What’s a font? A typeface? And is there a difference?

I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve heard the question: “what font is that?” The stickler in me would love to respond: “Shouldn’t you technically be asking ‘what typeface is that?’”

Nowadays, the two terms are used interchangeably. However, in the past, these were two very distinct terms.

Origins of type

To really understand the difference between the two, you need to know a little bit of history behind creating type.

Way back before the advent of computers, typefaces were created using little pieces of metal. These pieces had to then be individually placed on a tray to create your layout and printed on a printing press. So, when you were referring to “fonts” you were talking about that piece of metal with one style and one size of font. So fonts were of a particular face, size and style. Back then, if you were talking about Arial 14 point or Arial 24 point, you were in fact talking about 2 completely different fonts.

Through the years, there have been hand-set fonts, machine-set fonts, phototype fonts, and now digital fonts (includes Postscript, True Type, and OpenType. They are either bitmap fonts or vector fonts.)

One thing has not changed throughout type history: creating type has always been a two-part process. A type foundry creates the fonts and we as designers use the typefaces in our documents.

Within a particular typeface there are various fonts from which to choose: different styles (bold, italic, etc…) and sizes (14, 24, 36, etc.).

And then everything changed…

With the advent of computers, “fonts” and “typefaces” became synonymous. So interchangeable the two terms have become that most computer programs have a “font” menu. They also have “font styles” where you can click and bold or italicize your letters.

However, when you are dealing with printers or service bureaus, you quickly see the difference between the two. To them, the terms cannot be interchangeable.

We frequently think that by clicking bold or italics, then our file will print correctly. Printers prefer when you send the actual bold font of your typeface (ex: Helvetica Bold) NOT when you simply bold a typeface. In this case, you have to send the printer font to them to ensure the file prints correctly.

Etymology:

• “Font” derives from a French word meaning “casting” or “molding”.
• “Type” comes from the Greek “typos” which translates loosely as “letterform”.

How do they come up with those typeface names?

1. By designer: Baskerville, Bodoni, Frutiger
2. By type foundry: ITC, Linotype
3. By geography: by country (Caledonia, Helvetica) or by city (Chicago, Paris, New York)
4. By era: Century, Modern N.20
5. Historical figure: Leonardo, Renoir
6. How it’s used / function: oldstyle, handwriting, titling, etc…
7. By type: by incorporating sans, serif, script in the name
8. By look or mood: grunge, jazz
9. It’s a compound of 2 ways: Zapf Renaissance (designer / era)
10. Sometimes, it’s just a name: Futura, Times New Roman

To recap:

A font is supposed to be a physical thing. It is what is needed to display the typefaces. Whether it is the computer code, photographic film, or metal plates.

A Typeface is the shape of each character in a group of characters. It’s the letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation, etc…

A family is a group of typefaces designed to work together. It’s basically all the possible variations of a single typeface. Each is a separate file.

Technorati Tags: Design Theory, Typography

Meaningful design

Tuesday’s Design Tip for Graphic Designers

There’s something that has been bugging me for a while now. And something that I’ve been very passionate and vocal about.

Paul Rand once said “Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions, there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.”

He went on to say “A bad design is irrelevant. It is superficial, pretentious, … basically like all the stuff you see out there today.”

Begs the questions: is content as important as form? And is design all about aesthetics?

Some tricks of the trade for creating meaningful designs:

1. Have you given some thought to the design? Are you starting your design without really analyzing what you are trying to do?
2. Have you read the piece? Seems like a no-brainer but I’ve met many a designer that haven’t even read the content of what they are designing.
3. Visual hierarchy: Have you established what is important and what is supporting in your piece and have established a visual hierarchy reflecting it?
4. Fonts: Are you using fonts that are easily readable and appropriate for your intended audience? What about the size; is it suitable?
5. Colors: Are you choosing colors with your audience on your mind? Are the colors you’ve chosen appropriate and don’t overwhelm your message? Have you selected type colors that are easy to read?
6. When including photographs or illustrations: Are the visuals there as a decorative elements or to strengthen and complement the content? Can you see the relationship between your visuals and the content?
7. Graphic elements should not be distractions: Have you added lines and bullets that don’t interrupt going through the design but are there to provide structure and flow?
8. Don’t overdo it on filters and effects: Are your filters and/or effects really necessary? Does it enhance your message or are you just trying to show off?
9. Are you wasting time? Are you spending an more time trying to pretty it up or adding filters and effects than you did on the actual concept for the design? As Roger C. Parker constantly tells me “are we rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while it’s sinking?”
10. Have you used elements of your brand: Have you included the logo, colors, typefaces that are seen in the rest of the promotional materials?

In my first newsletter, I spoke about how technology may not be such a good thing. When I see some designs that are out there, I see that they are become more reliant on the tools (ie. software) than on our actual creativity.

What does this lead to? Designs that are very similar and honestly a lack of creativity and of a concept. Many designs nowadays rely more on filters and effects than on classic design principles.

