Typography Masterclass – Part 1
I accept that ‘Masterclass’ might sound a bit cocky. I also accept that some aspects of good typography are down to taste and style.
This is my blog, and this is my masterclass; other masterclasses are available.
I may have covered this in an earlier blog; I definitely have in my books, but, well, nothing.
I’m not going into selecting type or any of the other aspects of typography; this blog focuses on the setting of type. These principles can be applied to documents (both print and digital), websites, social media assets – anything you produce using type.
This is part one of two, covering the basic building blocks of well-set type: font sizes, headlines, standfirsts, subheads, body copy, paragraphs and bullets.
Font sizes
Font sizes are measured in points (pt, or pts), and in many respects, a point size is a visual measurement. Any given point size does not directly relate to a size in millimetres, for instance. The visual size is relative to the font you are using. One 18pt font may appear larger than another font set at the same size.
Headlines
It may sound obvious, but a headline is the most important line of type. It should be the biggest and, generally speaking, be at the top of the page.
A headline denotes the beginning of a new article or section, or contains the main message of the asset. So make sure it is a size that differentiates it from the following content. As well as size, choosing a different font for a headline is a way of marking out a headline.
If your font has them, use ligatures to avoid character clash. I’ll write a specific article on ligatures, so the details are not covered here.
Headlines are where you need to implement your kerning skills; close up the space between letters (as well as word spacing) to equalise the negative space between the characters.
For headlines, the leading should not be too big, start with ‘set solid’ (leading that is the same as the point size, for instance 24pt on 24pt leading) and open the leading up if descenders and ascenders touch.
In a lowercase setting, descenders are the parts of the letters that fall below the baseline; letters like ‘a’ and ‘g’ have descenders. Ascenders are letters that go above the x-height, for instance, a ‘d’ or a ‘b’. The x-height is the height of a lowercase x of the font you are using.
As a rule, keep the leading as tight as you can on a headline, but keep the lines looking comfortable.
Standfirst
Newspapers, annual reports and documents of that nature have a short paragraph that ‘introduces’ the article.
A standfirst should be smaller than the headline, but bigger than a subhead. I like to use a light version of the font for a standfirst, see font weights below.
The space after the headline, or before the standfirst, should at least mirror the headlines' leading. Perhaps a bit more. You do not want to overly separate a standfirst from the headline. The size and weight will do that.
You can close up the word spacing in a standfirst, but take it easy.
I often use the same size and font for pullout quotes that I use for standfirst, perhaps varying in colour.
Subheads
Before you design your subheads, take a look at your content so you can see how many levels of subheads you need. The more you need, the more difficult they are to design.
Subheads and sub-subheads need to visually show the typographic hierarchy. Each one should have more visual importance than the one below and all of them should have more ‘importance’ than the body text.
The tools in your box are font weights. As a general rule, the smaller they g,o the bolder they can be. You can use caps and colour, take a look at the colour section below.
Very heavy subheads can affect the flow of typography, so avoid using a black weight.
Body copy
The key thing about setting body copy is to focus on legibility. Digital documents tend to need a bigger font size and a little more leading.
As a minimum, add two points to the leading, so if your body copy is 9pt, then the leading should be at least 11pt. Don't add too much leading, as the lines will become separated from each other.
Body copy should feel like a unified set of text, easy to read and play its part as the main communicator of the piece.
Serif fonts generally read better than sans serif. That's not a popular view, as most clients see sans serif as ‘more modern’.
Never set copy, or most things for that matter, in caps. You can use caps for subheads, but as a general rule, keep caps to a minimum.
Denoting a new paragraph
The most ubiquitous way to start a new paragraph is to add a whole paragraph space at the end of each paragraph – it is also the most amateurish, and so should be avoided.
The most accepted, and some might say a little old-fashioned (I wouldn’t say that), is to use an indent for every subsequent paragraph, after the first.
Like this, with no space before (or space after the first paragraph. I would suggest a 3–5mm indent.
My preferred technique is to add a space after each paragraph. It should be less than a full paragraph return, 2.5mm for a typical font size of 9–11 pt.
Too much space separates the paragraphs and the text blocks no longer look like a unified piece of typography.
Bullet points
I don't know of a programme that has a default setting for a decent-looking bullet point. Adobe InDesign should be shamed by professional typographers for most of its default settings and its bullet points are hideous.
Bullet points should not be too big; they become ‘blobs’, as some of our clients cringingly refer to them.
Aim for less than half the size of the x-height of the font. Remember, a font size is relative; it is not a fixed size, it changes with each font.
Don’t indent a bullet too much; use the 3–5mm rule and the space between the bullet and the text should match the indent space.
When a bullet’s text runs to more than one line, use ‘indent from here'. This brings the second line of the text under the bullet in line with the first character. That sounds a little more complex than it actually is.
Bullets under bullets, or sub-bullets, should change style, look ‘less important’ than their ‘owners’. You can use outlines, colour or tints. The additional indents should mirror the main bullet spacing, just indent twice as much. So if you are indenting the first bullet by 5mm, the second-level indent should be 10mm.