Do you ever look at a menu, sign, or anything with type on it and think, “OH DEAR” and then run away from it as fast as your can and try to block it from your memory forever? Well, this is a daily occurrence for me as a designer. Typography is something we encounter every day whether you realize it or not, so my only hope is that we can all appreciate the small details after this. Type choice can make or break a design, so let me give you a few tips:
- Design with intention, simplification and composition in mind – There are many different styles from which typefaces are derived, such as Old Style, Modern, Square Serif, Sans Serif and Script. Depending on who or what your design is targeting, choose your type style wisely.
- Learn to Kern – kerning has to do with the spacing between each letter. You want all of them to be equal, but sometimes you have to adjust them because your eyes can play tricks on you.
- Be a Leader – leading is the distance between each line of copy. If there isn’t enough leading then your block of copy will be really tight and hard to read. If there is too much leading then your lines can start to look like separate thoughts. It’s safe to use 1.25-1.5x the point size of your font as your leading.
-Celeste Randall, Graphic Designer