Job:03171 Title:Typography Referenced (Rockport)
Page: 207
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Text
Job:03171 Title:Typography Referenced (Rockport)
Page: 207
207
Typographic
Principles
By Jason Tselentis
D
esigning with type is as
much a science as an art,
requiring a delicate balance
between all items in the
format to deliver appropriate and func-
tional solutions. Designers who rely
“purely on instinct” often have the benefi t
of years of experience, and thanks to
their training, can call on formal quali-
ties and aesthetic conditions that have
worked well for them in the past.
Contrasts (230) in size, shape, tone,
placement, and color all factor into
how elements placed in the format
look. Being visually literate allows the
designer to give words and images shape,
bringing it all together as a composition
created within the required format.
Designing with type requires not only
an understanding of what makes a serif
and what makes a sans serif, but also a
working knowledge of their use and even
a small appreciation of the individual
attributes that make one font diff erent
from another, as well as how they interact
when placed together.
And what about style? Good typo-
graphic expression is an art, but it is
also, without question, based on princi-
ples. Designers may use knowledge and
experience to design works that evoke a
particular period, place, person, or move-
ment. Often, they will do so to further the
communicative message required. Many
intentionally take liberties and break the
rules to create stylistic marvels for the
client’s interest, the audience’s, and their
own. But one of the most valued typo-
graphic principles deals with purpose,
and more specifi cally function.
Designing a book requires a fair
amount of restraint as well as respect for
the divine principles that book designers
have used for centuries. And readability
(330) should take precedence. Creat-
ing a gigantic billboard, for example,
calls for larger typography than a book
designer employs. And then of course,
there are the delicate niceties, much like
stylistic guidelines that writers follow.
There’s a saying that goes, “If all you
have is a hammer, everything looks like
a nail.” This holds true for the designer.
If all a designer knows is a handful of
principles, then all a designer can create
is a handful of solutions. This chapter
may not include every rule, but knowing
as many rules as possible helps designers
expand their toolbox and decide what
to use, and when.
Westminster School’s Vision magazine,
2Creatives, United Kingdom
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