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Text type is more common than any

other. Text makes up the acres of gray

in books, magazines, reports, and

hundreds of other documents. When

readingss the primary goal, it's the

designer's job to ensure that the text

is smooth, flowing and pleasant to

read. The hallmarks of good text type

are legibility and readability. Legibility

refers to clarity; it's how readily one

letter can be distinguished from all

others. Readability refers to how well

letters interact to compose wonts,

sentences and paragraphs. When

evaluating the choices, the operativeword is medium.

0269 selecting text type

An example of medium is ~

Selecting text type 0269efore&Afler I www.lJamagazine.com

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1. Pick a typeface with similar character widths

For the smoothest appearance, an alphabet's charac-

ters should have similar widths. Reading has a nat-

ural rhythm: all alphabet such as Furuta (below, top)

with 'widely varying character widths disrupts it.

2. Medium height-to-width ratlo

We identify letters by their physical characteristics-

stems, bars, loops, curves and so on; tbe clearer

they are the more legible the letter. As letters are

compressed (or expanded), these features get dis-

torted-diagonal strokes, for example, become quite

vertical-and so are harder to identify.

H H

oel isrrr

aefjsrm

widely varying widths Futu~

5 -

Similar widths r imes N ! ! . l 1 L & Q l l l 2 D

Medium height-

to-width ratio

l Ie Stone Serif

compressed

height-to-width

ratio Racer

3. Medium x-height

The x-height of a typestyle is the height of its

lowercase characters. The larger the x-height, t ile

denser the type will appear. Youwant medium;

unusually tall or short x-heights are better suited

for specialty projects.

4. Look for small variations in stroke weight

The best text faces have stroke weights that vary

somewhat, which make converging lines that help

the eye flow smoot.hly. But avoid extremes. Modern

styles (below, left) vary too much; at high resolu-

t ion their beautiful, superthin strokes disappear in

a dazzle. Sleek geometric styles (below, right) vary

lit tle or not at all, so are too uniform,

Medium x-heights

x-hetght varlatlons Incredibly, all f o u r t y pe f ac es below a re t he

s ame s iz e : 112 p o in ts . F or te xt , a vo id t ile e xtr em e 0 11e ac h e nd .

Too different

Bauer Bodoni

iMedium difference Nodifference

T imes NewRQ!llill Futura Medium

C G Bernhard

illb.iQn

BHtlt'r 13Lidolli11i"xllln' .uu l

n~I....' llrl I ' X : . l 1 i n t - : " PIHlll1i!l1 o r il

:-.llf}olirlg. SII~,llr [·~)rll:.:II·~lll~-

ulur IIiH (III : . J . . . .Ii r- . h - ur u r{'!"!I~lrl

tll~rl f"iiJ1l prTI:I. li':-; 1fJ1'f'. this

1 1 1 1 " " ' < " I, "s il > I, ·. S il k. a hu st , 1 , ,[ > ,·

a n d I ic ha s rt h« thin «hack . I

hl\T l.u II} :-on\'. '\ '1 1\ ~ I]t':-~lnl

Futurc Medium I Texture th e

net exating end mis t of it snool-

ing. sp o f f fori ;",'t c ub ulo r b ut

quosfic, leam restart that can't

prencst . I t's t o p e , this Ruant

chosible. Silk, shcst, lope and

behast Ihe thincheck.Ihave lo t

to say. Why? Elescra and order

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5. Watch out for mirrors

Geometric typestyles are so uniform that their

letters are often minor images. For text, this is not

ideal-the more dist.inct each letter is, the more

legible whole words will be. look for typestyles

that don't mirror,

Mirrored HelvetiC..ii..t'JeueRoman

7..Avoid quirkiness

Typographic sprites are fun to look at.and great

for heads, but in text they wear out their welcome

fast Why? The extra swashiness gives the eye too

much to follow and isvery tiring.

Fun, but too quirky for text 6elwe

Texture and t lasp net exating end mist of it

snoolinq, Sparr for i isn' t cubu lar but quastic:

learn restart that can"! preast, It's tope. this

fluanr chasible, Sill:1.chest, lape and behast

the thin chace. IThas larch to 5a y fan. Why?

Elesara and order is lay of aim. A card whint

not ooum or bent, Pre tty s imple . ' i/1eadand

[arm. Texture and flasp end mist of it 5110-

oling. Si lk shast , lapc and behest the thin

chach, "II has larch to say fan." Why? Elesara

0.269 Selecting text type

6. AVoid overlarge counters

Counters are the enclosed spaces inside letters.

Avoid typestyles whose counters are very large in

relation to the stroke weight. In the case ofAvant

Garde (below), 110tehow much greater the space

inside the letters is than the space outside! This will

slow the reader; set in text (bottom), Avant Cards

looks like Swiss cheese!

overlarge counters,

II C A va n t G ar de G o th lk

Texture and flasp net exating end mist of it snooling.

