Typography

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The last post was about fonts and why due diligence in choosing appropriate fonts is important. The right choice of fonts however is just one element in designing great documents. There is a lot more beyond just choosing correct fonts that needs to be considered in terms of visual style and presentation. In fact, such is the importance given to the visual component that  an entire field is devoted to this pursuit. It's called Typography.

Matthew Butterick, typographer and writer, defines typography as "the vi­sual com­po­nent of the writ­ten word". If I were to risk  an analogy, I would like to compare typography in documents to plating a dish in the culinary world. As they say — you eat with your eyes first! The same is true with a document. Content can be presented in a manner that is inviting for the reader and that's what typography is all about — how to enhance the visual appeal of the written word !

So without further ado, I would like to lead interested readers to a great resource — a free online book on Practical Typography  by Matthew Butterick. As you explore this amazing resource — now in its second 2019 edition  — you will notice that every line that appears on your screen can be clicked for more information on that topic. If you ever had questions like what is the optimal line spacing or how much margins should be ideally used in documents, this is an authoritative source to consult. The best part is that everything suggested has a how-do-I-do-this-in-Microsoft Word reference such that you can use that design idea immediately in your document. Just casually browsing through this work will elevate you in terms of learning ! 

That such an amazing resource has been made available free reaffirms my faith in the power of open learning which is possible due to the generosity of people like Butterwick.

This is a short post. But it opens a big door!

😊