Manual of Typographic Rules

Manual of Typographic Rules

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  Typography Manual Edition Number 02,2016 by Chris Do ©2016 Chris Do
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  Justify Left When indoubt, set your type justify left rag right. Why? In western culture, people read from top to bottom, left to right. By justifying type left, the eye is able to find the edge and read copy much more easily. Avoid indenting the first line of a paragraph for this reason. Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com 01
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  Use One Typeface Usingtwo typefaces successfully within a layout requires an understanding of the chosen faces in order to be confident that they are complementary. In general, avoid using two typefaces of the same classification. For example, do not use two sans serif, serif, slab serif or script faces together. The reason—contrast. Stay with one typeface until you have achieved mastery. 02 Helvetica Neue Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com
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  Skip A Weight Gofrom light to bold, or from medium to extra bold when changing font weights. The key to great design is contrast. Slight changes in weight change make it harder for the audience to notice the difference. Try mixing bold for the headline and light for the body copy for greater contrast. 03 Light/Bold Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com
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  Double Point Size Agood rule of thumb when changing point sizes, is to double or half the point size you are using. For example, if you are using 30 pt. type for the headline, use 15 pt. type for the body copy. For other uses try 3x or 4x the point size for something more dramatic. 04 2X 4XEverything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com
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  Build your typealong one primary axis, and align elements to this grid line. For a vertical axis, align the left edge of your type. This will work regardless of font type or size. For horizontal axis, align on strongest horizontal element. Sometimes this is the cap height while others it’s the baseline. 05 Align To One Axis XEverything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com 1702 Olympic Boulevard Santa Monica California 90404
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  Use any typefaceyou like as long as it’s one of the following: Akzidenz Grotesque, Avenir, Avant Garde, Bell Gothic, Bodoni, Bembo, Caslon, Clarendon, Courier, Din Mittelschrift, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Futura, Garamond, Gill Sans, Gotham, Helvetica, Letter Gothic, Memphis, Meta, OCRB, Rockwell, Sabon, Trade Gothic, Trajan and Univers. 06 Pick Any Typeface Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com
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  Use rules/lines togroup related blocks of information. This will also make dissimilar objects appear more orderly. 07 Group By Using Rules Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com RSHAPES
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  Don’t place elementsalong the edge or corners of a page unless to deliberately cut elements off. Negative space is a good thing, so let your design breathe. 08 Avoid The Corners Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com R 2D
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  Typography is allabout spacing. Never use forced justified type because of the inherent rivers that will run through your copy. Avoid having a single word on the last line of a paragraph, otherwise known as a widow. Don’t allow a new page or column to begin with the final word or line from a previous paragraph, thus separating it from the rest of its paragraph—an orphan. Use a single space after punctuation in a sentence. Pay attention to the shape that the rag creates to avoid undesired shapes/angles. Spacing matters. The closer things are together, the more the reader will assume a relationship exists between separate blocks of information. Messenger bag skateboard heirloom selfies cray. Jianbing yr kitsch, celiac brooklyn coloring book flannel prism lyft. Before they sold out 8-bit coloring book kombucha selfies ramps, cred bitters tousled church-key dreamcatcher thundercats. Four dollar toast vice small batch, hot chicken farm-to-table 90's aesthetic XOXO vinyl pickled brooklyn tbh. Edison bulb marfa small batch affogato, asymmetrical synth offal stumptown glossier echo park fingerstache chillwave green juice. Mumblecore art party beard hella, raw denim cliche retro quinoa selvage tilde letterpress. Banjo put a bird on it narwhal, locavore letterpress aesthetic artisan poke thundercats flexitarian humblebrag pok squid. 09 Mind The Gap Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com D Avoid shapes Orphan Widow Preferred rag
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  Be bold oritalic, never regular. This isn’t actually a typographic rule. It’s a way to govern your life. Now that you’ve learned the rules, go break some. 10 Relax, It’s Just Type Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com
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  Typography Manual now availableas an animated film. Everything I learned in design school in 10 simple rules to help you start designing like a rock star. @theChrisDo www.blind.com
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  you thank Dedicated to mytypography instructor Simon Johnston, to whom I will forever be grateful and Art Center College of Design. Special thanks to: Colleen Mathis, Dave Waite, Rachel Elnar, Tuan Dinh, and Adam Sanborne. ©2016 Chris Do, All righs reserved www.blind.com