 Style Guide for Post-Modern Writers |
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Working with type is complicated. One rule applies for most situations: simplicity. It's good practice to keep type styles at a minimum. Employ restrained visual and typographic vocabulary to build equity in your layout. When you find “unique” solutions to typographic problems, remember that it could be attention-grabbing but also dilute the overall image of your piece.
The following diagrams show how typeface designers and typesetters view the anatomy of characters (often called glyphs) in a typeface. The first diagram contains these typesetting terms:
ascender
ascender line
baseline
cap height
descender (not "decender" as in the first diagram)
descender line
mean line
point size
x-height
Note the following definitions:
Base line: the imaginary line upon which all type rests
x-height: the main part of the lower case which is equal to the height of the lowercase ‘x’
Ascender: the part of the letter form of the lower case which rises above the x-height as in ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘f’, ‘h’, ‘k’ or ‘l’
Descender: the part of the letter ‘g’, ‘j’, ‘p’, ‘q’ and ‘y’ that extends below the baseline
Cap height: height of the capital letter. The ascenders of some lowercase actually rises sometimes a little bit above the cap height.
Type size: refers to the overall depth of the typeface and is measured from the top of the highest character to the foot of the lowest.
Serif: a short stroke that projects from the ends of the character. The serifs help to keep letters a certain distance apart, they link letters together to form word which helps reading and finally they help to differenciate individual letters.
Stroke or stem: vertical or oblique part of a letter. It can be more or less thick or thin.
Counter: An enclosed or partially enclosed portion of a type character such as ‘p’, ‘q’ or ‘b’
Type families have variations you can choose. Some variations include black, bold, regular, light and italic. When working with type, use the same typeface for headlines as the text. This creates a "thought out," cohesive and smooth product.
Type has traditionally been molded from lead and was sold in various sizes that were measured in points. Point size now is easy to change through the use of digital fonts.
Leading (rhymes with "heading") is the distance between lines of type. In early days of printing, extra strips of lead where inserted between long lines of text to make them easier to read. Today page layout applications let you easily adjust leading in your documents. Tight leading can make documents difficult to read, whereas ample leading allows for increased legibility.
Type can be aligned flush left, flush right, centered or justified. Text alignment within text blocks contributes to document tone. When text is aligned to one margin and "ragged" on the other, it can create an informal feeling. Left-aligned text is easier to read than right-aligned text. Avoid right alignment unless it is appropriate as a design or theme. Justified text aligns on both the left and right, and is used in newspapers, newsletters and, traditionally, in book work. Justified text is considered more formal than ragged text, however, justification optimizes and reduces the amount of copy on a page.
Italics should be minimally employed because they are hard to read and reflect a less formal voice. Italics lend themselves best as a contrast against a Roman style. Avoid italics to indicate emphasis because the weaker form does anything but emphasize.
Avoid using all caps because they are difficult to read. All caps are appropriate to slow down readers, as in an introductory sentence. Do not all capitalize typical words in the body of your text.
IMAGINE IF YOU HAD TO READ AN ENTIRE DOCUMENT IN ALL UPPER CASE! HOW TEDIOUS IT WOULD QUICKLY BECOME! UPPER CASE TEXT IS LIKE SHOUTING! IT CAN BE USEFUL FOR TOP-LEVEL HEADINGS, OR FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS:
"I'm divorcing you," she said.
"HOW DARE YOU," he roared.
Good document design is a combination of common sense and keeping things simple. Look at attractive examples of documents that are similar to what you're trying to create. The following explains some basic guidelines.
White space is critical to balanced layouts. Cramped copy lacks appeal and is amateurish.
Avoid using long lines of text. Use multiple columns to break up copy and improve readability.
Infrequently use bullets. Bullets should be reserved for technical documents or presentations.
Keep the number of type families on a page to a minimum.
Left justified text is easier to read than justified or right justified copy.
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