The moment you decide to write something and publish it to the public, whether you design a visual identity , a website , a mobile application, packaging, posters, brochures… and even signs on the window of a shop or workshop, it is inevitable that you will encounter one of the most important graphic elements, typography.

We often think about the “power” of the written word, that we ignore how something is written, that is, what tone, atmosphere or emotion the design gives to that word or sentence. So don’t neglect the time you will devote to what you want to say and how you will accompany it with design.

When we have already mentioned how important typography, or simply put, the choice of font is, it would be good to mention what you need to know about it.

Typography is much more than choosing a font

In short, typography is creative design with the help of arranging letters and text so that the content is legible, clear and visually appealing to the reader.

Typography includes the style, appearance and structure of the font that evokes certain emotions in the reader and conveys the meaning of the text in the right way.

Fun fact:

Typography can be said to date back to the era of the development of printing. Before the digital age, typography or typesetting was a serious trade associated with book and newspaper printing. The first example can certainly be Gutenberg’s Bible, from which this kind of innovation was initiated, and it is interesting that ” Textura ” was used then. A font that you can easily find even today on the Internet.

However, if we return to the present…

With the development of the Internet and graphic programs, of course, there was also an accelerated development of typography, so today’s designers can only find the limit in the choice of fonts and style types within their creativity.

Of course, typography today is much more than simply choosing a good font.

Good typography will not only improve the visual effect but users will start to associate the font with your brand. And readability and visibility can help clients feel comfortable and therefore return to your website or product often.

Today, when time is precious, people simply avoid reading the entire content, so it is extremely important to set up a hierarchy with the help of typography so that the most important information easily catches the eye of users who just “glance” over the text.

What are the basic elements of typography?

Typeface and font

The main difference between a typeface and a font is that the type determines the font family, and the font itself determines its “weight”, i.e. whether it is Light , Narrow , Oblique , Bold , Italic , Regular or Black. Apart from the name, the typeface can also be distinguished into three basic groups ( serif , sans- serif , script and decorative).

Contrast

Similar to Hierarchy, with the help of contrast, it is possible to separate which headings, subheadings or paragraphs are “more important” than some others. That is, parts of the text that are more important to us for the reader to notice before some others.

Consistency

There is a rule among designers, which, as with all other design rules, it is not necessary to follow them at all, and that is that you should not use more than three types of letters, or typefaces . This will avoid a lot of confusion in your text.

Margins, between letters and between lines white

For the clarity of the text itself, that is, readability, it is very important to leave space for letters, lines, and even paragraphs to “breathe”, and yet find a measure and not overdo it.

Alignment

Text alignment can be left or right, both sides aligned, or centered

Color

We have already written a lot about colors, and it is unlikely that we will be able to explain everything in a few sentences, so you should look at some of our previous articles: ” What are color schemes “ or ” What the color of the logo tells us “ .

Hierarchy

Almost like a period or comma in text, it is visually important to separate what are headings, what are subheadings, and what is text. The most important difference is the font size.

Now, the question that only arises after so much theory is the practice itself, that is, how will you decide on the typography that suits you best?

Maybe start with how you want your readers to feel. That is, as we mentioned at the beginning, what kind of tone do you want to give to the text. You certainly wouldn’t use serif black and white letters for a children’s playroom, any more than you would use decorative colorful letters for a law office.

You should also take care of the functionality of the text, because the last thing you want is for readers to wander around your site or app where to click next. Likewise, beginner designers often overlook which fonts are web browser friendly . In that case, it is best to play it safe and choose one of the Google fonts .

Apart from websites and mobile applications nowadays, typography is a very important and crucial component in creating a logo . Some of the best solutions were obtained precisely by applying ” clever ” typography. That is why it is surprising that typography is one of the most important and at the same time the most underestimated graphic elements.