Typography:The basic building block of

any printed page

Typography is the selection and arrangement of typefaces, sizes, and spacing on a publication.

Some of the basic terms used in typography are:

Typography

baseline:the imaginary line that type sits on

Typography

x-height:the height of the main part of lowercase letters

Typography

cap height:height of the capital letters

Typography

bowl or counter:lowercase enclosed letters

Typography

Stress:slant of an imaginary line going through the thinnest parts of bowl shaped letters

Typography

serif:small lines at the ends of characters; finishing strokes

Typography

ascenders:lowercase letters that rise above the x-height

Typography

descenders:lowercase letters that fall below the baseline

Typographytype size:measure in points from top of ascenders to bottom of descenders

Typography

Both of these typefaces are size 96

Typography

Typography

Both of these typefaces are size 96

Typography

Typography

Both of these typefaces are size 96

Typography

Typography

Typography

Both of these typefaces are size 96

Typography has a major impact on the overall look and image of your page and its overall quality.

• A font (or typeface) • A font size • How much leading

(space between lines of type)• How much space around titles

When choosing type, you must choose:

Type should be readable and legible.

•Readability refers to how easy it is to read a block of text.

•Typefaces are readable when they are invisible to the reader.

•THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE READER DOESN’T STOP TO THINK ABOUT THE TYPEFACE WHEN READING THE MESSAGE.

Legibility refers to whether a short amount of text, such as a headline or subhead, is easily recognizable.

John JOHN

Texas TEXAS

Cougars COUGARS

The phaomnneil pweor of the hmuan mnid

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

• Formal or informal • Modern or classic • Dense or open • Light or dramatic

Type can be used to create personality and feeling…

ABC ABC

ABC ABC

ABC ABC

ABC ABC

Six Categories of Type

• Oldstyle

• Modern

• Slab Serif

• Script

• Sans Serif

• Decorative

How to determine category…1. Serifs. Angles or horizontal. Thick or thin.

2. Transitions. Little, moderate, or radical transition from thick to thin areas.

3. Stress. Vertical or diagonal line drawn through thinnest part of bowls.

Oldstyle• Based on the hand lettering of

scribes. • Always has angled serifs• Moderate transition • Diagonal stress • Great for large bodies of text

Modern• Thin, horizontal serifs• Radical thick/thin transitions• Vertical stress• Not good for large bodies of

text

Sans Serif• Without Serifs• No transition• Vertical stress• Great legibility and good for

headlines

Slab Serif• Serifs are horizontal and thick

• Little or no thick/thin transition

• Vertical Stress

• Great for large bodies of text (but page is darker overall)

Script• Appears to be hand-lettered with a

pen, brush, or pencil.

• Should be used sparingly–never for long blocks of text.

• Can be hard to read if use for long blocks of text. It slows down the reading rate.

• IT SHOULD ALSO NEVER BE USED IN ALL CAPS.

Decorative• Fun fonts!

• Carry emotions and connotations.

• To be used sparingly – it can be difficult to read…ESPECIALLY WHEN USED IN LONG BODIES OF TEXTS AND IN ALL CAPS.

• Best used for HEADLINES

• or short phrases

Can you identify

the Serif and Sans Serif categories on the next

two slides?

Serif

or

Sans Serif

Serif

or

Sans Serif