Below are the 7 must know rules of typography. By following these type rules you will be on a fail safe course to producing great type whether that be a typography poster, 3d typography art or just to improve your overall layout.
1. Double Point Size
A good way to ensure that your type is legible, aesthetic and doesn’t have any off balance or tension to it, is to double or half the point size you’re using. For example, if you are using 50pt. type for the headline, use 25pt. type for the body copy. If you want your typography to stand out even more and really make bold statements, try 3x or 4x the point size.
2. Skip A Weight
Similar concept to the previous point, is to skip a weight class. This provides contrast in your design, which can be the key to producing great typography art. For example, go from light to bold, or from medium to extra bold when changing font weights. If the change in weight isn’t contrasting enough it makes it harder for the viewer to notice the difference between them.
3. When In Doubt, Align Left
If you’re not sure whether to align your text right, centre or left — just choose left. In western culture, people read from top to bottom, left to right. So by justifying your type flush left rag right, the eye is able to find the edge and read the copy much easier.
4. Just Choose One … Or Two
Using multiple typefaces successfully requires an understanding of the chosen typeface in order to make sure that they compliment each other. A good rule of thumb would be to stick to one typeface, but if you must have two, don’t use two typefaces of the same classification. For example, do not use two sans serif, serif, slab serif or script typefaces together. The reason for this being (same as point two) it’s awkward for the reader to distinguish the difference between them and will feel ill balanced on the page, remember contrast is key.
5. Don’t Use A Bad Typeface
Using a bad typeface can be a crime. And to avoid committing crimes, I suggest you use some of the following typefaces:
Avenir, Avant Garde, Baskerville, Bodoni, Casanova, Century, Clarendon, Futura, Gill Sans, Gotham, Helvetica, Kage, Rockwell, Times New Roman, Trade Gothic
There are just a few to get you started. Over time you will develop the eye for a good typefaces, and can go searching for some nice ones of your own.
6. Align To A Point
Adding to the graphic design rules, when building your type or layout, make sure the various areas of type have a relation to each other and work cohesively as a whole. A simple way to do this is align your type to an axis, there maybe multiple axis’ within your layout, some may also form tangents, but it is a good way to make sure everything is regimented.
7. Use Shapes And Lines
Shapes and lines are a great way to group related blocks of text. This will also make objects that don’t quite fit in seem more belonging.
If these points have helped you then here are 7 more FREE secret rules of type:
