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8/11/2019 What is the right TypeFace for your text?
1/14
Before&After
Selecting text type 0269Continued
XiBAmagazine.com U
text?
Whats the right
typeface forHow tochoose a typeface for
clear, easy reading overlong distances. Continued iStockphoto.com
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2of 8
Before&After XiBAmagazine.com U
Selecting text type 0269
TText type is more common than any
other. Text makes up the acres of gray
in books, magazines, reports, and
hundreds of other documents. When
readingis the primary goal, its the
designers job to ensure that the text
is smooth, flowing and pleasant to
read. The hallmarks of good text type
are legibilityand readability. Legibility
refers to clarity; its how readily oneletter can be distinguished from all
others. Readability refers to how well
letters interact to compose words,
sentences and paragraphs. When
evaluating the choices, the operative
word is medium.
Whats the right typeface for text?For text thats smooth, clear and readable, the operative word is medium
An example of medium is Utopia.
Medium x-heightMedium height-to-width ratio
Medium counters
Medium stroke
width variation
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3of 8 Selecting text type 0269
1. Pick a typeface with similar character widths
For the smoothest appearance, an alphabets charac-ters should have similar widths. Reading has a nat-
ural rhythm; an alphabet such as Futura (below, top)
with widely varying character widths disrupts it.
aefjsrm
aef jsrm
2. Medium height-to-width ratio
We identify letters by their physical characteristicsstems, bars, loops, curves and so on; the clearer
they are the more legible the letter. As letters are
compressed (or expanded), these features get dis-
torteddiagonal strokes, for example, become quite
verticaland so are harder to identify.
5
3 1
S S
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4of 8 Selecting text type 0269
nnn nBeBe
4. Look for small variations in stroke weight
The best text faces have stroke weights that varysomewhat, which make converging lines that help
the eye flow smoothly. But avoid extremes. Modern
styles (below, left) vary too much; at high resolu-
tion their beautiful, superthin strokes disappear in
a dazzle. Sleek geometric styles (below, right) vary
little or not at all, so are too uniform.
Bauer Bodoni | Texture andflasp net exating end mist of itsnooling. Spaff forl isnt cub-ular but quastic, leam restartthat cant prast. Its tope, thisfluant chasible. Silk, shast, lapeand behast the thin chack. Ihave lot to say.Why? Elesara
Futura Medium | Texture thenet exating end mist of it snool-ing. Spaff forl isnt cubular butquastic, leam restart that cantprebast. Its tope, this fluantchasible. Silk, shast, lape andbehast the thin chack. I have lotto say. Why? Elesara and order
3. Medium x-height
The x-height of a typestyle is the height of itslowercase characters. The larger the x-height, the
denser the type will appear. You want medium;
unusually tall or short x-heights are better suited
for specialty projects.
PPP
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5of 8 Selecting text type 0269
abg
5. Watch out for mirrors
Geometric typestyles are so uniform that theirletters are often mirror images. For text, this is not
idealthe more distinct each letter is, the more
legible whole words will be. Look for typestyles
that dont mirror.
bbbb
6. Avoid overlarge counters
Counters are the enclosed spaces inside letters.Avoid typestyles whose counters are very large in
relation to the stroke weight. In the case of Avant
Garde (below), note how much greater the space
inside the letters is than the space outside! This will
slow the reader; set in text (bottom), Avant Garde
looks like Swiss cheese!
Texture and flasp net exating end mist of it snooling.
Spaff forl isnt cubular but quastic, leam restart that cant
prebast. Its tope, this fluant chasible. Silk, shast, lape
and behast the thin chack. It has larch to say fan. Why?
Elesara and order is fay of alm. A card whint not oogum
or bont. Pretty simple, glead and tarm. Texture and flasp
net exating end mist of it. Forl isnt cubular but quastic,
leam restart that cant prebast. Whint not oogum or
bont! Pretty simple, glead and tarm. Texture flasp. Silk,
shast, lape and behast the thin chack. It has larch
qb
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6of 8 Selecting text type 0269
7. Avoid quirkinessTypographic sprites are fun to look at and great
for heads, but in text they wear out their welcome
fast. Why? The extra swashiness gives the eye too
much to follow and is very tiring.
