The 16 Typography Vocab Words Most Likely to be Wrong For Document Design By Dr. Jennifer L. Bowie

Family, Face, and Font Type Family: all related faces with the same name and design characteristics. Example: Bodoni MT which includes Bodoni MT and Bodoni MT Black Typeface or face: a category of type that includes all variations (such as italics, bold, all caps,…) of the same specific name. Example: Bodoni MT is a face. Font: a specific application of a face, such as style and size. Example: Bodoni MT size 28 in italics See Williams Type and slides

Legibility, Readability, and Usability Legibility: the ability to make out/recognize small amounts of text such as a word or letters Readability: the ease of reading a long body of text, such as paragraphs Usability: how well users can use a document for the given task, includes both legibility and readability See Williams Type and Kimball & Hawkins

Type Categories See both Williams books CategoryLarger Category StructureReadabilityLegibilityVoice- over Oldstyle Serif Mod think/thin transitions Diagonal stress Slanted [bracketed] serifs Very goodGoodTraditional, calm, formal Modern Serif Radical think/thin transitions Vertical stress Serifs thin and horizontal PoorGood/fairCold, elegant, dazzling Slab Serif Serif Little/no think/thin transitions Vertical stress Horizontal and think slab serifs Very goodGoodStraight- forward, plain, clean, athletic Sans Serif No/little thick/thin transitions (monoweight) No stress & no serifs GoodVery GoodModern, technical, clean Script looks like handwriting Letters may connect or not Often poorOften poor to fair Varies Decorative Structure varies greatly Fun, distinctive, strong faces Often poorOften poor to fair Varies Grunge or Distressed Decorative Structure varies greatly Distorted, trashed, schizophrenic, ugly, distinctive Often poorOften poor to fair Varies

Contrasts of Type Size: One of William’s six type contrasts, should involve big differences in type size, but can apply contrast in other ways (such as a small font on a big page). Weight: Another of William’s six type contrasts. Refers to the thickness of the strokes. Structure: Yet another of William’s six type contrasts. Refers to how the face is built including thick/thin transitions. Form: The shape of a letter. Letters can have the same structure but different shapes/forms. One of William’s six type contrasts. Example: g and G have different shapes but are the same structure. See Williams Design

Conflict, Contrast and Concord Conflicting: Two typefaces (or other elements) that are so similar they are disturbing (they “conflict”) and not contrasting, thus creating a weak design. Example: Times New Roman & Garamond. Contrasting: Clearly distinct faces that contrast and create a strong design. Example: Georgia and Verdana Concordant: Fonts from one family without much difference and thus little contrast. Creates a calm, formal design that is not as strong and distinct as a contrast. See Williams Design

Good Luck and Have Fun!