Advertising by Design, 3rd Edition

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TYPE AND IMAGE BY DESIGN

TYPE BY DESIGN

Typography makes language visual. It is the design of letterforms and the arrangement of them in two-dimensional graphic space for print- and screen-based media and in space and time for time-based media, such as video, motion graphics, animation, and computer-based technologies. Because type communicates visually as well as literally, your typographic design concerns are:

• Clarity of visual communication
• Appropriate selection of typefaces for audience, content, and context
• Aesthetics and meaning
• What the relationship between type and imagery communicates

CLARITY OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Since most advertising messages are communicated through copy plus imagery or copy alone, type should be legible and readable (unless the idea dictates otherwise). Legibility has to do with how easily and quickly the reader can distinguish one letter from another in a given typeface. Readability refers to how easily one can read the typeface in the form of a headline and body copy (text), thereby ensuring a frustration-free reading experience. The point size (height) of the type for the specific audience (age in particular) and context (screen, print, outdoor, etc.), spacing, margins, color, and value contrast all contribute to readability.

Spacing and Case

Letter and word spacing can make or break communication. Spacing should enable comprehension, making the reading experience effortless. Spacing is about transitions—from letter to letter, word to ...