Making Text Interesting
I could have titled this blog ‘Making Typography Interesting’ or even better ‘Creative Typography’ which is an improved way of saying it, but I didn’t want to potentially confuse any non-designers with the word typography.
Typography is the art of of working with type (text/fonts)…it’s arrangement, modification and for some designers this includes ‘creation’ of typefaces (fonts). Typography is used by graphic designers, typesetters, office administrators and more to arrange words to be aesthetically pleasing, easy to read, and convey the message.
Typography is seen as the words that sit between the graphical designs, illustrations and photography that make up a marketing message, but don’t underestimate the importance of the ‘design’ of the words in your marketing message. The layout, colouration, and font choices for the text in your documents are all very important and not to be taken lightly.
Correct creative use of text can make key words more visible to the eye, make a heavy subject matter, or large expanse of information more digestable if laid out in ’small chunks’ for instance, and with the right use of font and colouration even create a visual mood for the reader.
Five Tips For Creative Typography
Some designers and especially typographers may prefer to adhere to certain rules for text layout, but I say that rules (within reason) are the enemy of creative design.
- Explore different font sizes within the same body of text.
- Explore different colours within the same body of text (be cautious with this!)
- Try to avoid relying on the same old, same old fonts. Get looking in font libraries, it’s always refreshing to see and use something new if appropriate for it’s setting.
- Typographers often tell you not to mix font types…I disagree, again I dislike rules. Whilst I wouldn’t advocate going crazy with it, a little bit of mixing can be very effective, I’ve done it many times over.
- Exploring spacing; the spacing between lines of text and the spacing between individual letters to see what looks ‘right’, whilst remaining legible at the same time.
