Whitbread D. The Design Manual (анг.яз.)

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Typography 181

A sans serif type family

ABCDE abcdefg 12345

Frutiger light Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdefg 12345

Frutiger light italic Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdefg 12345

Frutiger roman Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdefg 12345

Frutiger italic Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdef 12345

Frutiger bold Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdef 12345

Frutiger bold italic Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdef 12345

Frutiger black Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdef 12345

Frutiger black italic Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCD abcde 12345

Frutiger ultrablack Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDEF abcdefghijk 12345

Frutiger light condensed Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDEF abcdefghijk 12345

Frutiger condensed Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdefghi 12345

Frutiger bold condensed Adrian Frutiger 1975

ABCDE abcdefghi 12345

Frutiger black condensed Adrian Frutiger 1975

A serif type family

Roman

Times new roman

Italic

Times italic

Bold

Times bold

Bold italic

Times bold italic

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182 Production

When you ﬁrst start to use type, the safest thing to do is

to stick with a good strong type family. Usually a text

typeface will have a set of four variants, i.e. the type nuclear

family—the original typeface, the bold, the italic and the

bold italic. With this basic family, you can create cohesive

type layouts because the letterforms will work comfortably

together because of their similar design attributes.

When type was made of little metal characters that were

placed together in lines by hand, each size of the typeface

had to be cast in metal—so ‘font’ described one set of

characters at a speciﬁed size. Unlimited, digital sizings

were not available: only sets or ‘fonts’ of 6, 8, 10, 12, 18

and 24 point sizes and a limited range of larger sizes were

available. Now, due to digital scaling, size is not an issue,

so a font has come to mean the particular collection of

characters that makes up a type family member.

Type nomenclature

Agl

ascender

cap height

x-height

baseline

body

descender

Ampersands

Times new roman

Goudy

Scala italic

Palatino italic

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Typography 183

Type size

Type sizes are described in points (abbreviated as pt).

There are 72 Anglo–American points to an inch or roughly

3.5 Anglo–American points to a millimetre. In Australia,

the French–European Didot point system is not used to

measure type.

The ‘point size’ is the body size of the type measured

from the top of the ascender to the bottom of the descender.

In some typefaces there is a distinct difference between the

height of the ascender and the usually smaller cap height,

so type is mostly measured from the ascender line rather

than the cap height.

Most people can comfortably read text type in sizes from

9 point to 12 point, with the most popular being 10 point

and 11 point. For children’s books or material for the aged,

text size should be larger and start at about 14 point.

points

10 8

120

13 2

144

156

168

180

19 2

204

216

228

240

252

264

276

288

millimetres

100

centimetres

picas

inches

0.5

1. 5

2.5

3.5

Measurement systems

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184 Production

Usually, a sans serif font can be set a point size smaller

than a serif font. It is all to do with the x-height (the height

of the lower-case x) and its relation to the ascending and

descending characters that surround it. A serif x will mostly

be smaller than a corresponding sans serif x.

On a narrow measure, 9 point might be necessary, but

on a wide measure, it is best to increase the size to 12 point.

These choices will determine the number of characters on

the line.

All other type decisions are made following text font

selection and the text size and text leading decisions.

Type selection

One of the safest ways to produce a cohesive text treatment

is to select a type family and use its variants exclusively.

One family member—usually the original version—is

chosen to be the basic font. Its designer determined that

this font is best for text setting. It usually is.

All decisions on text width, leading, spacing, indenting

and headings are made based on that selection. It should be

legible and easy to read, which often means it is free from

decoration and unusual letterforms.

Often an organisation will choose a typeface that

becomes its ‘corporate’ typeface—all materials produced by

the organisation are effectively identiﬁed by the use of that

type family.

There are even families designed with matching sans

serif and serif typefaces. Using such extended families gives

a ‘corporate’ cohesion to text and, because of the similarity

in curves, weight and stroke thickness, removes the

difﬁculty of ﬁnding compatible typefaces.

DOING IT SMARTER

Type selection

Develop your typography skills

by excluding illustration (or

photography) from your design.

