When you're building a print or web design, especially one based on a company brand, it's very important to do it right; in today's internet-centric society, where it seems more and more business is taken care of online rather than in stores, your web design needs to be just the right balance of art and legibility to have the optimum effectiveness to drawing in a larger customer base. One of the most basic, yet most important, steps of web design is the proper use of typographic design to really bring in the business. So, when you're attempting to create the ultimate web design, following these simple 10 typography tips for designers could make your project much easier, and much more effective.
10 Typography Tips for Designers
Your typography should meet certain requirements in order to ensure the best level of readability for your viewers. If your printing or web design is too difficult to read, you're more than likely going to lose the interest, and therefore the potential revenues, of the consumers who visit your page or read your ad.
1. One of the more commonly known aspects of proper use of typography is the spacing between lines of text, also known as leading. Too much or too little space between the lines of your text can make for a jumpy read, rather than a smooth one.
2. An often underrated typographic technique is the width, or measure, of your text. If your measure is too long, it makes reading from the end of one line to the beginning of the next too jerky; too short and your readers are forced to move their eyes too often.
3. The alignment of your text is an integral facet of typography. Contrary to popular opinion, justified alignment is not your friend; though it may look pretty from a distance, when you're actually trying to read you will find the irregular spacing between words to be distracting, frustrating.
4. A graduated degree of importance, from most to least, is also quite important. By starting off with the most relevant information and tapering off in terms of significance, you're lessening the potential for viewers to grow bored or impatient before they arrive at the information they're seeking.
5. The use of serif fonts – moderately to significantly embellished characters – or sans serif fonts – with minimal to no character embellishment – is a matter of style and readability. Serif fonts, while attractive, are harder to read in smaller body text, whereas sans serif fonts are almost too boring to be used in headings. A good rule of thumb is to use serif fonts for your headings, and sans serif for your body.
6. Although most people without perfect eyesight wear corrective lenses, that doesn't always mean that a consistently small font doesn't become wearing on the eyes. Try to use a graduated sizing in your text to allow for ease of reading for the viewer.
7. Using stylized quotation marks, apostrophes, punctuation and other characters can add pizzazz and interest to an otherwise boring part of your font.
8. Using a baseline grid is an easy and effective way to ensure your typography is evenly, attractively scaled and proportioned.
9. Try not to use too many differing fonts. A few different fonts creates complexity and curiosity; too many can create a headache.
10. Proper use of negative space – also known as white space – in your typographical design can add depth, as well as provide necessary breaks in sections without actually having to create physical borders therein. Other colors can be used to supplement the negative space, adding interest and depth.
Using these10 typography tips for designerscan help you to create theultimate web designin just a few simple steps of web design.
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