It’s a strange dichotomy: We can actually achieve whatever is in our heads, but are getting hung up with the tools used to achieve our visions. We spend more time fiddling with the tools than we do thinking through what we want to do — and what’s appropriate for our audience.

You can see this reflected also in many design schools’ curriculum. It’s now almost exclusively dedicated to learning the tools of the trade (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, et al.) than it is with learning color theory and design principles

What happens? We don’t really think ahead of doing our design. We simply dive in. We itch to start clicking that mouse button. If you were to conduct a poll on how many designers actually do thumbnails, I bet most newbies don’t even know what a thumbnail is.

T A K E A W A Y :

So, back to Paul Rand. If you read his statement: design is the method of putting form and content together. That necessarily means that you must read the content. You must understand the content and plan out what you want to accomplish with your design.

And finally, you must choose graphic elements that are appropriate for the content. It’s the only way of getting more meaningful designs.

Make your designs more meaningful today!

Technorati Tags: Creativity, Design, Design Theory

Are grids still relevant?

Tuesday’s Design Tip for Graphic Designers

With the computer and page layout programs, it’s now easier than ever to use the grid in your layout. And yet, few and fewer designers are using them.

So why aren’t more people using them? Honestly, I have no idea.

Most designers think of grids as boring and being too rigid. But, in reality a good grid will help you structure your work. It helps you build a foundation for your design.

We usually see grids used in newspaper and magazines. Those are obvious. But changing the number of grid columns can really give you a lot of flexibility in your layouts.

The main reason to use grids is for consistency. The grid is the invisible foundation of your layout. You can create it using margins, guides, and columns (and for tables and depending on the layout, rows).

You don’t see it, but as a designer it helps you position all the elements in your design and keeps everything in order.

Creating grids

Here, the sky is the limit. Your grid can include 2, 3, 4 and even 6 columns (heck, I’ve even seen 7!) The more columns you have, the more flexibility you have in your design.

You can then include headers and footers and other repetitious elements in your designs (like borders, lines/rules, text and pictures).

Breaking the grid

Once you’ve created the grid, you can break it. I know, it sounds like a contradiction to what I previously wrote. But, the grid really is a guideline. Then, you may consciously decide that elements need to cross over some columns, extend off the page, or carry on to the next page.

C O N C L U S I O N :

Grids are not only great for print design, but also web design. The grid lends itself to web design, especially for newbie designers.

Thinking in terms of grids helps you compartmentalize the information you want to appear on the page. It helps organize the pictures and text you need as well.

For visitors to your website, it helps provide a structure, stability, and consistency. It provides a framework for your site and helps it appear more organized.

Technorati Tags: Design, Design Theory, Production, Tips & Techniques

Pictures should always be scaled properly

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

One of the first things I notice right away is if a picture is scaled properly.

I don’t know why, but a lot of designers out there, think that the picture should be proportioned by the space available and allocated to the picture.

So, if they draw a square (or rectangle) then the picture should fill the entire area.

2 Rules for including pictures in your document:

1. NEVER disproportionately scale your pictures (or, never scale the picture with different values for the vertical or horizontal) Always keep the dimensions the same.
2. NEVER flip the pictures on the horizontal.

C O N C L U S I O N :

I hate pictures that are stretched or distorted. I always say to myself, you’d never see that in a magazine!

And that second rule may sound a little weird, but trust me, in this day and age where everyone has tattoos, it can get a little confusing if suddenly the tattoo which is in reality on his right arm is suddenly for the purpose of this layout on his left.

FURTHER READING:

• Read here how pictures should always tell a story
• Read some more of my pet peeves of design here
  

Technorati Tags: Design, Design Theory, Pet Peeves, Tips & Techniques

How many fonts are too much on a page?

Tuesday’s Design Tip for Graphic Designers

I think nowadays because a lot of designs are created by people who have had no formal design training, the one big mistake we constantly see is that a layout has a gazillion fonts (give or take).

How much is too much? 2, 3 4, 5, 10?

It’s hard to tell. Everyone interprets design theory differently. The weirdest one I ever saw was when someone asked my opinion on their work. They’d selected a different typeface for each testimonial. Why? Because they’d heard that the font you chose should “speak” the content.

Probably in the last couple of years, the most I’ve ever used is about 5 in one document and it was a newsletter.

How did I break down the fonts?

1. Masthead had it’s own “special” font.
2. Tagline for the publication had a different typeface.
3. Sans serif font for the subheads and captions
4. Serif font for the body copy
5. Script font to highlight some stuff.

C O N C L U S I O N :

Had I listened to conventional wisdom, they say that you should keep your typeface choices to a maximum of 3-4.

Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken. And if it’s appropriate, why not?

Remember: everything in moderation. Because the script font was used sparingly to highlight certain stuff, it stuck out.

Besides, should the masthead and tagline typefaces count as part of the font number in the document?

Technorati Tags: Design, Design Theory, Typography

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