Illustration has such a dominant

effect in a design that it can be a

crutch for a poor designer. Take

away the illustration to extend

your typographic skills.

x-height comparison

Each x is from the

48 point font

Times new roman

x-height comparison

Each x is from the

48 point font

Transit

x-height comparison

Each x is from the

48 point font

NuptialScript

The Stone family includes:

Sans

Stone sans Sumner Stone 1987

Informal

Stone informal Sumner Stone 1987

Serif

Stone serif Sumner Stone 1987

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Typography 185

Compatible typefaces

To avoid the ‘ordinary’ or ‘boring’ look of a single typeface

used through a publication, you can add interest by adding

a second ‘special’ typeface. It works best when the second

face is used sparingly. This retains the interest in it on the

occasions when it is used, possibly for headings, running

heads, pull-quotes or captions.

Think of one face as the ‘special’ and the other—

probably the text typeface—as the working face. You can

then use the variants of both families for various tasks

within the text.

The secret of successful combination of typefaces seems

to be the ability to maintain several contrasts between them.

It is best to use at least two of those contrasts when

selecting your ‘special’ and your ‘worker’. The stronger the

contrast, the more effective the combination will be. You

can contrast:

r their form—serif, sans serif, script or decorative

r their weight or typecolour—reversed, bold, medium

or light

r their scale—large or small

r their spacing—wide or narrow

r their direction—roman or italic

r their shape—condensed, normal or expanded

r their case—capitals or lower case.

Another guide here is to choose typefaces from different

type categories, with no more than one face from any one

category on a page. Use their variants, but maintain a

minimum of two contrasts between each combination. This

gives not only compatibility but also ﬂexibility.

But there are also times when the contrast might be too

great or the differences may be in conﬂict. For example, it is

often unwise to use an italic serif font with a script typeface

because their letterforms will clash. Also consider the effect

that one typeface—and its associations—will have on

another. For example, contemporary script faces are often

too ‘casual’ to sit comfortably with traditional serif typefaces

because their associations are different and there is a lack of

logic in their proximity to each other. It is a very special

elderly relative who will sit comfortably in a group of

loutish youths.

CHECK LIST

Type compatibility

The most successful technique for

selecting two types that will

complement each other is to use at

least two contrasts between them:

q Form

SERIF vs SANS SERIF

Decorative vs Normal

q Weight

LIGHT vs BOLD vs REVERSE

q Size

LARGE vs SMALL

q Spacing

W I D E vs NARROW

q Direction

Italic vs Roman

q Shape

CONDENSED

vs NORMAL vs

EXPANDED

q Case

CAPITALS/UPPER CASE vs lower case

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Legibility and readability

We read best what we are used to reading. It’s best to avoid

idiosyncratic typographic features, because they can be

unwelcome distractions to a reader. Don’t make long text

documents harder to read—it’s difﬁcult enough as it is to

get people to read them.

Because people have a ﬁnite amount of time to spend

reading, there is an emphasis on the speed and accuracy of

their comprehension. This puts great importance on the

ability to achieve clarity of letterforms and to maintain

correct emphasis within the text. What you do with your

chosen typeface to enable the reader to ﬁnd and understand

the material being presented is paramount.

A major inhibitor to smooth reading is inconsistency. Be

consistent in:

r headings, once you have established an appropriate

hierarchy

r the style for references and cross-references

r spelling

r punctuation

r the structure of information.

READ MORE ABOUT IT

Rolf Rehe, Typography: How to make it most legible, Design Research

International, Carmel, Indiana, 1984.

Colin Wheildon, Communicating or just making pretty shapes, 3rd edn,

Newspaper Advertising Bureau of Australia, Sydney, 1990.

Line length

Optimum line length is generally considered to be between

1.5 and 3 alphabets or, given the alphabet contains

26 letters, 39–78 characters (which is sometimes rounded

up to 40–80 characters) or, for people who prefer a single

ﬁgure to a range, 60 characters. It largely depends on

which publications you read.

The range is more useful than the absolute. The number

of characters per line in various typefaces and formats will

change, so you will not be able to achieve the absolute of 60

in every setting, and that does not necessarily mean that

your readability is compromised. A range also implies that,

if you go beyond the range, you are entering potentially

difﬁcult areas.

In any case, line lengths that are near the upper limit

will need more leading than those near the lower. This

enables readers’ eyes to accurately and consistently drop to

186 Production

DOING IT FASTER

Measuring optimum

line length

In order to quickly decide how wide

your columns could be without

counting, find a type catalogue that

presents settings of the lower-case

alphabet of each font in different

sizes. Simply measure the setting of

the lower-case alphabet in the size

you intend using and multiply it from

1.5 to 3 times to determine the range

for optimum line length. Then

consider whether your format or

grid allows a line length within

that range.

