Typography is 95% of design – it’s a driving force in all forms of communication art. Can you imagine reading a magazine, checking out a website, playing with an app or watching TV without text?
Just how important is Typography in Graphic Design?
Well for starters I’d like to give you the definition of “typography” as defined by www.dictionary.com.
- 1. the art or process of printing with type.
- 2. the work of setting and arranging types and of printing from them.
- 3. the general character or appearance of printed matter.
Most people never think about typography. They don’t understand the psychological effect it has in relation to conveying a message.
So what is it then, exactly?
Typography is visual side of the printed word or text. Typography is more than the fonts we choose to use. It’s the overall look and feel (the aesthetics) of a word, a paragraph or even a single letter. It’s a utilitarian function that makes what we see and read more appealing… hopefully, and if done properly at the same time aids in the message we are trying to project while maintaining readability.
The wonderful world of typography involves selecting typefaces or fonts, point size, line length, line-spacing (leading), letter-spacing (tracking), adjusting the space within words (kerning) and finally colour.
It is important to be prepared to discuss fonts during the creative process. And you may hear terms like sans serif, slab serif, or script—but this isn’t a bunch of mumbo jumbo, it’s science!
Making sure your text is nicely written and not too difficult is only one aspect of readability. In order to read a text properly, the typography of your text should be OK too. Make sure to use a decent font size, think about the contrast of the colors you use and add whitespace. Focusing on both aspects of readability (typography and difficulty) will make sure that people will start and keep reading what you want them to read.
Convey a “feeling”.
The choice of typeface can affect how a piece is understood.
Keep People Reading.
Good typography is utilitarian in that it should allow the reader to focus on the content and not the formatting. Good typography often goes unnoticed because it just makes sense.
When using a designer, or a design firm, make sure to review samples of their work. If you have a difficult time feeling connected to the piece, ask yourself a simple question, “Is it the content that just doesn’t grab you (maybe because it’s something you have no interest in), or is it something more?”
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