Spaff for i isn't cubulor but quostlc.Isom restart thot can't

prebast . l t's tope. this f luont chasible. Si lk .shost .Iope

and behast the thi n chock. It has larch to say fan. Why?

Elesara ond order is fay of aim.Acard whint not oogum

or bont. Prett y simple. glead and tarm. Texture and I lasp

net exat ing end mist of it. Fori isn't cubular but quast lc .

learn restart that con't prebast. Whint not oogum or

bont! Pretty simple, glead and term, Texture f iasp. Silk.

shost. lope and behest the thin chock, "It has larch

Favorite text faces

While many ty p efaces meet the requirements

of legibility, readability and. beauty, the foHawing

four are the ones we turn to most often:

exture and flasp~Tex tu re .R" li stf i t s noo l inmist of It5

cubular bUI qU',stic, leom restart t r , ; ; ; : -can' t p rebast, I t' s t ope , rhis fluan r

chasible. Silk, shnsr, lape and behnst

t he t hi n c ha ck , It has larch to s ny

1 ' 0 . 1 1 . \¥hy? Elesam and order is t < 1 ) '

0[ ,,1111. A cord whint not oogum or

Adobe C.nImi (11/12.75 pt)

Firs t c ho ic e f or b oo k s. c as lo n m ay be th e

R oman a lp h ab e t's m o st r ea da b le t ypeface.

It s le tte rs a re n't b ea utif ul, b ut s tr un g in to

s eu te ne es a nd p ar ag ra ph s th ey h av e fi t ,

texture, b ite , a nd c an b e r e ad c om f o rt s bl y

f or h o u rs . easton w ill w it hs ta nd e ve n th e

tightestleading.

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Favorite text 'faces

exture and Rasp n ;Te,'tllre,alllist of it snooling Jn11'( o f ir s

c ub u la r b u r q ua sri c, le ar n r es ta rt [hac

c an 't p re b as r, lr 's t op e, t hi s li un n ti b!e ,

Silk, shnst, lape an d b ehas r the thin

c hu ck . lr h as la rc h (0 '"Y t ,m , W h a ra

an d o rde r is fay oFalm.'A card whir

nor oogum or"bonr . Prerry simple

dobe Ga.~amond (11,5/12]5 pt)

I fwe could have only a ile wpef~ce, this

would be it;aararncnd is easy to read and

elegant, 100.A l it tle on the dressy side,

Garamond is a fine display face-rare in

this c lass-sane as a result can carry a doe-

ument all by i lSel l, aaramond sets small ;

set text in ten-po int minimum with aboutten percent extra leading.

ex ture an d Hasp TIe;

Texture anf it snoolmg. Spaffof Itsnoolt

but quast ic, leam restj lr t t lult can 't

prebast, It', top', this fluanr chnsible.

S ilk , shast, l ape and behnst the thin

c ha ck. It ha s 1 ",<: 11to s ay ro n. Why?

Elesara0 11<1 order is fa y of alm. A card

whint not oogum or bont. Pretty slm-

IlC Stol!e serif (9.5/12.75 pt)

Stone is bori I1gto look at but but ter .y to

read, Characterized by its stubby, lower-

caser that tucks snugly to i ts ne ighbors,

Stone is designed for outstanding fit, It

sets large; n ine-po int Isas big as you

should go, use at Ieast thirty-five percent

extra leading.

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ex tu re and fla s p n e

T e xr u r e. " n f it snoolinz. SpafI II 1St"of It. t;) ,

cuhular but qu,,,tic. lenIl l resrarr thur

cari'r preb;1s t Ie s tope, this AWlU t

chas ibl e . Silk, s ha sr, lu pe n ud b e hu sr

the thin chack. Ir has larch to sn)'

l a n. ' VVhv ?E le s ar a . '1 (1 o rder is F ,,,

of ; _ 11 1 11 , • .\ . card whine nor oognrn ur

Janson Text S5 Rom_l lll (10,5 !'2,75 pt)

Janson holds the middle ground between

the e<\rthy, workmanlike nature of easton

and the high classiness of Gara!)1ond.

RaUhder and denser, it has a chiseled,

resolute appearance, Janson sets about

average size; give it about twenty percent

extra leading,

Before & After magazil !e

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach

to graph ic design since 1990, Because our modern world

has made designers of usa ll (ready or not) , Before &

After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-

able, useful and even fun for everyone,

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Topass along a free copy ofthis art ieleto

others, click here.

John McWade publisher and creat ive d irector

Gaye MeWade Associate publisher

Vincent Pascual Staff designer

De1\ter Mark Abel lera Staf f designer

Editorial board Gwen Amos, Carl Winther

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0269 Selecti ng text type

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