In the lecture For this week we will discuss the basic design rules and guidelines that all designers know and use.
In the hand's on section we will talk about production issues and methods.
You guessed it more homework for the Typeface Web Site project.
Where do we start? How about with some definitions. The definitions below were taken for the most part out of the book "Basic Typography".Type
The word type is derived from the Greek word typos, which loosely translated means "letterform."Typeface
A typeface refers to the specific design of an alphabet. Basically all typefaces share a common make-up of the same characters, numerals, and symbols although their styles vary greatly. This point of difference is what gives typefaces their uniqueness.Type Family
Multiple weights and deviations between a single typeface, which share the same design style. A typical type family will include some if not all of the following variations normal, light, semibold, bold, black, condensed, extended, roman, italic and small caps.Points
The unit of measure used to measure type, from the top of the ascender to the bottom of the descended. There are 72 points to an inch.Picas
A unit used in determining the length of a line or measure. There are 12 points to a pica, 6 picas in an inch.Leading / Linespacing
Refers to the space between the lines of type. This space is measured in points.Crashing
When the leading of one line of type is set so tight that it intersects with the previous or next line of type. Example 12-point type set with 6 point leading between lines will result in the lines of type overlapping onto themselves.Widow
An occasion that the last word of a paragraph is the only word on the last line. It's left all by itself.Orphan
Similar occasion as a Widow, that the last word of a paragraph is the only word left by itself, but on a new page.Kerning / Letterspacing
The tactful treatment of spacing the individual characters set together to form a word, or sentence. Again this measurement is measured in points.Ascender
The part of a lowercase letterform that rises above the x-height. The letters b, d, f, h, k, l and t all have ascenders.Descender
The part of a lowercase letterform that drops below the baseline. The letters g, j, p, q and y all have descenders.Baseline
The unseen line that the type appears to be standing on.Meanline
The imaginary line that marks the top of the lowercase letters which have no ascenders.X-Height
The height of the body, or main element, of the letterform. The x-height is actually the height of the lowercase x.Serif
A characteristic for describing a typeface design that the letters appear to have feet or spurs at the ends of the characters vertical or angled shaft.Sans Serif
Means without feet.Enough with the definitions, now how about the some guidelines to get you statrted.
How small of a point size can you go before you loose legibility? Of course there is the font choice some fonts read easier at very small point sizes, and others not at all. This also depends on the intended medium; here are some good places to start with.
Digital = 8
Print = 6What differences should there be between the point sizes of the body copy and the headlines?
Contrast is one of the designers most used tools. The point of making one thing more important than another is used for prioritizing the readability.As to the point of differences, there should be at least 2-3 point sizes between body and headlines. If the body copy is set at 10 pt. then the headlines should be set at 12 pt. This should be your reference point to the proportions between body and headlines. When you use larger point sizes for bodycopy the size differences to the headline should be greater as well, example 14 point bodycopy you should use at least 16 if not 17 point type. If you use 20 point bodycopy, use 24 point type for your headlines.
Column widths, why is this important? For ease in your reading. Most people are comfortable reading lines that are less than 30 picas, or 4.5 inches long. If the column lengenths are too narrow, the reading is choppy, and interurpted. If the lines are too wide your eyes get tired and begin to stray from one line to another. Plus when you get to the end of a line your eyes have a tendency to drop down beyond the next line. Which again disrupts your reading pattern.
To aid in you're eyes comfortable reading situations.
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