I Am Very Font of You
To create dynamic in your design, you could opt for a combination of using Sans serif as your display while pairing it with serif for body texts. The choice is endless. If you are looking for something traditional, try going for typefaces that are classified as “old-style” such as Bembo. If you are looking for something more high end or luxurious, try typefaces in the “Didone/ Rational” classification such as Bodoni or Didot. Looking for something futuristic and bold? Try typefaces in the “Geometric” classification such as Avant Garde or Futura. Researching a little more in-depth into the classification of fonts can be very advantageous to your future as a graphic designer. If you are interested in the role of typefaces in branding, visit our other blog post: “Typeface Design for Brand Awareness”. The information you read there will most definitely be handy for you in the future.
1. Margin, Tracking, Kerning, Leading
After being able to select your typeface, you’ll also need to understand how to make them work well. This process is called typesetting. It includes basics such as margins, tracking, kerning and leading.
Set a System
Setting margins is vital when starting your design. You’ll need to set up values so that you can always stick to this system of the layout. Without it, your work could look like a jumbled mess as there is no coherent system for audiences to follow through when looking. In any case, where you are interested in editorial design, this knowledge is essential.
Tracking is the spacing between each letter. Kerning is used for letters such as V and A. Most of the time, type designers have already included this process for users in the design process, but they can’t design to cover all usages. If V and A is scaled up and used in a billboard, without kerning, the spacing between these two letters will cause a disruption in the rhythm of reading. Leading is the space between sentences. If you want the reading to be comfortable, try opting for a higher leading value. If reading the text is not your main design priority, reduce the leading value so that the sentence is more compressed together.