Favorite text facesWhile many typefaces meet the requirements
of legibility, readability and beauty, the following
four are the ones we turn to most often:
Texture and flasp net exating end mist of it
snooling. Spaff forl isnt cubular but quastic;leam restart that cant preast. Its tope, thisfluant chasible. Silk, chast, lape and behastthe thin chack. It has larch to say fan. Why?Elesara and order is fay of alm. A card whintnot ooum or bont. Pretty simple, glead andtarm. Texture and flasp end mist of it sno-
oling. Silk, shast, lape and behast the thinchack. It has larch to say fan. Why? Elesara
Texture and flasp net exating endmist of it snooling. Spaff forl isntcubular but quastic, leam restart thatcant prebast. Its tope, this fluantchasible. Silk, shast, lape and behastthe thin chack. It has larch to sayfan. Why? Elesara and order is fayof alm. A card whint not oogum or
xture and flaspist of it snooling
Adobe Caslon(11/12.75 pt)
First choice for books, Caslon may be the
Roman alphabets most readable typeface.Its letters arent beautiful, but strung into
sentences and paragraphs they have fit,
texture, bite, and can be read comfortably
for hours. Caslon will withstand even the
tightest leading.
gkrv
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Favorite text faces
Texture and flasp net exating endmist of it snooling. Spaff forl isntcubular but quastic, leam restart thatcant prebast. Its tope, this fluantible.Silk, shast, lape and behast the thinchack. It has larch to say fan. Wharaand order is fay of alm. A card whitnot oogum or bont. Pretty simple
xture and flasp nist of it snooling.
Adobe Garamond(11.5/12.75 pt)
If we could have only one typeface, this
would be it; Garamond is easy to read andelegant, too. A little on the dressy side,
Garamond is a fine display facerare in
this classand as a result can carry a doc-
ument all by itself. Garamond sets small;
set text in ten-point minimum with about
ten percent extra leading.
ITC Stone Serif(9.5/12.75 pt)
Stone is boring to look at but buttery to
read. Characterized by its stubby, lower-case rthat tucks snugly to its neighbors,
Stone is designed for outstandingfit.It
sets large; nine-point is as big as you
should go. Use at least thirty-five percent
extra leading.
Janson Text 55 Roman(10.5/12.75 pt)
Janson holds the middle ground between
the earthy, workmanlike nature of Caslonand the high classiness of Garamond.
Rounder and denser, it has a chiseled,
resolute appearance. Janson sets about
average size; give it about twenty percent
extra leading.
Texture and flasp net exating end mist
of it snooling. Spaff forl isnt cubular
but quastic, leam restart that cant
prebast. Its tope, this fluant chasible.
Silk, shast, lape and behast the thin
chack. It has larch to say fan. Why?
Elesara and order is fay of alm. A card
whint not oogum or bont. Pretty sim-
xture and flasp ne
f it snooling. Spaff Texture and flasp net exating endmist of it snooling. Spaff forl isntcubular but quastic, leam restart thatcant prebast. Its tope, this fluantchasible. Silk, shast, lape and behastthe thin chack. It has larch to sayfan. Why? Elesara and order is fayof alm. A card whint not oogum or
xture and flasp neit snooling. Spaff
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Before & After magazine
Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-
able, useful and even fun for everyone.
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
Before & After magazine
323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Fax 916-784-3995
E-mail [email protected]
www http://www.bamagazine.com
Copyright 2009 Before & After magazine
ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reservedYou may pass along a free copy of this article to others
by clicking here.You may not alter this article, and you
may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections
for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and
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Web site, use this URL: http://www.bamagazine.com.
For all other permissions, please contact us.
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1of4
Selectingte
xttype0269
0269Selectingtexttype
TTexttypeismorecommon
thanany
oth
er.Textmakesuptheac
resofgray
inb
ooks,magazines,reports,and
hundredsofotherdocuments.When
readingistheprimarygoal,itsthe
des
ignersjobtoensuretha
tthetext
issmooth,flowingandplea
santto
read.Thehallmarksofgoodtexttype
are
legibilityandreadability.Legibility
referstoclarity;itshowrea
dilyone
lett
ercanbedistinguished
fromall
oth
ers.Readabilityrefersto
howwell
lett
ersinteracttocompose
words,
sen
tencesandparagraphs.
When
eva
luatingthechoices,the
operative
wordismedium.
Anexa
mpleofmediumisUtopia.
Mediumx-height
Medium
height-to-widthratio M
ediumcoun
tersMediumstroke
widthvariation
te
xt?
W
hatstheright
typefacefor
Howto
chooseatypefacefor
clear,ea
syreadingo
ver
longdistances.
iStockphoto.com
8/11/2019 What is the right TypeFace for your text?
