Typography its role in graphic design briefly. Typography, history and objectives

Typography is the skill, the art of making text not only beautiful, but also easy to read. It is important that the lettering reflects the nature of the publication or a certain information message. Typography is the ability to bring visual harmony to printed text or a website page. It is not limited to just choosing the content font and alignment. Typography is the art of expressing the meaning of writing not only through words, but also through their display. This is a very interesting, deep and complex discipline. In this article we will tell you exactly about it.

What is typography?

To create a website, the designer uses text, photographs and graphics that are made by others. This division of labor allows you to achieve the best possible result due to the fact that the work is carried out with materials high quality. A designer is not a photographer or a text writer. In addition, he does not even need to understand computer or HTML coding.

Universal specialists - do they exist?

It’s a completely different matter that during complete computerization, it is simply unthinkable to engage even directly in design without knowledge of such a tool as a computer, especially considering that both the website and printed materials are initially created using programs.

If you want to create something using a computer, you need to know how that “something” can be created. In addition, modern computer software is improving every day and provides an increasingly wider range of possibilities. And if you are not familiar with this spectrum, then you are unlikely to be able to design at a high level, since you will not be able to create a product that can compete with the best samples.

Of course, the level of proficiency computer programs a graphic designer will significantly exceed the level of an ordinary user. A graphic designer is first and foremost an artist. However, the connection between the artist and the “computer scientist” is more than tangible: for example, the basics of style in typography and design solutions that are created using certain software.

Who do graphic designers work with?

To create a full-fledged website, a graphic designer needs to collaborate with at least a programmer. Especially if you are creating a multi-level resource that will contain many interactive functions. However, a small average website can be completed by just one designer, without needing the help of a webmaster or programmer.

In life, you almost never encounter an ideal chain consisting of a creative person, a designer and a layout designer. Often all these three functions are performed by one single person who has a higher art education, knows most of the necessary graphic programs, access to the Internet and computer, and also issues original ideas without spending a lot of effort. In addition, such a universal person will imagine the design of the future magazine, all the controls for a new, not yet created site page, and what kind of advertising will be located there.

Where are graphic designers trained?

In the profession of graphic and web designer, more than in any other, it is not even desire that is extremely important, but the constant desire to bring your ideas to life - and this can be said with confidence.

In this profession, much knowledge is acquired through constant practice in the workplace. I need to draw just such a button on a website page - I’ll hurt myself, but I’ll do it. Perhaps this is why graphic designers often quickly stop studying in the classical sense of the word, that is, attending an institute or college every day. Their learning takes place for the rest of their lives in the workplace, while solving everyday problems.

It is believed that you can become a graphic designer without studying at a higher or secondary specialized educational institution. It is enough to constantly engage in crafts and art for many years (such examples are also known). At the same time, a person works hard and analyzes his own and others’ work.

True, graphic designers who have extensive experience in complete absence specialized education exist only in Russia. In other conditions, people who want to work in this specialty need a higher art education, as well as knowledge of software and hardware.

Of course, basic skills in working with graphic programs It is entirely possible to obtain it on your own or through short-term courses, but this will only help to patch up the hole and will not provide the thorough knowledge that can be obtained at a university.

Many people have never even heard of the term “typography”. And even those who have heard it have a very vague idea of ​​what it actually is. In fact, typography is the transformation of what is commonly called text into bright elements of graphic design. It is the text on the pages of books, magazines or websites that carries the basic information. And it is very important that it be correctly designed in order to attract the reader’s attention and convey the main essence to him in an accessible, interesting form. This is what typography does, which is an integral part of graphic design and decorative art.

Typography concept, history and tasks

There are many definitions for the concept of typography. In the most general form, we can say that typography is the graphic design of printed text using typing and layout based on certain rules specific to of this language. Typography is, on the one hand, the art of graphic design, and, on the other hand, a set of rules that determine the use of fonts and design tools in order to make the text the most optimal, clear and interesting in the reader’s perception. With the help of text modeling and editing, specialists in this field create original artistic images, make the text come alive, and give it the ability to convey an idea not only with its content, but also with its graphic component.

In principle, typographic activities include the work of printers and typesetters, authors and editors of publications, art and technical editors, book designers and artists, calligraphers and type designers, graphic designers and printers. Their work, one way or another, is related to typography. The typographer acts as an intermediary between the author of the text and the reader, modifying printed forms in such a way as to convey the content in the most complete and interesting way.

