu,,,tic. lenIl l resrarr thur
cari'r preb;1s t Ie s tope, this AWlU t
chas ibl e . Silk, s ha sr, lu pe n ud b e hu sr
the thin chack. Ir has larch to sn)'
l a n. ' VVhv ?E le s ar a . '1 (1 o rder is F ,,,
of ; _ 11 1 11 , • .\ . card whine nor oognrn ur
Janson Text S5 Rom_l lll (10,5 !'2,75 pt)
Janson holds the middle ground between
the e<\rthy, workmanlike nature of easton
and the high classiness of Gara!)1ond.
RaUhder and denser, it has a chiseled,
resolute appearance, Janson sets about
average size; give it about twenty percent
extra leading,
Before & After magazil !e
Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
to graph ic design since 1990, Because our modern world
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After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-
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John McWade publisher and creat ive d irector
Gaye MeWade Associate publisher
Vincent Pascual Staff designer
De1\ter Mark Abel lera Staf f designer
Editorial board Gwen Amos, Carl Winther
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0269 Selecti ng text type
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