The Ten Commandments of

Typography

Herbert Bayer1900-1985, Austria

Graphic designer and type designerWord includes: German banknotes; Die Neue Linic magazine; Universal typeface

Derek Birdsall1934-, United Kingdom

Graphic designer and writerWord includes: Common Worship; Notes on Book Design; Penguin Books

Matthew Carter1937-, United Kingdom

Type designer and writer, founded BitstreamWord includes: Bell Centennial, Georgia, Shelley Script and Verdana typefaces

Lazar El Lissitzky1890-1941, Russia

Graphic designer, painter and writerWord includes: From Two Quadrants; propoganda poster Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge

Adrian Frutiger1928-, Switzerland

Type designer, associated with Deberney & Peignot, and LinotypeWord includes: Universe and Frutiger typefaces

Eric Gill182201940, United Kingdom

Type designer, sculptor, caver, printmaker and writerWord includes: Essay on Typography, Gills Sans and Perpetus typefaces

The

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Jonathan Hoefler1970-, United States of America

Type designer, founded Hoefler Type FoundryWord includes: Hoefler Text, Didot HTF and Pavisse typefaces

Laszlo Maholy-Nagy1895-1946, Hungary

Graphic designer, sculptor, photographer and writerWord includes: Malerei Fotografie Film

Josef Muller-Brockmann1914-1996, Switzerland

Graphic Designer and writerWord includes: The Graphic Artist and his Design Problems; Zurich Tunhalle posters

Paul Renner1878-1956, Germany

Graphic designer, type designer, painter and writerWord includes: Futura typeface; Typographie als Kunst

Erik Spiekermann1947-, Germany

Graphic designer, type designer and writer, founded Meta Design and FontShopWord includes: Stop Stealing Sheep; Meta, Officina and Info typefaces

Jan Fschichold1902-1974, Germany

Graphic designer, type designer and writerWord includes: Munich film posters; Die Neue Typographie; Penguin Books,

Sabon typeface

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4

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

I. Thou shalt not apply more than three typefaces in a document.Always remember that simplicity reigns over the disarray and confusion that the use of many typefaces causes.

5

In the beginning God created type.HEADLINE – HOEFLER TEXT,14PT

And the world was without form, and void.

SUBHEADER – GEORGIA ITALIC,10PT

And darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.BODY TEXT – HELVETICA,8PT

6

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

II. Thou shalt lay headlines large and at the top of a page.Raise the headline to a windy heigh, roar out your summons, and beckon with considerable type size.

7

In the beginning God created type.HEADLINE – HOEFLER TEXT,18PT AND 24PT

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void, and darknesswas upon the face of legibility. God said, “Letthere be ten rules to govern the use of type”, andthere came structure, order and legibility, andGod saw that this was good.BODY TEXT – HELVETICA,8PT

8

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

III. Thou shalt employ no other type size than 8pt to 10pt for body copy.The Lord will not leave unpunished by who disregards this rule.

9

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void, and darknesswas upon the face of legibility. God said, “Letthere be ten rules to govern the use of type”, andthere came structure, order and legibility, andGod saw that this was good.BODY TEXT – HELVETICA,8PT

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void, and darknesswas upon the face of legibility. God said, “Letthere be ten rules to govern the use of type”, andthere came structure, order and legibility, andGod saw that this was good.BODY TEXT – HELVETICA,9PT

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void, and darknesswas upon the face of legibility. God said, “Letthere be ten rules to govern the use of type”, andthere came structure, order and legibility, andGod saw that this was good.BODY TEXT – HELVETICA,10PT

10

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

IV. Remember that a typeface that is not legible is not truly a typeface.The dingbats and the disordered fuse fonts that foundries hold sacred are all worthless, and cursed are all who make them their delight.

11

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form. and void.

PLAYING CARDS

n the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void,

TAMIO QN6

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void,

KATAKANA,BLOCK

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void,

PHONE SCAN

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void,HANDSTAND

In the beginning God created type. And the

world was without form. and void.

MOON PHASES

12

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

V. Honour thy kerning, so that white space becomes visually equalized between characters.Kerning will save the reader time in deciphering writings.

13

Ye Av otWITHOUT KERNING

Ye Av otWITH KERNING

In the beginningNORMAL TRACKING

I n t h e b e g i n n i n gLOOSE TRACKING

In the beginningTIGHT TRACKING

14

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

VI. Thou shalt lay stress discreetly upon elements within text.The glory of God is to keep things hidden, but the glory of the foolish typographer is to over-emphasize them.

15

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.ITALICS

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.UNDERLINING

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.COLOUR

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility, and God saw that this was good.FONT WEIGHT

16

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

VII. Thou shalt not use only capitals when setting vast body copy.Let thine eyes be fixed on the ascenders, bowls and finials of lowercase type.

17

In the beginning God created type. And theworld was without form, and void, and darknesswas upon the face of legibility. God said, “Letthere be ten rules to govern the use of type”, andthere came structure, order and legibility, andGod saw that this was good.UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE TEXT

IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED TYPE. AND THEWORLD WAS WITHOUT FORM, AND VOID, AND DARKNESSWAS UPON THE FACE OF LEGIBILITY. GOD SAID, “LETTHERE BE TEN RULES TO GOVERN THE USE OF TYPE”, ANDTHERE CAME STRUCTURE, ORDER AND LEGIBILITY, ANDGOD SAW THAT THIS WAS GOOD.UPPERCASE TEXT

18

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

VIII. Thou shalt always align letters and words on a baseline.The Lord designed letterforms to coexist side by side on an invisible line, so thou shalt give them a straight path to follow.

19

In the type. WORD DEVIATION

In th

e beginn

ing God crea

ted type. LETTER DEVIATION

In

the

beginning

VERTICAL DEVIATION

beginningGod created

God

created

type.

20

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

IX. Thou shalt use flush-left, ragged-right type alignment.Renounce the use of other alignments, for they bring extra torment upon already busy eyes.

21

In the beginning God created type. And the world was withoutform, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. Godsaid, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and therecame structure, order and legibility.FLUSH-LEFT, RAGGED-RIGHT TEXT

In the beginning God created type. And the world was withoutform, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. Godsaid, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there

came structure, order and legibility.FLUSH-RIGHT, RAGGED-LEFT TEXT

JUSTIFIED TEXT

In the beginning God created type. And the world was withoutform, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. Godsaid, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there

came structure, order and legibility.CENTERED TEXT

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form,and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Letthere be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure,order and legibility.

22

Hear the word of thy Lord God:

X. Thou shalt not make lines too short or too long.I command you to trust in an utmost of seventy characters per line, while minimum of forty shall suffice.

23

In the beginningGod createdtype. And theworld waswithout form, and void, anddarkness wasupon the face oflegibility. Godsaid, “Let therebe ten rules togovern the useof type”, andthere camestructure, orderand legibility.SHORT LINES

In the beginning God created type. And the world was withoutform, and void, and darkness was upon the face of legibility. Godsaid, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and therecame structure, order and legibility.MEDIUM LINES

In the beginning God created type. And the world was without form, and void,and dark-ness was upon the face of legibility. God said, “Let there be ten rules to govern the use of type”, and there came structure, order and legibility.LONG LINES

The End