Activities such as designing advertising, signage, exhibition design, developing numerous elements of corporate identity, and creating website design are also closely related to typography. Typography is especially in demand in advertising, because text in advertising is the most important component that allows advertisers to make themselves known.

It cannot be said that typography as a phenomenon appeared only at the turn of the 20th – 21st centuries. In fact, the history of the formation and development of typography begins with the appearance of book printing in human life. Moreover, this area of ​​graphic design dates back to the more ancient era of handwritten books, when beautiful placement of text on the plane of the sheet was highly valued. Already from the middle of the 15th century, the first foundations of typography were formed: in Europe, readable serifs were used as a font for texts, and publishers and authors of books began to adhere to the principle of uniform leading and paragraph indentation as a means of highlighting and structuring text.

And at the beginning of the 16th century, italics were first introduced into typography. During this period, books begin to differ in more and more sophisticated and original font design, while at the same time the resemblance of the font to handwriting is lost. European book editions of the 16th century are characterized by the tonal and picturesque nature of the illustrations and rich decor, including ornamental borders.

In the 17th century, at the instigation of Dutch publishing houses, typography changed its tasks in favor of creating books for a wider range of readers. Accordingly, books acquire a small format for greater convenience, fonts are modified - they are obtained with a heavier design, which allows maintaining the clarity of the print even with large circulations of publications. In the same century, the original “Royal Antiqua” font appeared, moving even further away from the handwritten prototype. In the middle of the 18th century, attempts to systematize type sizes and publish books of type samples first appeared.

A special role here was played by the Englishman J. Baskerville, who abandoned the use of book ornamentation in favor of “pure” typography, based solely on type design. Typography is rapidly changing - geometric rigor of the type design appears, compositional significance comes to light free space book sheet, new polished, contrasting fonts for book printing are being developed.

The Industrial Revolution contributed to the development of new types and varieties of type design for advertising and periodicals. In the 19th century, bold fonts, Egyptian fonts, and grotesques were introduced into printing; the importance of book ornaments and illustrations also increased. At the same time, criticism of impersonal machine production led to a revival of some manual typographic processes.

At the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, in typography, as in other types of design art, the Art Nouveau style with its characteristic expression of organic forms and decorative silhouette illustrations became popular, which, naturally, provided the search for new type designs. The same period of time was characterized by the emergence of expressive typography, the purpose of which was to recreate the imagery of the author's narrative by changing font sizes and styles.

In the first half of the last century, typography was already developing in a neoclassical vein, that is, the readability of each character of the text as a whole, as well as the simplicity of the font design, came to the fore. In the 40s - 60s, typography acquired a more business-like nature, which led to the streamlining of book composition, bringing all the visual elements of the book to a unified design.

A mathematically calculated modular grid, consisting of equal rectangles of text and free spaces between them, began to be used as the compositional frame of the book. This composition was maintained in publications from the first to the last page. In 1970, the International Type Corporation (ITC) was founded in New York, which plays a huge role in the development of new fonts, including those well known to us today. As we can see, each historical era was characterized by its own typography and the creation of its own type designs that responded to specific tasks and trends of the time.

At the present stage, the task of typography is to convey certain information to the viewer or reader in an accessible, clear and interesting form. To do this, typography specialists (typographers) collect text into one whole, select a font, and place font elements in a certain way relative to each other and a given space. Despite the fact that such work seems like a purely technical task, using typography methods you can create real works of art.

If a typographer works with a book, then he completely develops its architecture, that is, the format of the line and typesetting, the layout of the fields, the size and size of the font, the spacing between words and lines, the location of illustrations in the text. The result is a well-thought-out book page and a printed publication as a whole, subordinated to a specific plan, which fulfill both a purely functional purpose (readability of the text) and are characterized by a spectacular, artistic structure. If we are talking about web design, then a professional typographer is involved in choosing the correct writing of the text to increase the readability of information on the site and attract visitors. The wrong choice of typography can lead to the fact that the site will be quite boring and visitors will not have any desire to stay on it.

