Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Typographic elements
Your consideration of typographic elements such as choice of typeface and the setting
of paragraphs will have great impact on the legibility and readability of your inform-
ation design. If you are unfamiliar with some of the terminology relating to typo-
graphy, see pp. 90-91 for a glossary of terms.
Typeface
The selection of a typeface for any project is an important decision. Typefaces are like
people: they have individual personalities. For example, Garamond is traditional and
conservative, Dax is sleek and youthful, Bello is cheeky and nostalgic, and Helvetica
is serious and workmanlike.
We choose to use certain fonts because of the values they communicate. They can be
strong, bold, forthright, whimsical, distressed, futuristic, common or utilitarian. Serif
faces have more in common with traditional or luxury values, having a sense of his-
tory and integrity to them. Sans serifs are modern and uniform and so lend themselves
to more functional purposes.
With the advent of digital technology, the number of fonts available is huge, so a de-
signer must consider carefully how a font will be used for a project. Is it to be used
at a large scale on signage, small scale in a newspaper, or does it appear as a three-
dimensional object? With information design it is imperative that the font chosen is
legible in that its characters are recognized and readable.
Kerning
Kerning is the term that denotes the space between two letterforms. Particular com-
binations of letters may become difficult to read if they have too much or too little
space between them. The best example of this is the combination of r and n. This can
sometimes be mistaken for an m in particular typefaces. Kerning attempts to balance
the spacing and make it even across the whole word.
Most designers find that they have to kern typography at display sizes. The bigger the
type, the more attention to detail is required as any imperfections are exaggerated.
