As a Graphic Designer whose power of visualisation is fairly good, I positively cringe when I see typographical errors. What is "typography", you ask? It is simply the art of applying graphic design principles to textual content. A lot of people may think that it's not a big deal.
But if you see this picture and it makes you feel weird on the inside, you and I would probably get along!During the last two months at Inbound Mantra, I have researched a lot on typography. There are a few quick tips that I can offer, not only to graphic designers but anyone wishing to write content that isn't irritating to the reader. So, I have decided to share my this recently acquired wisdom in the way that works for me. Graphically!
Justify Left Align
In most Western languages, people read from left to right. So don't make your reader awkwardly move his/her eyes around looking for logic in your text. Always justify your text to the left so that it's easier for them to find the start and end of the sentence. This can exponentially increase the readability of your text.
Use One Font
Variety may be the spice of life but do so in fonts requires a level of mastery, not many possess. So unless you're a master in complementary fonts, stay far away from using multiple fonts!
Jump a Weight
Contrast is the key to great design, so skip a font weight between two words to show the difference between them graphically. Usually going straight from light to bold, like I've illustrated above, can help.
Mind The Gap
Typography may have a lot of elements but one of the most important is spacing. The closer the letters, the greater will be the relationship between them according to readers. A few things to keep in mind:
1. Maintain your Kerning, Leading, and Proximity well.
2. Avoid having a single word in the last line of the paragraph as it becomes a "Widow".
3. Always use a single space after punctuation in a sentence.
Avoid the Corners
Don't place your text along the corners of the page unless you deliberately want to cut the element. There is a great risk of inadvertently cropping your important text in graphics.
So this concludes my attempt to "punnily" explain 5 key typography rules every person should follow.
Comment below if you agree or even if you have an opposing view. I would love to hear from readers!