UNDERSTANDING TYPOGRAPHY

I would say TYPOGRAPHY is an art. Arranging letters or texts in a readable and eye pleasing composition yet successfully conveying specific messages is one of the most challenging aspect of creating products. This in fact, involves font style, appearance and structure which are generally what brings life to texts.

Certainly a vital component of User Interface design-as a good typography establishes a strong visual hierarchy which provide and set balance to products.

TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW

1. FONTS AND TYPEFACE- Typeface refers to a group of characters, letters that share same design while font is a specific style of typeface with a set width, size and weight. For example; Arial is a typeface,16pt Arial Bold is a font.

2. TYPOGRAPHIC HIERACHY-This is aimed at creating the contrast between the most meaningful and prominent elements i.e which should be noticed first and ordinary text information.

3. MEANLINE AND BASELINE-Typography characters are placed in a straight line, creating a neat visual presentation. The main tool in making this possible is the meanline and baseline. The first mark at the top and the latter marks the bottom of a character body

4. ASCENDER AND DESCENDER-

The ascender is the part of a letter that goes above the meanline like in b and d while the descender is the part of the letter that goes beyond the baseline like in letter g or y.

IMPORTANCE OF TYPOGRAPHY IN DESIGN

1. Typography builds brand recognition. For example; KFC uses friz quadrata typeface and COCACOLA uses Spencerian Script. These fonts have been associated with these brands by users and to an extent, there is some sort of trust.
2. Typography influences decision making as it has an effect on the way users digest information conveyed and reinforced.
3. Typography holds the attention of potential users thereby increasing engagements with said product.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT TYPOGRAPHY

It is very much normal and usual to feel overwhelmed with so many fonts to choose from so here are some things that should be considered to make a good decision.

1. Think about personality-Do you want your product to feel welcoming, playful, serious or highend? A good start point is to define the core traits of your brand and gather the font that represents those traits.
2. Reflect on tone-If you want to convey serious message, choose a less stylish font to limit distractions.
3. Don’t skip the function-Let your texts remain readible and accessible.
4. Consider performance-Let your fonts be product friendly either website or apps.

I hope this helps you in your journey of becoming a World Class designer!