Typography is the art of arranging type. This document discusses key typography terms like typefaces, fonts, x-height, ascender, descender, serifs, sans serif, slab serif, script, decorative, distressed, and old style, modern, and decorative typeface categories. It also covers combining typefaces through contrast by using different colors, directions, forms, sizes, structures, or weights between typefaces. The goal is to achieve clear distinction or emphasis when contrasting typefaces.
2. Things to know Terms used Categorizing typefaces Combining typefaces
3. Typography Etymology: from the Latin words typos (type) and graphos (written) The art and technique of Arranging type that involves the selection of: Typefaces Font size Leading (line space) Tracking (adjusting the space between a group of letters) Kerning (adjusting the space between two letters) Type design Modifying type glyphs
4. Typefaces A set of one or more fonts, in one or more sizes, designed with stylisticunity Theyusually comprise an alphabet of letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and specialcharacters (~ @ # $ % ^ & * _ + = « ‘ { } [ ] < > / )
5. Typefaces vs. Fonts Typefaces These are families of fonts. Times New Roman Arial fonts These are variations of a typeface. Arial Arial bold Arial italics Arial underline
6. Typeface terms x-height ascender descender baseline The horizontal guideline indicating where the bottom of characters without descenders appear to align Height of the lower case letters with no ascender or descender Part of the lower case letter that extends above the x-height Part of the lower case letter that extends below the x-height
8. Point size size in points Point sizes are not exactly the same height. The following are all 50 points.
9. Stress The direction and degree of incline in the axis of a font with contrast It could be diagonal (oblique or biased), vertical, or horizontal stress
10. Serifs N A short line or finishing stroke that crosses or projects from stems or strokes in a character Also called a fillet; it is a shape that appears in a character at the junction of a serif and a main stroke The thinnest stroke of a letter serif bracket hairline
11. Serifs Slab Bold, rectangular appearance and sometimes has fixed widths, meaning all characters occupy the same amount of horizontal space Wedge Where the junction of the serif and the stem are diagonal rather than bracketed N
16. Old style lowercase serifs are slanted diagonal stress serifs bracketed gentle transition from thick to thin Formed the way scribes heldtheirpens in the late 1400s Most readablebecausetheyweremeant for long lines of text Warm and graceful
19. Modern lowercase serifs are horizontal vertical stress radical thick to thin serifs subtle or no bracketing Industrialrevolution = mechanical point of view Old style typefaceswerebecomingobsolete Elegant but severe and cold Not veryreadable
22. Slab serif Alsoknown as square serif All charactersoccupy the sameamount of horizontal space, as printed by a typewriter Industrialrevolution = advertising Advertisingneededthicktypefaces Thickening the modern typefaces made it impossible to read Thickened the serifsinstead MostlyEgyptiannamesbecausearcheologywas the in thing due to finding the rosetta stone Most slabserifs are calledClarendonsbecauseitepitomizes the letterform
25. Sans serif large x-height no serifs subtle or no transition from thick to thin Sansis French for without in 1816 William Caslon created the 2-line Egyptianwhereheremoved the serifsbecausehehatedthem. Not an instant hit The Bauhaus motto“form follows function” stripped typefaces to their bare essentials Futura is the epitome of this letterform Large x-height creates a presence
29. Decorative Enhances a theme Not meant for anything but for decoration Not to beused as text Adds punch to a publication Creates a look or emphasizes content If overused, itcan destroy a design
31. Distressed distorted, deliberately trashed beauty in their ugliness Mac put desktop publishing in the hands of the masses. Rules of traditionaltypographyweredemolished Usersbecame more interested in typefaces and manymanipulatedtheirown also called fringe, grunge, garage, deconstructed, lawless
36. Combining typefaces: Conflicting 2 or more typefaces that are similar in style, size, weight, etc. Disturbing because visual attraction is not concordant nor contrasting
37. Ways to achieve contrast Color Direction Form Size Structure Weight
38. Contrast by color You can change the ‘color’ of one typeface Leading (line spacing) Letterspacing Italic Weight Typistsalsorefer to density of text as color
53. Contrast by structure Use typefacesfromfamilieswithdifferent structures Never put typefacesfrom the samefamily structure on the same page Ensurethat the contrastisemphasized Limit to only 3 families
56. Contrast by weight Refers to the thickness of the strokes Strokescanbebold, semi-bold, extra bold, regular, light, etc. Great for organizing information Again, emphasize the contrast Put it all together.