Grahic Design Notes: 3.10.2015

3.10.2015

Design

Typography

Fonts are the clothing that our ideas wear.

Legibility

• Choose classical time-tested typefaces: Baskerville, Frutiger, Garamond, Gill Sans, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Palatino.
• Serif: “flourish,” the lines at the end of letters, for smaller text.
• Sans: without the lines at the end of the letters, good for bigger text.

Serif vs Sans Serif

• Serif reads better at smaller sizes, can be complementary.

Font Variance

• Too many confuse the reader.

Definition

• Fonts that are too similar cause ambiguity.

Readability

• Use upper and lower case letters for optimum clarity.

Alignment

• Left alignment reads easiest, consider eye flow as it moves down the page.

Emphasis

• Use these tools with discretion and without disturbing eye flow.
• Italics, Bold, Size, Color, Type Style Change

Integrity

• Avoid stretching or distorting type.

Weight

• Strive for a sense of balance.

Kerning

• Adjusting the spacing between each letter individually.

Tracking

• Spacing between letters in the text.

Large Text Blocks

• Rags: Ragged edges in text blocks.