Ten Type Tips for New Typographers 1 Choose Wisely
R E A D
T H I
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Ten Type Tips for New Typographers By Sarah Sandman
1 Choose Wisely Choosing a typeface can be a difficult decision. Start by reading the content or examining the subject to gain clear understanding of tone and style. The Mac comes with a limited default font library, but the options are much greater and more sophisticated. Make sure you have your font library from class on hand. Ask yourself, are you looking for a display face or text face? Beware of attaching yourself to a font “just because you like it.” It may not be the right fit for the job.You may find yourself picking a typeface with “flare” thinking it will make your piece more designed when this is usually not the case. See if you can make the design look good using a more simple typeface.Try several typefaces at first and ask advice from other skilled typographers. Never use more than three typefaces in a design. If using serif and san serif together, seek typefaces with similar x-heights. Finally, do not use bold or condensed for body copy.
TH IS IS IS IS
KER NING NING
2 mind the gap Kerning is the process of adjusting the space in between letterforms and words.“Good kerning” aims to creates a balanced distribution of space amongst text for increased legibility. Because our alphabet is made up of organic forms with both round shapes and straight edges, the negative space between letters can vary. Though type designers spend many hours analyzing and programming the correct spacing, a multitude of design situations arise that require us to manually kern our text. Smaller text size and body copy requires less attention to kerning than headlines and titles. Rounder letterforms such as “o” and “c” often require tighter kerning on either side, whereas, letterforms with straight stems such as “i” an and “l” often require looser kerning on either side. Letterforms with angles such as capital “Y” or “W” create more negative space than capital “H” or “E”. More advanced typographers can anticipate situations with problematic kerning, but there is no exact science. Every typographic scenario differs and we must treat each scenario as with a graceful and discerning eye.
HEY THIS IS
LEADING
3 Let’er Breathe Leading refers to the space in between lines of text, or more specifically the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. The term is derived from the days of hand-setting type when bars of lead were used to create space. The amount of leading needed in most situations is approximately 120%-140%. Though the field of typography has created a useful pool of rules and tips over years of practice, nothing beats your visual instinct. Typefaces with large x-heights tend to require greater leading than typefaces with smaller x-heights. The relationship of ascenders and descenders between lines often determines the amount of leading required. Loose leading requires the eye to jump too far from line to line. Tight leading strains the reader in finding where to go next.
THIS IS BAD RAG THIS IS BAD RAG THIS IS BAD RAG
4 Clean Dirty Rags The optimal alignment for reading is left aligned, ragged right. The skinnier the text column, the dirtier the rag. To clean up text rags typographers adjust tracking. Tracking refers to the overall spacing in a line of text. A general rule of thumb is to not loosen tracking more than +25 or tighten tracking less than -25. A good rag gives the illusion of a clear alignment through the average length of the text lines. Though avoiding hyphens is ideal, sometimes they are necessary to create breaks in long words. Do not hyphenate proper nouns or exceed more than three hyphens in a paragraph. If you chose full justification, meaning it aligns both left and right make sure to avoid rivers. Rivers are the appearance of lines of white spaces within a column of justified text due to excessive spacing.
T H I
S
Ten Type Tips for New Typographers By Sarah Sandman
1 Choose Wisely Choosing a typeface can be a difficult decision. Start by reading the content or examining the subject to gain clear understanding of tone and style. The Mac comes with a limited default font library, but the options are much greater and more sophisticated. Make sure you have your font library from class on hand. Ask yourself, are you looking for a display face or text face? Beware of attaching yourself to a font “just because you like it.” It may not be the right fit for the job.You may find yourself picking a typeface with “flare” thinking it will make your piece more designed when this is usually not the case. See if you can make the design look good using a more simple typeface.Try several typefaces at first and ask advice from other skilled typographers. Never use more than three typefaces in a design. If using serif and san serif together, seek typefaces with similar x-heights. Finally, do not use bold or condensed for body copy.
TH IS IS IS IS
KER NING NING
2 mind the gap Kerning is the process of adjusting the space in between letterforms and words.“Good kerning” aims to creates a balanced distribution of space amongst text for increased legibility. Because our alphabet is made up of organic forms with both round shapes and straight edges, the negative space between letters can vary. Though type designers spend many hours analyzing and programming the correct spacing, a multitude of design situations arise that require us to manually kern our text. Smaller text size and body copy requires less attention to kerning than headlines and titles. Rounder letterforms such as “o” and “c” often require tighter kerning on either side, whereas, letterforms with straight stems such as “i” an and “l” often require looser kerning on either side. Letterforms with angles such as capital “Y” or “W” create more negative space than capital “H” or “E”. More advanced typographers can anticipate situations with problematic kerning, but there is no exact science. Every typographic scenario differs and we must treat each scenario as with a graceful and discerning eye.
HEY THIS IS
LEADING
3 Let’er Breathe Leading refers to the space in between lines of text, or more specifically the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. The term is derived from the days of hand-setting type when bars of lead were used to create space. The amount of leading needed in most situations is approximately 120%-140%. Though the field of typography has created a useful pool of rules and tips over years of practice, nothing beats your visual instinct. Typefaces with large x-heights tend to require greater leading than typefaces with smaller x-heights. The relationship of ascenders and descenders between lines often determines the amount of leading required. Loose leading requires the eye to jump too far from line to line. Tight leading strains the reader in finding where to go next.
THIS IS BAD RAG THIS IS BAD RAG THIS IS BAD RAG
4 Clean Dirty Rags The optimal alignment for reading is left aligned, ragged right. The skinnier the text column, the dirtier the rag. To clean up text rags typographers adjust tracking. Tracking refers to the overall spacing in a line of text. A general rule of thumb is to not loosen tracking more than +25 or tighten tracking less than -25. A good rag gives the illusion of a clear alignment through the average length of the text lines. Though avoiding hyphens is ideal, sometimes they are necessary to create breaks in long words. Do not hyphenate proper nouns or exceed more than three hyphens in a paragraph. If you chose full justification, meaning it aligns both left and right make sure to avoid rivers. Rivers are the appearance of lines of white spaces within a column of justified text due to excessive spacing.