Typographic design of text

Typographic design of text depends on several components:

— Purpose of the text. Obviously, text for outdoor advertising is completely different from magazine text or even advertising information posted on a website. Depending on what the text is and what its purpose is, one or another means of expression should be used.

- Text carriers. Also, the choice of typographic techniques is influenced by where the text will be placed - on the Internet, on a billboard or on the paper of a glossy publication.

By choosing certain methods of text design depending on its purpose and content, the typographer works to achieve several goals. Firstly, it is the readability of the text - a property that characterizes the ease of perception of information by a person. Readability is especially important in texts intended for continuous reading. Readability is ensured not only by the graphic design of fonts or the correct structuring of the text, but also by stylistic or semantic measures.

Secondly, it is necessary to ensure the visibility of the text, especially for advertising information. Here the typographer operates with the color of characters or background, highlighting font and other means. Third, the job of a typographer is to make the text legible. This requirement is important for reading in low visibility conditions or in a short time. Legibility is ensured, for example, by large font size or strong contrast between the colors of the text and the background image.

Naturally, the main thing the typographer works with is the font, since the reader’s perception of the text mainly depends on it. A font is a set of characters of a certain size and design. Various fonts are combined into groups or families according to their stylistic decisions: handwritten fonts, serif or sans serif fonts, and others. The concept of “typeface” in typography precisely defines a font or several fonts that have a stylistic unity of style. For example, the TimesNewRoman typeface includes regular, italic, bold and many other fonts from this very popular family today.

Different types of fonts can have different effects on the reader's perception and mood. Serif fonts are widely used in printed materials because serifs help create space between letters and sometimes give a sense of personality or show respect. Sans serif fonts, in turn, are used when designing texts posted on web pages. After all, with a low resolution computer monitor, the serifs will look blurry, and the serif font itself will be somewhat blurred. Also, sans serif fonts contribute to the expression of a sense of style, youth and modern trends.

When designing texts for business projects, traditional smooth fonts are preferred, thanks to which the text will be taken more seriously. When choosing a particular font, the typographer proceeds not only from the purpose of the text, but also from its content and meaning. In this regard, for example, it is recommended to accompany happy messages with light and soft fonts, and gloomy ones, on the contrary, with fonts with more rigid outlines.

In addition to fonts, the typographer works with typographic concepts such as leading (the distance between the baselines of adjacent lines) and kerning (selecting the spacing between letters to improve the readability of text). The contrast and color of the text is also important. As a rule, the color is chosen that will make the text stand out from the background and at the same time remain easy to read. The color of the text should make people stop their eyes and read it.

At the same time, in typography they do not forget about contrast and color combinations between text and background. Typography rules tell us that combinations such as gray text on a light gray background or yellow text on a red background should not be used. A font of a shade close to the background is almost always difficult to distinguish, and excessive contrast, in turn, often irritates the reader.

Another important component of typography is the orientation system, that is, a system of pictographic and text elements that is designed to help the reader find the information he needs in the text. The text division system should include subordinate headings of various levels, expressing the relationship and subordination of the text parts they lead. The headings and subheadings themselves in the text may differ in different colors, underlining or graphic text, depending on the content and purpose of the information.

The typographer works to determine where the text should be placed and what its dimensions should be. The first step to this is to figure out what information is most important in the proposed text. It is usually distinguished by font sizes or free space. In general, typography argues that white space is important in text because it allows it to “breathe.” For example, lines of text that are too wide are tiresome for the human eye and contribute to an adverse psychological effect.

But the presence of free space around the text reduces tension and allows the reader to concentrate on the main point. In turn, lines tightly squeezed vertically significantly reduce reading speed, since in this case the reader covers the top and bottom lines with his eyes at the same time. As a result, he is unable to focus on a single line, and overexertion occurs due to wasted energy.

As we can see, a typography specialist has a lot of tools at his disposal to make text readable, noticeable and easily distinguishable. It is worth noting that typography does not dictate any strict rules regarding the choice of fonts or text design. The rules in typography are only advisory in nature, reflecting the habits and traditions of readers regarding a particular design text information. However, some general rules Typography can and should still be followed, since compliance with them allows you to create a text that the reader can fully perceive and understand the meaning of the information conveyed to him.

How to make text more readable? How to select font pairs? Which font to choose for business and not make a mistake? Answers to these and others important issues in Skillbox's typography guide.

