Quotation by George Carlin

Design Notes: Typography

“Fonts are the clothing that our ideas wear.”

·      Legibility: Choose classical time-tested typefaces( Baskerville, Frutiger, Garamond, Gill Sans, Helvetica, Palatino, Times New Roman, etc.)

1.     Serif: reads best at smaller sizes and can be complementary.

Ex.       ABC          

2.     Sans Serif: Better with larger fonts

Ex.       ABC

·      Font Variance: Too many fonts confuse the reader and spoil the design

·      Definition: Fonts that are too similar cause ambiguity. What you are trying to emphasize wont be as clear.

·      Readability: Use upper and lower case letters for optimum clarity. All capital letters are the equivalent of shouting, and are more difficult to read.

·      Alignment: Left alignment reads easiest, consider eye flow as it moves down a page; if you use other alignments make sure there is a purpose.

·      Emphasis: Use these tools with discretion and without disturbing eye flow.

1.     Italics

2.     Bold

3.     Size

4.     Color

5.     Typestyle change

·      Integrity: Avoid stretching or distorting type because it compromises integrity.

·      Weight: Strive for a sense of balance (heavy or light fonts)

·      Kerning: The adjustment of space between the letters

·      Tracking: Deals with how the whole groups of letterforms are spread out/ spaced.