Don’t Just Design Letters

Posted on 16th February 2011 in Major Project - Words. No Comments.

“No matter how admirably we plan our work, nor how fine in design are the types we select, its appearance when printed depends on good composition – the combination of type into words, the arrangement of words into lines, and the assemblage of lines to make pages.” (McLean, 1995, p. 46)

Whilst the typeface may not necessarily be printed, this is another reminder about the importance of not just designing individual letters, but to consider the words. It would be easy to get caught up in the design of the A and spend too long working on it. This doesn’t fit with what has been proposed – the user is trying to communicate in an open and friendly way, the flow and the way the type works in words is as important as the design of the letters themselves.

Any conflict in the flow of the letters could also challenge the proposed neutrality and would prevent it from being that “crystal goblet” through which to see the content.

McLean, R. (1995). Typographers on Type. [PLACE]: W. W. Norton & Company