1. Understanding Typography Part One
A brief history of written and printed communication, the function of typography in graphic design and the essential typographic terminology.

2. Early Writing Systems
Photo Source:
Earliest known attempts to communicate with imagery was around 25,000 B.C.
This was primarily pictorial forms (i.e cave drawings) Early humans used symbols to communicate ideas

3. Pictographs
Systems of symbols that represent concepts in a consistent manner
Simplified drawings represent objects
Example is Egyptian system of hieroglyphics
Advantage of this system is the ability to communicate universally (no language barriers)
Image Source:

4. Pictographs
Systems of symbols that represent concepts in a consistent manner
Simplified drawings represent objects
Example is Egyptian system of hieroglyphics
Advantage of this system is the ability to communicate universally (no language barriers)
Image Source:

5. Early Alphabets Phoenician
The Phoenicians developed an alphabet of 22 symbols around 1000 B.C
Symbols related to the sounds in the language Consonants only; no vowels
Eliminated the need for people to memorize thousands of symbols
The term “Phonetics” comes from this concept

6. Early Alphabets Greek Greeks expanded on Phoenician alphabet
Added vowels and named each character
First system for reading left to right and top to bottom

7. Early Alphabets Roman Romans developed the Greek alphabet further
Modern alphabet that we now use
Added lowercase versions to letters, condensed forms of text and cursive writing that flowed more naturally by hand

8. Writing During the Dark Ages
Books were hand-produced for hundreds of years
Primarily religious (illuminated manuscripts)
Due to the painstaking effort (often years) to create a single volume, books were considered very valuable treasures
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9. Invention of the Printing Press
German metal carver Johannes Gutenberg, invented the printing press in mid 15th century
Letters carved onto a small metal plate, “punch”
Letters arranged to form blocks of text. Molten metal poured over the top to make a mold
Used to print books in larger quantities than had previously been possible
This invention changed the world, allowing rapid production and distribution of printed ideas
The Bible was first complete book ever printed
Photo Source:

10. What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design?
Helps clarify a message that the designer sends to an audience
The properly selected font has a huge impact on getting a message across to an intended audience
A poorly chosen font or bad typographic layout can detract from or even block the message all together

11. What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design?
Poor typography will prevent a reader from connecting with a design, and at worst may make your message illegible!

12. What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design?
Typography can provide an element of expression to accompany a message
A carefully crafted typography increases emotional impact of a message much more than just plain type by itself, adding another dimension to a message
A well-conceived typographic composition allows the designer to connect with the reader
Photo Source: Type Rules, Ilene Strizver

13. What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design?
Letters and numbers can be arranged in a clever way that strengthens the message
Photo Source: Design Basics, David Lauer and Stephen Pentak

14. What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design?
Letters and numbers can be arranged in a clever way that strengthens the message
Photo Source: Design Basics, David Lauer and Stephen Pentak

15. Typographic Terms
Typeface: Refers to the upper and lowercase letters and numbers of a specific design/ font.
Examples: Helvetica, Times, etc.
Characters: The individual letters, numbers and punctuation used when setting type
Uppercase: The capital letters of the alphabet
Lowercase: The small letters of the alphabet

16. Typographic Terms
Baseline: An imaginary line on which the characters seem to be standing
Meanline: The imaginary line that runs along the top of most lowercase letters, such as i, c, e, m, n, u,v, w and x
X-Height: The height of the body or main element of the lowercase letterform, which falls between the meanline and the baseline
Cap Height: The imaginary line that runs across the top of capital letters and ascenders in a line of type

17. Serif vs. San Serif Letterforms
Serif: Letters with finishing strokes, or brackets, that project from letters Gives letters “finished” appearance
Letters flow together, making serif typefaces easy to read Often used in books, magazines and newspapers
San Serif: Type with no serif
Also has no variation in the width of its strokes; computer generated look Useful for signs and large-scale text meant to be seen from a distance Text is harder for a reader’s eye to follow in large blocks of text

18. Script Fonts
Script fonts are decorative and suggest a hand written appearance. Often used to suggest formality. Difficult to read in large bodies of text; most effective when used as headings or sub headings in a layout.
Ex: Porcelain

19. Decorative and Novelty
General term used to describe fonts that can’t be easily categorized. This includes dingbats and contemporary specialty fonts.
Dingbats used most effectively as a decorative element within a layout or a heading/ sub heading to separate information on a page.

20. Typestyles
Roman: Upright letterforms; represents the majority of typeset copy
Italic: Slanting version of a typeface; meant to accompany Roman style letters Usually slants at a 12–15 degree angle
Oblique: Type that is simply slanted to the right

21. Typestyles
Regular: The standard weight of a typeface (also called “normal”)
Light: A thinner/ lighter version of the regular typeface. Also called “thin”
Bold: A thicker, heavier version of the regular typeface

22. Typestyles
Condensed: A narrower version of the regular typeface to fit letters into small space; also called “compressed”
Extended: A wider version of the regular typeface; also called “expanded”
Type families: A combination of all typestyles (roman, bold, italic, etc) of a font Typestyles share common characteristics (design, x-height, etc)

23. Typographic Measurements
1 inch = 6 picas
Two basic units of measurement used to describe type:
Points: Very small units used to measure both type sizes and the spaces in between the lines of type.
Picas: Larger unit of measurement. 12 points= 1 Pica (6 picas in 1 inch) 72 point type = 1 inch

