Typography notes

Typography notes

-Typography is how we visualize our verbal communication

-Serif vs Sans-serif

-Serif has accents, sans-serif does not

- Serif is better for small font, can be complimentary

-Sans-serif for large font

-Most straightforward method is best

-"fonts are the clothing our ideas wear"

-Choose typeface for

Legibility: you first concern when choosing a font, esp. classical, time tested fonts

- ( Baskerville, times new roman, helvetica, etc)

Font Variance: too many fonts confuse the reader and spoil the design

- have two fonts that contrast well

Definition: Fonts that are too similar cause ambiguity

Readability: use upper AND lower case for optimum clarity

- All caps is the internet equivalent of shouting, only use for emphasis

-Alignment: Left-align reads easiest, consider eye flow as it moves down the page

- middle aligned is dramatic, right-align usually looks weird

-Emphasis: use these tools w/ discretion and w/o disturbing eyeflow

- Italics, bold, size, color, and typestyle change

-Integrity: Avoid stretching or distorting type

-Weight: Strive for Balance

- is the font heavy or light?

The Mac is not a Typewriter

-Just using a type tool is bad, use Kerning or Tracking to make it look good

Kerning: altering the space between individual letter forms

- make sure to keep track of individual letter spacing

Tracking: spacing applied to entire groups of letters

Large text blocks: Rags ( end of sentences )

- how the ends of your sentences look over all

- you want a more uniform end to your sentences (justified)

-Typography can be used in a creative manner, such as to create images or hand drawn lettering

-Fonts can be worth millions of dollars

History of typography

-originally used quickly made woodcut blocks, set by hand

Type is Universal

Type Face Portrait

- create a portrait using type forms