Typography is mentioned to be a common word for designers. Font faces and typography which we use have a great effect on various factors of the website.
In order to develop a pleasing design and also to portray the mood and vision of any website, it is mandatory for designers to understand and get to know the various principles of typography.
What is Typography?
The technique and art of organization of fonts are called typography. The artistic way of representing a type or a word apart from its usual look is called typography.
The true fact is that about 95% of the design is typography. There is written data or text of about 96% on the internet. The website has these texts dispersed as small and big chunks of data and they are present in various pages and format.
Web Typography:
In a website design, the formatting of any written information can be mentioned as ‘Web typography’.
The key part of web design is typography because it is the typography which communicates with the readers.
From small body to bold blocks and from larger texts to smaller ones, the usage of text in different ways in the web is said to be the core communication methods.
In order to hold an effective website, the web designer should arrange type, on the web page in a proper way.
The use of typography is seen everywhere, where all websites mainly rely on typography as this is the main tool that communicates the message to the readers.
Typography’s Role:
An abundant amount of information is being observed by the reader’s every day. Your brain meal is obtained in many different ways.
Few of them is through social media networks, tabloids, corporate or personal blogs, films, and online magazines.
All the visual information sources have something in common and that is the text. And the text is the greatest tool to influence the readers and can be achieved by making use of typography.
There are plenty of people who launch their personal web sites, corporate sites, blogs, online stores and more.
For your websites to stand out of the rest, making use of typography can offer your page a distinct look.
Your selections of fonts have an effect on the readers. With typography, the visual hierarchy can be developed on the web page and in this way readers, attention is grabbed.
Typography Rules:
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Getting to know the basics: The typeface composition consists of accurate measurements, particular vocabulary, and central specifications. These aspects should be understood, noted and taken into consideration.
It would be a good suggestion to spend time and study the art and get a grip and confidence in the basics of typography.
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Concentrate on font communication: Do you know that few typefaces have psychology linked with it?
It is hence good to remember that few typefaces link with the audience while designing the web page.
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Kerning to be studied: The process of fine-tuning the space between characters is mentioned as kerning. This kerning is done to develop a unified pairing and a streamlined one.
The main intention of kerning is to develop a well-arranged text and also to make that the space between every character is aesthetic.
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Limitation of fonts: It would be a good suggestion to limit your fonts to two or three typefaces if you desire to have more than one.
When a body is considered, try to use the same font and size. In the same way, use another for header and another for the subhead.
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Learn perfect alignment: When typography is considered, alignment is considered to be an important feature to be understood.
Non-designers usually choose amongst justified, and center aligned and makes paragraphs tough to understand.
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Implement visual hierarchy: The importance of certain lines is forced in a typographic hierarchy.
The lines are implemented and forwarded where the audiences gain information from the design.
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Working with grids: In order to produce visual and logical harmony, the usage of grids is necessary.
When grids are used any small aspects in the page are associated with others on the page.
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Smart pairing methodology to be known: Only a maximum of three fonts are to be used for any single design.
The body text, subhead and for the title. When the number of fonts is implemented, then the page may end up in distraction.
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Choosing the right secondary font for pairing: Apart from the primary typeface, the secondary font should be entrancing.
The secondary font should be picked in a way so that the consistency or overall uniformity is never lost.
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Measuring process must be learned: The measurement of the complete width of the block text is called typographic measurement.
The “x-height” is said to be the height of the character. “set width” is said to be the width of the character. The arrangement which is utilized for measurement of fonts is said to be the “point system”.
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Rank readability: The designer to keep in mind that irrespective of the design, the readers should be comfortable in reading the message.
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Font palette should be picked smartly: The designers most powerful and key tool is picking the right color.
When amalgamating the font palette, the color theory is to be understood to a great depth. By this way, the appropriate colors for the design can be picked.
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Stretching of fonts to be avoided: When any letterform is considered, fonts are created with careful attention to details.
The value and efficiency are taken away when stretching the fonts.
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White spaces do not mean empty space: White space can be used in a smart way. When any specific part of the composition is considered more focus is considered.
The spaces are meant for the design to breathe well enough. The design components are to be stabilized in a proper way. The white spaces are ones which adds superiority to the design.
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Making use of the right tools: The designer should possess a good understanding of the right kind of tools to be used for the task.
The famed tools are usually designed by Adobe. It is also to bear in mind that the cost of paid tools is a bit higher.
