by Joel Weaver

Typography is a vital part of design. It is effective in creating mood, increasing readership and using space. While it is important, it’s almost like the director of a film: if it is great, you hardly think about it, but if it stinks it can wreck doom a project to mediocrity, or worse yet, poor readership.

Here are some basic tips on typography.

1. Use single spacing after a period.

A double space was necessary back in the day of the typewriter when typewriters had monospaced typefaces. It’s not necessary now because most fonts are proportionally spaced.

2. Hang punctuation.

When punctuation (particularly quotation marks and dashes) is aligned slightly outside the left margin, it is known by the term because appears to be “hanging” outside the margin so as not to interrupt the alignment of the text. Pagination programs can now be quickly switched to hang punctuation.

3. Pay special attention to kerning.

Kerning is the space between the letters themselves. Although auto kerning functions in some programs are sufficient for body copy, often the space between letters needs to be corrected for some letter combinations.

4. Proper leading helps readers.

Leading is the space between the lines themselves. The term comes from the old days of metal typesetting when strips of lead would be used to separate the lines of type. Programs are different, fonts are different. Leading is usually done on a case by case basis. Too little inhibits readership, while too much is poor use of space. Error on the side of too much. Keep in mind that san serif fonts (like Helvetica) typically need more leading than serif fonts (like Times New Roman

5. Rarely, if ever, use all caps.

Using all caps make things hard to read because it becomes one solid rectangle of text. Only for specific reasons should all caps be used. Think “WAR ENDS.” If the words you’re using are that important to the piece, then OK. Other than that, you’re going to have to justify (no pun intended) using all caps to the typography gods.

6. The age-old question: Serif or Sans-serif?

Serifs are best for body copy. It is easiest to read. Almost all books, newspapers and magazines use serif type faces. Some websites use sans-serif fonts for body copy, however in print, most graphic designers agree that serif fonts are optimal.

7. Watch for rivers, especially when using justified text.

Rivers are discernible patterns of white that appear in body copy. They are disturbing to the eye and can make the reader uncomfortable. A trick to test for rivers is to turn the printed piece upside down so that the mind will not recognize words. The eye will be more likely to recognize the rivers of white space.

8. Widows and orphans are sad in life, and typography.

A widow is the ending line of a paragraph at the beginning of the following page or column. An orphan occurs when the opening line of a paragraph appears by itself at the bottom of a page or a column. It can also refer to a single word that appears by itself at the end of a paragraph.

9. Stick to two typefaces (3 max).

‘Nuff said.

10. Never stretch or squash fonts; always resize uniformly.

Sometimes giving the designer carte blanche when it comes to text manipulation is a bad thing. It drives experienced designers nuts when they see the attributes of a font changed without regard to consistency.

11. Pay attention to hierarchy.

Hierarchy is how varying fonts, weights and sizes of typefaces structure a document. Everything can’t fight for attention. If so, your piece will seem muddled.

12. Pick a font that works with the mood of the piece.

Different fonts can project different tones. Don’t believe it? Next time you’re doing a project, set the body and headlines for size, then choose six completely different fonts to use for the most important piece of typography. Tack them up on the wall and step back. See which one most effectively projects the tone you want to project in your piece.

13. Avoid using 12-point type for body copy.

Although it is the default size for most programs, most designers agree that it is somewhat a waste of space in printed material. Dropping to 11 point or even 10 is advised. It does not affect readability that much, but it is can save great deal of space.

One last word… NEVER USE COMIC SANS OR PAPYRUS. EVER.

Mr. Weaver is Community Manager for Kansas City website design company Powerhouse Marketing. He has written articles about advertising, marketing, personal finance and small business.

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