When it comes to talk about typography, I’ll have this big grin on my face!
I love how interesting and simple typography is, but also how complicated it is at the same time.
You get what I mean?
Let me tell you. People usually notice when typography does not seem right. We see typography almost everywhere, right? In billboards, street art, some ads (TV, website ads), stores in malls and even on the shirts, bags, mugs and other daily things.
You can tell that it isn’t right, but can you tell how it is supposed to be? Can you tell what kind of typography a design should have so it does not loose the strength and impact that they wanted to get from the final design?
Oh yes, you can!
I hope this article can help you understand a bit about typography. Some basic concepts that will help you understand the dark arts of typography.
1. Choosing fonts
Two things that you must remember are the fonts should be readable and beautiful.
If you can remember those two simple things, the next one that you should remember is don’t go crazy over fonts.
There are so many legit free fonts that seem adorable and perfect for your design, but please remember to use a maximum of four fonts to keep your design professional. I still find it difficult to find four fonts that actually can work together. I normally only use 2-3 different fonts in a piece of graphics design.
It is also important to remember what is the purpose of your design. This makes it easier for you to narrow down some of your favourite fonts that match with it.
This survey that included 34 designers from 14 countries lists the Top 10 most loved fonts – which are: Helvetica, Arial, Georgia, Gotham, Myriad Pro, DIN, Futura, League Gothic, Cabin and Corbel, are basically smooth, no fuss lettering, balanced and elegant. Those fonts are great for all kinds of designs and can be used for headings, sub-headings and body text.
2. Everything Number
Sizing, hierarchy, scale and margins.
Deciding which font is for the headings, sub-headings and body text is the starting point for any design. The size should be incremental. Start large and then go small. So the body text should be the smallest and your headline the largest. Even within this hierarchy, you should analyze and decide which message/text that needs to be amplified.
Beside using font size, you can also use colour, spacing and weight to state your hierarchy. Having a logical hierarchy in your designs can make your design easier to read and convey the message more clearly.
Be careful of margins. Don’t make silly mistakes with alignment. For example not leaving your words enough space to breathe. Make sure there is enough spaces between letters, lines and paragraphs. Remember again to make a design that is readable and beautiful.
No one likes packed typography.
3. Make sense
At the end of the day, typography is an art, but it still needs to make sense.
Here, besides the readable and beautiful concept of typography. The purpose also plays an important rule. Not only should the design be beautiful to see, but easy to understand. Making sense also means never over doing it. There is no point in creating a design that can only be understood by you.
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These are the three fundamental things that you should understand regarding typography. Practice, research on trends and techniques will surely help you become a better graphics designer.
Bonus knowledge. Here are some type of fonts in typography that were popular in 2014.
– Handwritten fonts like Pacifico or BlackJack
– Flat fonts like Quicksand
– Bold type of fonts like Chunk Five – great to use if the word(s) demand attention
– Mixed fonts. Yeah, mixed it up better handwritten fonts, flat fonts and bold type fonts. They can go together well in a design.
Whatever you do to your design make it work and be sure to make the words legible in a color that is easy on the eye. Have a great typographing day!
What are your favorite fonts? Have you got any tips and tricks to share with other graphics designers out there?
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