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Before&After|www.bamagazine.com
2of4
Selectingte
xttype0269
0269Selectingtexttype
BauerBodoni|Texture
and
flaspnetexatingendm
istofit
snoolin
g.Spaffforlisntcub-
ularbutquastic,leamrestart
thatcantprast.Itstop
e,this
fluantchasible.Silk,shast,lape
andbehastthethincha
ck.I
havelottosay.Why?E
lesara
nnnn
BeBe
4.Lookforsmallva
riationsinstrokeweight
Thebesttextfacesh
avestrokeweightsthatvary
somewhat,whichm
akeconverginglinesthathelp
theeyeflowsmooth
ly.Butavoidextremes.Mod
ern
styles(below,left)varytoomuch;athighresolu-
tiontheirbeautiful,
superthinstrokesdisappearin
adazzle.Sleekgeom
etricstyles(below,right)va
ry
littleornotatall,so
aretoouniform.
FuturaMedium|Texturethe
netexatingendmisto
fitsnool-
ing.Spaffforlisntcubularbut
quastic,leamrestartthatcant
prebast.Itstope,thisfluant
chasible.Silk,shast,lapeand
behastthethinchack.
Ihavelot
tosay.Why?Elesaraandorder
3.Med
ium
x-height
Thex-heightofatypestyleistheh
eightofits
lowerc
asecharacters.Thelargerth
ex-height,the
denserthetypewillappear.Youwantmedium;
unusu
allytallorshortx-heightsar
ebettersuited
forspe
cialtyprojects.
PPP
1.Pick
atypefacewithsimilarch
aracterwidths
Forthesmoothestappearance,an
alphabetscharac-
terssh
ouldhavesimilarwidths.Readinghasanat-
uralrh
ythm;analphabetsuchasF
utura(below,top)
withw
idelyvaryingcharacterwidthsdisruptsit.
aefjsrm
aefjsrm
2.Medium
height-to-widthratio
Weidentifylettersb
ytheirphysicalcharacteristics
stems,bars,loops,curvesandsoon;theclearer
theyarethemorele
gibletheletter.Aslettersare
compressed(orexp
anded),thesefeaturesgetd
is-
torteddiagonalst
rokes,forexample,become
quite
verticalandsoarehardertoidentify.
5
3
1
SS
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Before&After|www.bamagazine.com
3of4
Selectingte
xttype0269
0269Selectingtexttype
7.Avoidquirkiness
Typographicspritesarefuntolook
atandgreat
forhea
ds,butintexttheywearouttheirwelcome
fast.W
hy?Theextraswashinessgivestheeyetoo
muchtofollowandisverytiring.
Favoritetextfaces
Whilemanytypefacesmeettherequirements
oflegibility,readabilit
yandbeauty,thefollowing
fouraretheonesweturntomostoften:
Textureandflaspnetexatingendmistofit
snooling.Spaffforlisnt
cubularbutquastic;
leamrestartthatcantpr
east.Itstope,this
fluantchasible.Silk,chast,lapeandbehast
thethinchack.Ithaslarchtosayfan.Why?
Elesaraandorderisfay
ofalm.Acardwhint
notooumorbont.Prettysimple,gleadand
tarm.Textureandflaspe
ndmistofitsno-
oling.Silk,shast,lapean
dbehastthethin
chack.Ithaslarchtosa
yfan.Why?Elesara
Textureandflaspnetex
atingend
mistofitsnooling.Spaffforlisnt
cubularbutquastic,leam
restartthat
cantprebast.Itstope,thisfluant
chasible.Silk,shast,lapeandbehast
thethinchack.Ithaslarchtosay
fan.Why?Elesaraandorderisfay
ofalm.Acardwhintno
toogumor
xture
andflasp
istof
itsnooling
AdobeCaslon(11/12.75p
t)
Firstchoiceforbooks,Caslo
nmaybethe
Romanalphabetsmostreadabletypeface.
Itslettersarentbeautiful,b
utstrunginto
sentencesandparagraphstheyhavefit,
texture,bite,andcanberea
dcomfortably
forhours.Caslonwillwithstandeventhe
tightestleading.
gkrv
abg
5.Watchoutformirrors
Geometrictypestylesaresounifor
mthattheir
letters
areoftenmirrorimages.Fortext,thisisnot
ideal
themoredistincteachlette
ris,themore
legible
wholewordswillbe.Lookfortypestyles
thatdo
ntmirror.
bb
bb
6.Avoidoverlargeco
unters
Countersaretheenclosedspacesinsideletters.