DOING IT SMARTER

A personalised type

catalogue

Create your own type catalogue by

typing up the alphabet in all caps and

then in lower case, a set of numbers

and punctuation marks. Caption it

with font and size information.

Duplicate it numerous times,

selecting the size options you are

most likely to use, remembering to

revise the caption. Print it out. Then

select the whole page and allocate a

different typeface and print it out,

too. Do this for all the typefaces you

have and generate new pages when

you invest in a new face.

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the starting point of the next line without doubling (where

you read the same line twice or even three times).

In narrow columns, there are a few standard techniques

to increase the number of characters to a comfortable

reading level:

r reduce the point size of your type

r select a condensed or narrow typeface

r use the italic font, which will mostly set narrower.

Another consideration is the written style of the text. If

the manuscript has many long words, such as a scientiﬁc or

technical paper, and long sentences and paragraphs, it does

not lend itself to narrow, multicolumn setting; if it has short

paragraphs and lists, or dot points with short entries, it will.

Leading

When printers used metal type, they inserted thin strips of

lead between the lines of type to separate them. The term

leading (pronounced ‘ledding’) refers to the space between

lines of type. This space is generally measured from the

baseline of one line to the baseline of the next, so it is

nearly always larger than the point size of the typeface.

If there is no leading between the lines, the text is ‘set

solid’. Solid setting has the potential for the descenders of

one line to touch the ascenders of the next, which upsets

the word shape and inhibits readability. You need some

leading in all cases where readability is paramount,

particularly in text setting.

Auto-leading refers to a default setting that places an

extra 20% of space between the lines—if your text is set in

10 point Times Roman, the auto-leading is 12 points (which

means there are 12 points from one baseline to the next).

It often helps to imagine how this was achieved with

metal type. Type is measured from the top of the ascending

characters—like d, h and k—to the bottom of the descend-

ing characters—like g, y and j. Using the same example,

you would have a line of Times that was 10 points deep

with a 2 point wide piece of lead between it and the next

line of 10 point Times.

Leading is now measured in points from baseline to

baseline (which is the sum of the body size of the type and

the width of the imaginary lead strip between the lines).

It is then expressed as the size of the body ‘on’ the measure-

ment from baseline to baseline.

Typography 187

Leading between

lines of type

LEAD

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188 Production

The amount of leading required is determined by the

interrelationship between the x-height and the number of

characters that ﬁt in the measure. The longer the line, the

more leading it will require. Conversely, with short lines,

less leading will be required.

Sans serif type usually requires more leading than serif

type. This is related to the x-height of the letterforms—

usually sans serif typefaces have a larger x-height than

serif typefaces.

As a rule of thumb, you should be able to ﬁt a minimum

of an x-and-a-half space between your x-heights.

With a serif face, the minimum recommended leading is

one extra point on the size of the face. For example, 10

point Times with 1 point of space between the lines is called

‘10 on 11 point Times’ and written as ‘10/11 pt Times’. The

leading is entered as ‘11 points’ even though, in the past, it

would have been a 1-point lead strip placed between the

lines. As a rule, leading for a serif font will be between 1

and 4 points on the size of the font—using 4 on a long line

length. Using the same example, if you had 60 characters

in a line, the appropriate speciﬁcation might be 10/13 pt

Times. If closer to 80 characters, it may be 10/14 pt Times.

With a sans serif face, the minimum recommended

leading is 2 extra points on the size of the face. Leading for

sans serif will vary from 2 to 6 extra points on the size of

the font, again using more on a longer line.

If you do not feel conﬁdent enough to make leading

decisions, auto-leading is a good guide, but not infallible,

as it is also mostly based on the appropriate leading for a

serif face.

As a further example, if you set 10 point Times Roman

with 12 point leading and then changed the typeface to the

sans serif Helvetica, you could alter the size to 9 point

Helvetica but keep the 12 point leading (which is greater

than the auto-leading for 9 point, at a comparative leading

of 133%).

If you apply leading more generously, you create a

lighter looking text block which can be a useful technique

to remember for varying the tonal arrangement within

a layout.

Minimum

leading

Minimum leading

As a general guide, the minimum

requirement is an x-and-a-half

between lines of x-height in both

serif and sans serif type—or

2.5 times the height of an x.