24. Typographic Measurements
Text Type: Refers to smaller sizes of type, usually between 5 and 14 points Used to print books, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Display Type: Refers to the larger sizes of type used to call attention, such as newspaper headlines or posters; usually point type or larger

25. Adjusting Text Spacing Leading and Kerning
Leading: The space in between lines of text
Term refers to lead pieces inserted in between lines of type to add more space on old fashioned printing presses

26. Adjusting Text Spacing Leading and Kerning
Kerning: Spacing in between individual letters and words in a single line of text

27. Typographic Design Principles
Legibility: Making sure the audience can read your text
Similarity, alignment: Creating organization of information
Uniformity and consistency: Repeating elements in a composition to direct the viewer’s attention and create design harmony
Hierarchy: Organizing information in terms of its importance to the viewer
Contrast: Creating interest and distinguishing different types of information with different typefaces

28. Typographic Design Principles Legibility
Legibility is a combination of factors: Font family
Font size
Letter, word, and line spacing Alignment
Font and background colors

29. Typographic Design Principles Legibility

30. Typographic Design Principles Legibility
Font sizes above 14 points break down the continuity of large blocks of text, making words difficult for readers to follow

31. Typographic Design Principles Legibility
Other Legibility Issues: If letters, words, or lines are too close together, readers have a hard time because text blocks tend to look too dark

32. Typographic Design Principles Legibility
Other Legibility Issues: If letters, words, or lines are too far apart, readers have a hard time because blocks of text tend to look too light, causing readers to lose a sense of continuity

33. Typographic Design Principles Legibility
Other Legibility Issues: Spacing between words should be consistent to promote legibility; too much variation in letter and line leads to eyestrain

34. Typographic Design Principles Legibility
Other Legibility Issues: White type on a black background can also make large blocks of text difficult to read
This type of typographic treatment usually works best on headline or subhead areas of a layout

35. Typographic Design Principles Legibility
Other Legibility Issues: Certain color combinations, particularly those lacking strong contrast (such as yellow type on white background) are difficult to read

36. Typographic Design Principles Unity and Concordance
To maintain overall uniformity, limit the number of different font families per page to two or three at most
Use the same font for headings and body text to produce a uniform look; this is known as concordance

37. Typographic Design Principles Contrast
Using the same font family throughout a layout creates uniformity but may make documents seem visually boring
To add contrast, combine two font families (for example, one serif and one sans serif or script font)
Heading and body type can use different fonts to separate information and create visual interest

38. Typographic Design Principles Hierarchy
Hierarchy helps your audience distinguish between levels of information, such as title, header, subhead and body
Information can be set apart by changing font family, font type, size, color
To maintain unity, keep typographic choices consistent for each section throughout a layout

39. Typographic Design Principles Hierarchy
Top-level headings can use unconventional typographic treatments
Different levels use different font sizes, families, colors, and leading to arrange and separate information

40. Typographic Design Principles Other Things to Consider
Copy length: Choose fonts that will allow for the best readability and flexibility of arrangement (kerning, leading, etc) when typesetting large amounts of text
Line length: Blocks of text that are either too long or too short are difficult to read Character count should be between 35 to 70 characters long as general rule of thumb
Type should not be adjusted by stretching it on the computer; this distorts its appearance Use the kerning and leading tools available in computer software instead

41. Text Alignment Flush Left
Type lines up on the left with “ragged” the right margin
Advantage: Easy to read in large blocks
Disadvantage: Pay attention to the “shape” made by the right edge of the text
Text shape should be convex (curve outward) rather than concave (curve inward)
Avoid putting very short lines of text next to long ones

42. Text Alignment Flush Right
Aligns text to the right; leaves “ragged” left edge
Advantage: Allows designer control over kerning spacing of text on individual lines
Disadvantage: Can be hard for the reader to follow lines of type if they don’t line up under one another on the left
Best used for small amounts of type

43. Text Alignment Centered
Type that aligns along the middle axis in a composition
Advantage: Just like with left and right justification, designer can control word spacing for good legibility
Disadvantage: Can be difficult for the reader to find the beginning of the next line of text when lines don’t justify left
Works best using small areas of type, such as lists, headlines, etc.

44. Text Alignment Justified
Aligns type on both the left and right edge
Advantage: If done correctly, this can make areas of text appear uniform and clean, giving crisp edges on both sides of an area of text
Disadvantage: Harder to control word spacing

45. Text Alignment Random Asymmetrical
No apparent structure to type
Advantage: Can be used to create unusual or unexpected effects
Disadvantage: Can be extremely difficult for readers to follow due to lack of apparent structure

46. Text Alignment Organization with Alignment
Aligned text creates a visual line in a design; such lines help readers draw connections between different parts of a document

47. Text Alignment Other Considerations
Rivers: Bad words spacing can create “rivers,”
or unintentional areas of white space that flow down a page and create a visual distraction for the reader

48. Text Alignment Other Considerations
Orphan: An orphan is a short line that appears at the top of a column Occurs when the last word of a paragraph continues onto the next page
A word that “floats” on a page by itself is distracting and confuses the reader Also applies to paragraphs- bad typography to begin first sentence of
a paragraph at the end of a page

49. Text Alignment Other Considerations
Widow: A very short line at the end of a paragraph
Can be a single word, short phrase or the last syllable of a hyphenated word