Typography is all around us – and it’s a vital part of graphic design. It’s integral to conveying messages and creating visually appealing and effective communication.
Whether you're flipping through a magazine, scrolling through a website, or reading a billboard, typography plays a critical role in how you perceive and understand the information presented. But what exactly is typography, and why is it so important?
A definition of typography
Typography is the art of arranging letters, words and characters to make the language legible, readable, and visually appealing when displayed. It involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning).
The goal of typography is not just to communicate a message, but to enhance the design’s visual engagement and aesthetic appeal.
Why typography is important in graphic design
Typography is so much more than just picking out visually attractive fonts. It can dramatically impact the effectiveness of a piece of visual communication. Here’s why it’s crucial.
It communicates mood and tone
Different typefaces convey different emotions and attitudes. For example, serif fonts often evoke a sense of tradition and reliability, which is why they’re often used in books and newspapers. Meanwhile, the modern, clean appearance of sans-serif fonts makes them especially popular for websites, corporate text and user interfaces.
When it comes to typography designs for personal events, like weddings, you may have noticed that script fonts and calligraphy fonts are particularly popular. This is because they’re elegant, sophisticated, and give the personal touch of looking as though the text has been handwritten. On the other hand, display fonts are designed for use on a large scale, and can often be playful or bold.
It enhances readability
Like many of us, you’ve probably encountered signage that makes you look twice to understand its meaning. Whether the spacing between letters is erratic or the words don’t appear in the order you’d naturally read them in, the messaging simply isn’t clear from the get-go. Good typography ensures that text is easy to read and understand. Poor typography makes content difficult to process, leading to a frustrating experience for readers.
It establishes hierarchy
As is the case with many aspects of graphic design, when it’s done well, the viewer won’t be conscious of it. This is especially the case with information hierarchy – the order in which key pieces of information are conveyed to us in graphic design.
If you’re designing a poster for an event, for example, the event name will take centre-stage. Next, you’ll want to guide the reader’s eye towards key information such as the location, dates, and times. But if there are high-profile guests at the event, you might want to highlight them before you direct the reader to practical information.
This is the power you hold as a graphic designer, and a large part of it rests in your typography choices – this includes variation in text size, weight, and style.
It reinforces brand identity
You may not have heard of Gotham by name as a font, but when you see it, you’ll almost certainly recognise it. It was a defining visual element of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign – most famously, the ‘HOPE’ posters. Combine a slightly altered version of Klavika in white on a mid-blue background and you’ll instantly recognise it as the distinct branding for Facebook.
Typography goes hand-in-hand with colour palettes to solidify brand recognition, especially when it’s used consistently across all brand materials. In many cases, it becomes synonymous with a brand's identity.
Components of a typeface
Understanding the anatomy of typefaces is essential for any graphic designer. We’ve listed some key components below.
Ascenders: These are the parts of lowercase letters that extend above the x-height (e.g., the top of 'b', 'd', 'h').
Descenders: These are the parts of lowercase letters that extend below the baseline (e.g., the bottom of 'g', 'j', 'p').
Serifs: These are the small decorative strokes at the ends of the main strokes of a letter. Typefaces can be serif or sans-serif.
X-Height: This is the height of the lowercase 'x' in a typeface, which is crucial for determining the visual size of the font and its readability.
Baseline: The imaginary line on which most characters sit.
Cap Height: The height of a capital letter from the baseline to the top of the letter.
Typography and readability
The choice and arrangement of typefaces significantly influence readability, i.e. how easily text can be read and understood. Here are some typography elements that affect readability.
Font size and line length
Text that is too small or lines that are too long can strain the eyes. Ideal readability often involves moderate line lengths and sufficiently large fonts.
Leading and tracking
Proper line spacing (leading) and letter spacing (tracking) ensure that text doesn't feel cramped or overly spaced out, enhancing readability.
Contrast and colour
Sufficient contrast between the text and background is crucial for readability, especially in digital formats.
The impact of digital technology on typography
Digital technology has revolutionised typography. We’ve listed some of the most notable impacts below.
Web fonts
Unlike the early days of the web when designers were limited to a handful of system fonts, web fonts allow for a vast array of typefaces to be used online. Services like Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts provide designers with endless possibilities to enhance web design.
Responsive design
With the variety of devices and screen sizes available on the market, typography must be flexible. Responsive design ensures that text remains readable and aesthetically pleasing across different devices, from mobile phones to large desktop monitors.
Variable fonts
Variable font technology was announced in September 2016 by Adobe, Apple, Google and Microsoft. It allows for a single font file to contain multiple variations of a typeface, such as weight and width, which paves the way for more adaptable designs.
Studying a Graphic Design MA with AUB
In this article, we’ve just scratched the surface of a very rich, fascinating field within graphic design. As digital technology and user experiences rapidly evolve, the possibilities for typography continue to expand.
If you’re passionate about graphic design and looking to delve deeper into the world of typography, our MA in Graphic Design (Online) might be the perfect way to achieve your goals. Throughout your studies, you'll have the opportunity to explore these concepts in depth with inspiring insights from academics and active industry practitioners.
On top of this, our programme is multidisciplinary – we’ll cover every facet of graphic design, from accessibility and inclusive design to consumer psychology and user behaviour.
Discover how we can help you refine your skills, elevate your design career, and thrive in today’s creative landscape:
Featured image credit: Yue Chen