Hence it would be great to conduct a product comparison to find out the right tools required to purchase and ones needed to be bypassed.
The History of Typography:
When history is referred, there is much cultural shift, boredom with topography’s state, technological advances which influences the typefaces. Let’s glimpse through the history of typography.
During the 1400’s: It was during this period that movable typefaces were invented by Guttenberg. The written word was obtained in a simple and cheap way for others. All words were costly to purchase and were usually written by hand till the 1400s.
During the 1470’s: Impressed by the text written on ancient Roman buildings it was Nicolas Jenson who created Roman type. It was far better than the black letter and readable too.
During the 1501’s: The procedure to fit more words on one page was made possible by the creation of italics by Aldus Manutius.
By making use of italics printer money can be saved. For emphasis at the time of writing and for design detail purposes, we make use of italics.
During 1734’s: Straighter serifs were developed by William Cason and hold a noticeable contrast between thin as well as bold strokes. This type is now mentioned as the ‘old style’.
During 1757’s: The transitional type or roman or Roman style type which possesses drastic contrast between thin and thick lines and has sharp serifs was developed by John Baskerville.
During the 1780’s: The initial ‘modern’ Roman typefaces were created by Giambattista Bodhoni and Firmin Didot. It offers a very cool, fresh look and the contrast was very extreme.
In this manner, in 1815 the Slab Serif or Egyptian was created by Vincent Figgins. Helvetica. There are abundant fonts designed by many great people in specific years.
Types of Typography:
There are actually 4 basic groups in which typography can be classified into.
They are decorative styles, script, and those without serifs and with serifs. Scholars of typography and typographers over these years have devised about many systems in a way to sort more typefaces.
There are also subcategories for certain typefaces.
A classification system is mandatory and can be beneficial in picking, identifying and linking the typefaces.
There are dozens of categories and the basic is the hybrid system which has about 15 styles. These styles are based on the historical and descriptive nomenclature mentioned as Vox system and released in 1954.
This standard is greatly accepted today. The classification is as follows:
Serif type styles:
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Transitional
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Old style
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Slab
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Neoclassical and Didone
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Clarendon
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Glyphic
San Serif type styles:
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Grotesque
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Square
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Humanistic
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Geometric
Script type styles:
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Casual
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Formal
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Black letter and Lombardic
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Calligraphic
Decorative:
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Graffiti
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Grunge
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Psychedelic
Importance of Typography in Web design:
About 90% of the website’s design depends on typography. The main goal of people to visit any website is to read the text and find the information they require.
The words typed in the website plays the main role and hence the presentation of words should be provided with importance.
The emotion and intention of the business must be conveyed to the readers in this digital world in an attractive way. This is achieved by means of typefaces.
Picking the right typeface which is perfect for your business is mandatory. It is through typography that consistency throughout the page is maintained. It is with typography that professional aesthetic is maintained.
Any content on a webpage is made to look attractive with typography and also impacts the reader of the website.
Based on the context, typefaces are selected by the designers. Depending upon their niches, impressive texts are used in the page to make your site look attractive.
Also, typefaces are limited in usage and as many fonts make your page disorganized and hence the right amount of text is used at the right places for an awesome look.
In the same way alignment of text, size of the text, weight of the text and lot more are taken into consideration to make your web design look stunning.
Any graphic designer would love to make use of typography and explore its use in the web design to see the way it appears.
The final message must be taken into account and in order to convey the message, there should be a fine line that walks between the visual and verbal language.
In order to present your brand in a visually perfect manner graphic design is mandatory. The text in the web design needs to be tremendously reader friendly.
Typography is hence obligatory for design. It is also mentioned as art so that your design has letters that come to life. Typography also has a tremendous effect on the way the design is received by the people.
Apart from graphics and colors, typography is more important in web design. This is actually a way which solidifies your brand image.
With all these beneficial aspects, typography is said to play the main role in web designs. Hence designers should concentrate more on typography too so that the output in any web page would be attention-grabbing.
Best effective designs can be provided in an appealing way. Visual logic is created and users are directed through various messages from marketers. In many business sites, messages are integrated with designs and hence the messages should be made to look stunning by making use of the appropriate typography.
Hence typography is the basic element which plays a main role in attracting more number of readers for your site and leads your business to profit edge. It is based on the text of the site that many followers are gathered.
The look and appeal of any page are achieved and made successful by means of typography. This article would be beneficial for anyone who has less knowledge of typography. Get started and explore more about typography.