Typography in Presentations

! Typography is derived from the Greek words typos form and graphein to write

! WELCOME to this class!

! Welcome to THIS class!

The art of typography is all about choice and disposition of type in relation to the nature and substance of the message. Time-tested rules provide a context for typographic exploration. These rules must first be understood before any attempt to break them.

! Good typography is measured by how well it REINFORCES THE MEANING of the text, not by some abstract scale of merit.

! Typographic choices that work for one text wont necessarily work for another.

! There are MANY TYPOGRAPHIC SOLUTIONS that would be equally good for a given text. Typography is not a math problem with one correct answer.

! Your ability to produce good typography depends on how well YOU UNDERSTAND THE GOALS of your text, NOT ON TASTE OR VISUAL TRAINING.

! Typography is PRIMARILY UTILITARIAN ! Typography that is aesthetically pleasant, but that

doesnt reinforce the meaning of the text, is a failure.

Rules of Typography

! Type choice ! Setting

! Styling

Type Choice

! When in doubt, pair a serif for body text and sans serif for the headings

Type Choice

! AVOID using two very similar typefaces. With very little contrast, the small differences will cause a visual clash.

Type Choice

! Limit the number of typefaces in a single document to two three typefaces.

Type Choice

! AVOID using mono spaced typefaces for body text. They draw too much attention to the individual letters thereby distracting the readers from the message.

Type Choice

! Use boldface text sparingly, when used within normal text, it provides too much emphasis.

Type Choice

! Sans serif typefaces are often less readable in print than serif typefaces. In presentations when having multiple lines of text a serif typeface is more pleasing to the eye.

! Single words

! Captions

Type Choice

! For optimum readability use time - tested classical typefaces.

! SERIF Baskerville, Bodoni, Caslon, Gerogia, Goudy, Garamond, Sabon, Perpetua, Times New Roman, Bembo, Centaur, Palatino, Minion

! SANS SERIF Univers, Din, Helvetica, Meta, Futura, Gill Sans, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger

Type Choice

! TEXT SET IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS RETARDS READING

Type Choice

! AVOID using too many point sizes and weights in the same passage

Type Choice

! For standard usage, stick to regular or book weights. AVOID using extreme weights like condensed bold and extra light.

! Helvetica Regular! Helvetica Medium!! Helvetica Black Condensed! Helvetica Ultra Light

Type Choice

! For standard usage use normal typefaces of normal width. AVOID using too condensed or too expanded faces.

Type Setting

! AVOID setting type in lines of more than sixty-five characters. Longer lines cause the reader to read the same line twice.

! AVOID setting type in lines of less than thirty-two characters (captions and key words are exceptions).

Type Setting

! Be mindful of line spacing (LEADING) to facilitate

easy eye movement from line to line

Type Setting

! Use consistent l e t t e r a n d word spacing to produce an even and uninterrupted texture

Type Setting

! Left aligned text in presentations is most suited for optimum readability

Type Setting

! Maintain integrity of type and avoid distortion

Type Styling

! Use only single spaces after all punctuation

Type Styling

! AVOID orphans and widows ! WIDOW - A paragraph-ending line that falls at the

beginning of the following page/column, thus separated from the rest of thetext.

! ORPHAN - A word or part of a word that appears by itself at the end of a paragraph. Orphans result in too much white space between paragraphs or at the bottom of apage.

lorem.

Type Styling

! Emphasize elements in text WITHOUT DISTURBING the flow of reading

Type Styling

! Avoid using underlined text. Use italics instead

! Bend or break any rule for good reason!