Typography and design are ingrained in our lives. Whenever you create a thumbnail for your new YouTube video, design a wedding postcard, or post a demotivator to Instagram. Why not take it to the next level? There are some 5 typography tips for beginners best practices, so let’s take full advantage of them.
Hierarchy
Establish a visual hierarchy for text to be scanned. Ask these questions. What is the key part? Which parts of the message should appear? In what order do I want these to be read? How can I make things easier for readers?
By simply changing the size of elements, you can create a bold, easy-to-read copy. There are many ways to establish hierarchy: contrast, color, size, weight, and layout.
How to Pair Fonts
Pairing fonts is part technical process and part intuitive, just like art. Let’s say contrast is the glue that holds two fonts together. If the fonts are too similar, it takes a lot of brain power to spot these small differences. This is uncomfortable. So, our eyes hate ambiguity and love contrast.
1. Avoid pairing two Serif typefaces. It’s better to pair Serif and Sans Serif (one with a serif, and one without).
2. Be careful with fonts that have similar weights. It’s much better to pair super thick and hairline, rather than thick and semi-thick.
Another way to add much sought-after contrast is to change the tracking (the spacing between characters). Or you can try pairing very different styles, for example, Sans Serif and Handwritten Script.
White Space
Design elements need air to breathe. Separate blocks of text by adding blank (or what we call white) space in between. Pay attention to the margins and stay away from the edges of the image. Lumping design elements together is one of the most common typography mistakes, so beware.
Alignment
For easy reading, make sure your text is aligned regularly. A good way to approach this is to group elements based on their logical relationships. Headers and subtitles can be combined while social media links can be combined into their blocks.
Consistent with alignment. Draw an imaginary box attached to the top of your design. Then align the elements according to this grid. Avoid parts that penetrate the outer walls of the grille. Align most elements to the left, center, or right side.
Ask yourself, what would Forrest Gump do? Often the simplest solution is the right solution. Say, align everything to the left.
Readability
The point of typography is to make the copy easy to read, not just fancy. Who wants to stare at gobbledygook (well, exceptions are important, but still)? But what does it mean to be easy to read?
The text is readable if it has the following:
1. Contrast, specifically contrast value (difference in brightness, not difference in hue or saturation)
2. Appropriate tracking (space between characters)
3. Appropriate leading (distance between baselines)
4. A no-frills typeface
5. Sufficient size
6. Noise-free background
7. White space around it
