3foldComm

We’re surrounded by typography every day. However, we’re also so ingrained to letters that it’s easy to take the art of lettering for granted. Unless you’re a designer. Then you’re pretty much a typography nerd.

For this reason, and with an overall desire to share a love for fonts and typefaces, I’ve created a little overview.

First, what is typography? It’s the art and technique of arranging type, designing letterforms and symbols. Typography is a field of study unto itself. Having a strong foundation in typography is essential for professional designers. If you’ve found yourself wondering what goes on inside the brains of a professional designer, here are a few basic facts that may help you understand your designer’s idiosyncrasies when it comes to text:

Font vs. Typeface – Although the words are often used interchangibly, there is a difference between a font and a typeface. Typefaces would be the Corleones, fonts would be Don Vito, Sonny and Michael–family versus family members. So, Helvetica is the typeface, Helvetica Italic and Helvetica Bold are the fonts. Each font is designed individually to maintain consistency across the typeface family and within the fonts.

Devil in the Details – Most fonts are designed with an intense focus on legibility and balance, as well as the purpose it will serve when used. Because of this, stretching or squashing type is considered a cardinal sin. We wouldn’t ask a contractor to smash a pipe to fit our under kitchen sink better. When type is unilaterally manipulated it often distorts the letters and throws off the consistency and legibility of the message it means to convey.

Serif vs. Sans-Serif – The two most common font categories are serif and sans-serif. Serif faces have small little tails, called serifs, at the end of strokes. These features were derived from hand-written letters used before the invention of moveable type. Think about the New York Times masthead, prefect example of a serif type.

San-serif faces lack these small features, resulting in more modern and sleek designs. The Target logo is a good example of a sans-serif typeface.

Typographic Style – Just as copywriters have the MLA, AP, and other guides they follow when writing, graphic designers have a guide for the care and use of letterforms. Fortunately for designers, there is only really one guide to swear by: The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst is considered the go-to typography manual. This guide outlines everything there is to know about designing letterforms, important vocabulary, as well as usage rules. (For example: Not all dashes are created equal. There is a difference between a hyphen, an en dash and an em dash.) For many creatives, violations of these rules separate professionals from amateurs.

Graphic designers who love what they do can be total geeks about their craft – and often we forget others aren’t as familiar with the workings of type. I hope these basic looks into the wonderful world of typehelps shed some insight into our odd (but valuable) minds!