“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.”  -Pearl Strachan

What’s in a font?

In a world flooded with visual communication our senses are inundated daily by an incalculable volume of typography.  For those unfamiliar with the term, typography is the study and application of communication through the media of words, letters, and communicative symbols.

Even an untrained person can pinpoint many of these hastily and cheaply assembled blocks of text in various advertisements and identify when one appears unprofessional or poorly crafted.  But what, one might ask, is the difference between “good” typographic communication and “bad” typography?

1) Simplicity:

One of the basic rules of typography is the rule of simplicity.  This rule urges

a designer to use a maximum of two or three different fonts (a font is a family

system of designs, one for each letter of the alphabet)in a single piece of

collateral.  Designs with multiple fonts begin to lose their unity, and the

communicative power of the whole is lost to the competition between the “sum of

its parts.”

Professional fonts are full of myriad variations of size, thickness (weight,)

and angle (italics or obliques.)  These variations can be used to emphasize

specific text, provide headlines and captions, and create text-integrated

display graphics — all without breaking the harmony of the design

2) Hierarchy:

Since before the advent of mechanical printing, book designers have created

standards for informational hierarchy.  This hierarchy helps the viewer

understand which text is most important, least important, and what information

lies directly between the two.  Furthermore, in the realm of web design,

hierarchy must be properly established to denote navigational elements like

buttons and tool tips.

There are a variety of methods to establish the hierarchy of font sizes needed

to subliminally communicate the importance of various categories of text to the

viewer.  One common method is the use of the “golden mean,” the ratio of perfect

proportion (also known as the Fibonacci sequence.)

For example, if one has a design using a body copy size of 11 pixels, the

Fibonacci sequence states that the next highest level of hierarchical

information will occur at 1.6180339887x, or (in this case) 17.8 pixels. The next

highest from 17.8 pixels would occur at 28.8 pixels.  A level of information

below the main body copy would occur at 6.8 pixels.

Using these ratios is a way to establish the levels of importance for various

groups of information that resonates with the audience on a subconscious level.

It is a structural method that is both mathematically sound, and aesthetically

pleasing.

3) Use professional fonts:

Font design is a serious segment of typography and graphic design.  Many users

take fonts for granted, because for a period of time during the tech boom of the

1990s fonts and clip art packages were marketed as a throw away portion of the

“desktop publishing” market.  Many users were so excited to have the means to

make and print birthday cards and stationary, that they ignored the unwieldy

programs and terrible print options that came in  desktop publishing

bundles.

Typeface design is a process that not only involves establishing the shapes and

relative sizes of various letters of our alphabet, but also involves calculating

and planning out what are known as “kerning pairs,” the alignments of particular

pairs of letters when they appear side by side.  For instance, the letter “O” in

most cases has the same relative distance between itself and other letters of

our alphabet.  However, when “o” appears next to a capital “T” or “H” a new

alignment may need to be created.  Without this alignment, the space between “o”

and those letters will seem inconsistent to the viewer, and this will reduce

legibility and create a visual distraction.

Herb Lubalin, a very famous graphic designer who was prominent during the 1960’s

and 1970’s, was known for the inventive “kerning pairs” in many of the typefaces

he designed.  These alignments reinforced the branding he created for many of

his communications to clients and other designers, and earned him a name as one

of the greatest designers of the modern era.

“…for words have more power than atom bombs.”

Proper typography is one of the often neglected components of good design.

These three introductory concepts of information hierarchy and layout can form

the foundation for the display of your client’s most valuable marketing

messages.  Simplicity, hierarchy, and professionality are three steps to making

sure your designs aren’t lost in the crowded world of visual advertising.