WTF?

Anatomy of Type

     What The Font?  I'm talking about typography, type...fonts. You cannot believe the levels of detail, the amount of history and the importance of understanding typography in relation to web design. It is like peeling an onion, with so many layers, each one more fascinating and enlightening than the last. If you have seen the movie "Pleasantville," it is like seeing something in color for the first time. A new awareness is born in you and you can never look at anything in print the same way again. And considering how much of our everyday world has some type of lettering or numbering in it, there is no escaping it. It is an incredible aspect of life that most take for granted and never really notice, outside of the subliminal effects that take place, which in many cases, is the intention. Printed words are used to give us information and the font style of those words is selected to influence our perception of that information. If you understand typography though, you can see that extra subliminal message, like the character "Neo" in the "Matrix" movies, who finally sees through the computer bad guys and just sees their "code." Typography is a powerful tool, even a weapon in the

"The Matrix" bad guys in "code"

right context. The choice of font, or fonts, for a website, is one of the most important, if not thee most important detail. So making a good choice depends on how much you know about typography. And in order to understand typography, you also have to understand the basic principles of design.
     I had no idea. But I find myself loving this subject. I also find that I am guilty of having used some of the most reviled fonts in previous projects! It's a bit embarrassing, kind of like realizing that you spent the day walking around and talking to people you respect and all the while you had a big coffee stain on the middle of your shirt. Or going to the bathroom at a party and seeing a big piece of spinach stuck to one of your front teeth, and knowing that everyone you spoke with got a good look at it too. So how does a font come to be labeled as "bad?" I asked my typography instructor and I looked around online for the answer. There are two main criteria: overused and inappropriate. Comic Sans is at the top of the list. If you want to read more about it, check out this video and this website. I got an inkling of this last semester when my Web Animation instructor threatened to fail anyone who turned anything in that was created with the Comic Sans font. Her reaction to this font was visceral!

Comic Sans, the most "Unwanted" font

Can you imagine someone getting angry, really angry, about a type? My initial reaction was "who cares?" But then I realized that due to my total ignorance of the subject, I didn't understand. I just hate when I do not understand something. And here I want to be a web designer, someone who has to use type and select fonts, font weights, font sizes and font colors as part of the process. I knew then that although the college's Web Developer program does not include Typography I, there was no way I could become a good web designer without a thorough understanding of it.
     So here I am, descending down the rabbit hole, learning about typography, from the very beginning. What an eye opener! I swallowed the red pill and my view of the world will be forever altered. And you know what else? I like those red pills...

College Day 2!

Typography

     I had my first Typography I class this morning, bright and early at 8 a.m. If you know me at all, you know this was very difficult for me, since I am not a morning person, I'm barely an afternoon person for that matter. But I am trying to retrain my brain and hopefully one day, I will be an early bird. I have read about body clocks and about being born wired a certain way, but I refuse to accept it. I am so much more productive on those days when I am up early, for whatever reason, and I love that feeling of accomplishment, especially when it isn't even noon and I've already completed several projects or chores. But I digress. 
     I LOVE this class! The instructor is very passionate about type, it's history and all the design possibilities connected to type, both print and digital. I thought this class would be all book learning, but we will be working on projects and presentations throughout the semester, I am sooo geeked! As a passionate wannabe web designer/developer, I think understanding type is so important. It can relay information AND design at the same time, how cool is that? But, for those who don't already know, what makes type more readable in print does not pertain to screens. Serif fonts, like "Times" and "Georgia," are great for print media. However, sans serif fonts, like "Verdana" and "Arial" are much more readable on a screen. Conversely, when you are creating a bold headline it is the opposite for both. How bizarre is that? And, the leading, which is the space between the letters of a word, has to be increased for screen print. And there's more, so much more, but I am just learning myself and don't want to get carried away here when I still have so much to learn. But I think it is easy to see why a good understanding of type and fonts is crucial to the creation of any good web design that incorporates any kind of type.
     I feel so lucky to be on this road to web design. My husband has been so supportive along with my parents and my friends. Sometimes I feel like I could just burst apart at the seams, I am so full of joyfulness and thanks. Oh, it is so good to be alive!

 


This is our textbook for the class, but anyone interested in typography would enjoy this and should have it as a reference tool.