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Typography 189

Extreme leading

You might leave a line space or more between lines,

e.g. ‘10/24 pt Times’. As a display setting style for advertise-

ments or annual reports, it can be quite effective. Some

designers interweave headings, footnotes, even other

paragraphs or a second column of text through the

wide linespacing.

It can be a most effective technique but has drawbacks;

it relies on a reader being able to identify the typeface

variation. Maximising the contrast seems to be the easiest

way to ensure that both levels of information are read.

This is best done with colour, weight of font, or an entirely

different typeface.

Negative leading

In display lines that are set in capitals, a negative leading

is often allocated, i.e. leading that is smaller than the body

size of the type, e.g. ‘10/8 pt Times caps’. This is done to

avoid the distance that occurs when there are no descenders

to ﬁll the gap. Without the descenders, the space between

the lines can separate the lines too much, particularly if

the second line is a continuation of the ﬁrst and not a

separate heading.

In extreme cases, you may want the lines of capitals

to touch. Trial and error is the best way to determine the

amount of negative leading for this. Make sure your laser

printer gives you an accurate depiction; sometimes what

looks accurate on a laser printer will not look so accurate

when produced from an imagesetter.

You can use this technique to make a cohesive

heading shape with lower case as well. It is often used

when centring two- or three-line headings in an oval shape.

Ensure that descenders from above don’t crash into

ascenders from below. You may need to massage the line

breaks in order to avoid a crash or even use optional

characters (the dotless i [ı] is sometimes useful to avoid a

descender from the line above). You might also ‘interpret’

your centring, creating a more asymmetrical arrangement

of the lines to avoid any clashes.

When using extreme leading,

you may offset headings and other

text elements like footnotes, cross-

references or links by placing them

between the lines of the main text.

Extreme

leading

creates

cross-readings

THE

DAY’S

END

THE

DAY’S

END

BEFORE

AFTER

Capitals set solid in 18/18 pt Scala are

changed to 18/15 pt Scala to better

shape the three-line title.

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190 Production

Uneven leading within a heading

In a multiple-line heading set in lower case, such as those

that sometimes appear on narrow pamphlets, you will need

to alter the leading for each line of the heading so that it

will look optically even. The optical distortion usually occurs

when there is a line that has no descenders. The space

between it and the next line will often look inordinately

large, so you need to move the next line up a few points

until it looks even.

For this to work, make sure that each line break is

established with a line return, otherwise any leading change

will ﬂow through the entire heading.

Letterspacing

Letterspacing is usually achieved by a combination of

optical and mechanical spacing. Optical spacing achieves

the look of there being similar space between characters but

takes account of the letterforms and their counter spaces.

You can use a combination of techniques to achieve this.

For instance, imagine a number of jellybeans that neatly

ﬁt between each letter so the blank area or white space

takes the same number of jellybeans, despite their odd

distribution around some lettershapes. Another technique

is to determine the optical edge of the letterforms and

then mechanically space them.

Mechanical spacing puts exactly the same amount of

space between letters, but it is measured from the right of

the ﬁrst letter to the left of the following letter, regardless of

the letterform. This means some letter combinations will

look further away than others.

Letterspacing controls are at your ﬁngertips in most

page layout programs, and the terms most often used to

describe letterspacing techniques are tracking and kerning.

They are not interchangeable terms—in most programs you

will encounter both because they have different functions.

Kerning

Letters are usually spaced so there is the appearance of even

space between them, but in some combinations of letters,

the spacing remains awkward. Kerning is the respacing of

speciﬁc pairs of letters that are causing uneven spacing

within a word. Although this does not usually need to be

used in text setting, it is often worth the trouble for titles,

logotypes and headings. Kerning is usually required in

setting where there are capitals such as T, A, V, W and L.

DOING IT FASTER

Kerning

Don’t fiddle with kerning at rough or

draft stage—if at all.

The

Day’s

End

The

Day’s

End

BEFORE

AFTER

A title set solid in 18/18 pt Scala

looks uneven in this three-line setting

due to the descending y, capital E

and ascending d that fill the second

linespace—creating an optical

illusion of those lines being closer.

While the second line has a capital D,

the first line has no descending

characters so the leading between

the first and second lines was

reduced by 2 points to 18/16 pt Scala

to optically correct the title.

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