3 ms·

Five Principles for Choosing and Using Typefaces

133 points by kingsidharth 16y ago

ivanzhao 16y ago
One thing I learned over the years is that "rhythm, size and spacing" is as effective as using different typefaces. So one type, plus its italic form, is enough for most of your need. Two types and you can rule the world.
- kingsidharth 16y ago
  True words! In-fact, you have 'letter-spacing' and 'text-transform' with CSS. That in itself is enough to create so many variations of same type.
  - powrtoch 16y ago
    CSS letter-spacing is under-utilized on the web. Obviously I'm not suggesting it be used for body text, but elsewhere it's a very easy way to make your design stand out online and give the feeling that a print-design level of attention to detail was put in.
retlehs 16y ago
Also check out this free ebook from FontShop, Meet Your Type: A Field Guide to Love & Typography http://www.fontshop.com/education/pdf/fsfinalbook_spread.pdf http://www.fontshop.com/education/pdf/fsfinalbook_spread.pdf Got it from http://www.fontshop.com/education/ http://www.fontshop.com/education/
- cisforcody 16y ago
  Ellen Lupton's 'Thinking with Type' is also an excellent resource for those who wish to have a basic understanding of typography and its principles. http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/ http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/
kadavy 16y ago
Darn, I had a similar blog post sitting in draft form; but this is very well done - much better advice than I'm used to seeing on Smashing. I approve of this article.
- smashing_mag 16y ago
  Thank you, kadavy, we are listening. Over the last six months or so we've been trying very hard to improve the overall quality of the articles published on Smashing Magazine. One of the improvements we introduced is the so-called 'Smashing Magazine Experts Panel' where our articles are reviewed by experts (who are invited and paid for their reviews) before these articles get published online. There are also other things we do to ensure the good quality of the articles. We want to be a professional, reliable online publication for designers and web-developers. Your feedback indicates that we are on the right way — thanks, we truly appreciate your time.
  - kingsidharth 16y ago
    Indeed this is such an improvement on what I am used to reading at SM. I just mailed you about it. Seems like the expert panel is working. I had similar article outlined - waiting to be written too. But this was really good! Edit: This was Vitaly, so changed language addressing him.
wccrawford 16y ago
This is one of the best articles I've ever read on typefaces.
powrtoch 16y ago
Great article. Lots of good, concrete points, which is unusual for the subject matter. This seems like an article for new designers, so I'll go ahead and chime in that I think the single most crucial thing you can do when choosing a typeface or making any other design decision is to be able to look beyond what you intended and see into what is actually conveyed. Once you've learned this skill, you'll no longer make dumb mistakes like trying to grab the audience's attention with the 30pt bright red candy cane font. Because doing that usually doesn't communicate "This is worthy of your attention". It communicates "The designer is desperate for your attention", and that's a surefire way to be ignored. So the chief rule is to put yourself into the audience's shoes, and make sure your design decisions don't topple under an (automatic, subconcious) examination of your motives.
- blahedo 16y ago
  What's particularly nice (and the reason I'm bookmarking it) is that even though a lot of it is type advice I've heard before in some form, it expresses it well and puts it all in one place.
cemregr 16y ago
Good article, but they plagiarized Vignelli's quote (in the movie Helvetica) about 'I love you in' Helvetica Ultra Light and 'I hate you' in Ultra Bold without attributing him.
- kingsidharth 16y ago
  Also you can say both in same variation of Helvetica, it will feel the same because Helvetica is neutral. And that's what Vignelli meant in the film.
ThomPete 16y ago
Finally Smashing Mag is beginning to write great articles.

133 points by kingsidharth 16y ago

One thing I learned over the years is that "rhythm, size and spacing" is as effective as using different typefaces. So one type, plus its italic form, is enough for most of your need. Two types and you can rule the world.

kingsidharth 16y ago
True words! In-fact, you have 'letter-spacing' and 'text-transform' with CSS. That in itself is enough to create so many variations of same type.
- powrtoch 16y ago
  CSS letter-spacing is under-utilized on the web. Obviously I'm not suggesting it be used for body text, but elsewhere it's a very easy way to make your design stand out online and give the feeling that a print-design level of attention to detail was put in.

retlehs 16y ago

Also check out this free ebook from FontShop, Meet Your Type: A Field Guide to Love & Typography http://www.fontshop.com/education/pdf/fsfinalbook_spread.pdf http://www.fontshop.com/education/pdf/fsfinalbook_spread.pdf Got it from http://www.fontshop.com/education/ http://www.fontshop.com/education/

cisforcody 16y ago
Ellen Lupton's 'Thinking with Type' is also an excellent resource for those who wish to have a basic understanding of typography and its principles. http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/ http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/

kadavy 16y ago

Darn, I had a similar blog post sitting in draft form; but this is very well done - much better advice than I'm used to seeing on Smashing. I approve of this article.

smashing_mag 16y ago
Thank you, kadavy, we are listening. Over the last six months or so we've been trying very hard to improve the overall quality of the articles published on Smashing Magazine. One of the improvements we introduced is the so-called 'Smashing Magazine Experts Panel' where our articles are reviewed by experts (who are invited and paid for their reviews) before these articles get published online. There are also other things we do to ensure the good quality of the articles. We want to be a professional, reliable online publication for designers and web-developers. Your feedback indicates that we are on the right way — thanks, we truly appreciate your time.
- kingsidharth 16y ago
  Indeed this is such an improvement on what I am used to reading at SM. I just mailed you about it. Seems like the expert panel is working. I had similar article outlined - waiting to be written too. But this was really good! Edit: This was Vitaly, so changed language addressing him.

wccrawford 16y ago

This is one of the best articles I've ever read on typefaces.

powrtoch 16y ago

Great article. Lots of good, concrete points, which is unusual for the subject matter. This seems like an article for new designers, so I'll go ahead and chime in that I think the single most crucial thing you can do when choosing a typeface or making any other design decision is to be able to look beyond what you intended and see into what is actually conveyed. Once you've learned this skill, you'll no longer make dumb mistakes like trying to grab the audience's attention with the 30pt bright red candy cane font. Because doing that usually doesn't communicate "This is worthy of your attention". It communicates "The designer is desperate for your attention", and that's a surefire way to be ignored. So the chief rule is to put yourself into the audience's shoes, and make sure your design decisions don't topple under an (automatic, subconcious) examination of your motives.

blahedo 16y ago
What's particularly nice (and the reason I'm bookmarking it) is that even though a lot of it is type advice I've heard before in some form, it expresses it well and puts it all in one place.

cemregr 16y ago

Good article, but they plagiarized Vignelli's quote (in the movie Helvetica) about 'I love you in' Helvetica Ultra Light and 'I hate you' in Ultra Bold without attributing him.

kingsidharth 16y ago
Also you can say both in same variation of Helvetica, it will feel the same because Helvetica is neutral. And that's what Vignelli meant in the film.

ThomPete 16y ago

Finally Smashing Mag is beginning to write great articles.