Avoidtypestyleswhos
ecountersareverylargein
relationtothestrokeweight.InthecaseofAvant
Garde(below),noteh
owmuchgreaterthespace
insidethelettersisthanthespaceoutside!Thisw
ill
slowthereader;setin
text(bottom),AvantGarde
lookslikeSwisscheese!
Textureandflaspnetexa
tingendmistofitsnooling.
Spaffforlisntcubularbutquastic,leam
restartthatcant
prebast.Itstope,thisflua
ntchasible.Silk,shast,lape
andbehastthethinchac
k.Ithaslarchtosayfan.Why?
Elesaraandorderisfayo
falm.Acardwhintnotoogum
orbont.Prettysimple,gle
adandtarm.Textureandflasp
netexatingendmistofit.Forlisntcubularbutquastic,
leam
restartthatcantprebast.Whintnotoogum
or
bont!Prettysimple,glead
andtarm.Textureflasp.Silk,
shast,lapeandbehastth
ethinchack.Ithaslarch
q
b
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Before&After|www.bamagazine.com
4of4
Selectingte
xttype0269
0269Selectingtexttype
Favoritetextfaces
Tex
tureandflaspnetexatingend
mis
tofitsnooling.Spaffforlisnt
cub
ularbutquastic,leamrestartthat
cantprebast.Itstope,thisfluantible.
Silk
,shast,lapeandbehastthethin
cha
ck.Ithaslarchtosayfan.Whara
and
orderisfayofalm.Acardwhit
not
oogumorbont.Prettysimple
xtureandflaspn
istofitsnooling.
Adobe
Garamond(11.5/12.75pt)
Ifwec
ouldhaveonlyonetypeface,this
would
beit;Garamondiseasytoreadand
elegan
t,too.Alittleonthedressyside,
Garam
ondisafinedisplayfacerarein
thisclassandasaresultcancarryadoc-
ument
allbyitself.Garamondsetssmall;
settex
tinten-pointminimumwithabou
t
tenpercentextraleading.
ITCStoneSerif(9.5/12
.75pt)
Stoneisboringtolooka
tbutbutteryto
read.Characterizedbyitsstubby,lower-
caserthattuckssnugly
toitsneighbors,
Stoneisdesignedforou
tstandingfit.It
setslarge;nine-pointis
asbigasyou
shouldgo.Useatleastt
hirty-fivepercent
extraleading.
Janson
Text55Roman(10.5/12.75pt)
Jansonholdsthemiddlegroundbetween
theearthy,workmanlikenatureofCaslon
andthe
highclassinessofGaramond.
Rounde
randdenser,ithasachiseled,
resoluteappearance.Jansonsetsabout
average
size;giveitabouttwentypercen
t
extrale
ading.
Textureandflaspnetexatingendmist
ofitsnooling.Spafffo
rlisntcubular
butquastic,leamrestartthatcant
prebast.Itstope,this
fluantchasible.
Silk,shast,lapeandbehastthethin
chack.Ithaslarchtosayfan.Why?
Elesaraandorderisfayofalm.Acard
whintnotoogumorb
ont.Prettysim-
xture
andflaspne
fitsn
ooling.Spaff
Text
ureandflaspnetexatingend
mist
ofitsnooling.Spaffforlisnt
cubu
larbutquastic,leamrestartthat
cantprebast.Itstope,thisfluant
chasible.Silk,shast,lapeandbehast
thethinchack.Ithaslarchtosay
fan.Why?Elesaraandorderisfay
ofalm.Acardwhintnotoogumor
xtureandflasp
ne
fitsnooling.Sp
aff
Before&Aftermag
azine
Before&Afterhasbeensharingitspracticalapproach
tographicdesignsinc
e1990.Becauseourmodernworld
hasmadedesignerso
fusall(readyornot),Before&
Afterisdedicatedtom
akinggraphicdesignunderstand
-
able,usefulandeven
funforeveryone.
JohnMcWadePublisherandcreativedirector
GayeMcWadeAssociatepublisher
DexterMarkAbelle
raStaffdesigner
Before&Aftermag
azine
323LincolnStreet,Ro
seville,CA95678
Telephone916-784-3
880
Fax916-784-3995
wwwhttp://www.bamagazine.com
Copyright2009Before&Aftermagazine
ISSN1049-0035.All
rightsreserved
Youmaypassalonga
freecopyofthisarticletoothers
byclickinghere.Youmaynotalterthisarticle,andyou
maynotchargeforit.
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