One source of information is text. To attract the reader’s attention and distinguish the material from others, they try to design it beautifully and make it easy to understand. The direction that contains rules about the arrangement of text, the choice of fonts and sizes is called typography.

To make the text easy to read and choose the right font, you need to know what typography consists of and what fonts can be used on the site.

What is typography

Typography is the design of typesetting text. It is placed on paper or screen, indents and spacing are adjusted, and the font is selected. Well-designed material looks concise and pleasant. It's easy to read and feels harmonious.

Where to get fonts

You can find free and paid fonts on the Internet. Both fonts can be used on the site.

Free

A large library of quality fonts is called Google Fonts. The font is easy to select according to the required parameters: select only Cyrillic, look for a serif or sans serif. From Google Fonts you can download them or connect them directly to the site.

Often designers draw their fonts and

Let's figure out what typography is and what it is used for.

Typography is the graphic design of printed text through typing and layout using norms and rules specific to a given language. In other words, typography is both an art and a craft, and a set of rules that use fonts and design tools to achieve one single goal - to make text the most optimal in the reader's perception.

Typographic design of text, and we are in in this case When we talk about this phenomenon on the Internet, it has three important limitations:

Context of use text. Depending on whether the design is for a list of advertisements, a poster or a magazine article, different means of expression should be used accordingly.

Available tools. The type of text you create will vary dramatically whether your tools are oil and canvas, heavy paper and pen, thin paper and a printing press, or a computer screen and different browsers on different operating systems.

Typography tools and media vary, but the goal is always the same

Screen typography, that is, the design of text for reading on a computer monitor, depends to a greater extent on the third limiter. Robert Bringhurst, in his book Basic Style in Typography, writes:

“There are always exceptions, there is always room for tricks and surprises. But we can probably agree that, as a rule, typography should provide the following services to the reader:

- invite the reader into the text;
- identify the content and meaning of the text;
— clarify the structure and sequence of the text;
— connect the text with other elements of the publication;
— to bring the reader into a state of energy-rich calm, which is ideal for reading.”

The only thing that the respected author forgets to mention is that no amount of typography can save you if the text itself is written extremely poorly. Nevertheless, texts on the Internet follow these laws, but unlike a book or magazine, they have their own characteristics. Depending on browsers and operating systems, the end reader may experience different:

• installed fonts;
• browsers. And to achieve the same design and display of text in different browsers It's not always easy. For example, in Apple Safari by default there is text smoothing, which significantly changes its perception; Firefox, Opera and IE do not have this function, at least not by default;
• monitor resolution and other parameters such as brightness, monitor type, calibration, etc., etc.

For these reasons, talking about strict typography rules on the Internet becomes quite difficult. However, you can and should follow some general principles that are practically independent of tools.

There are no immutable rules in typography, as in the grammar of the Russian language. All the “rules” are just that formalized experience of thousands of typographers, reflecting best practices and traditions. The latter, by the way, reflect the readers’ habits regarding one or another text design. The habit of reading a text formatted in a generally accepted, adequate manner allows the reader to fully perceive, for example, the meaning of a text formatted with punctuation symbols. At the same time, the very use of punctuation marks (and not only) remains unnoticed by the reader - we are accustomed to this. This tradition is now being eroded by the legacy of typewriting and the spread of the Internet, but best practices and general principles high-quality text design does not disappear anywhere.

Naturally, the main point in the concept of “typography” is the concept of “font”. The reader's perception of the text mainly depends on it.

One famous saying states that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” As is often the case with some sayings, there is some truth in it, but it should also be taken with a grain of salt. Well chosen picture right place can cost much more than a thousand words, and an extra, unnecessary picture will carry a useless load.

Graphics and images on the Web tend to fall into three categories: decorative, navigational, and informational. Nobody has anything against decorative images - everyone loves it when the result of their work looks attractive. Navigation elements include buttons, arrows, dots, and other visual clues to clarify the structure of information. But graphics, oddly enough, are not capable of conveying a large amount of specific and accurate information. “How many people - so many opinions” - this rule in the life of any graphics does not always play a positive role, because the perception of the same image by different people will be completely different.

That is why language in general, as a means of transmitting information, and words in particular, play an irreplaceable role in our lives. Text can convey much more information and more flexibly than any image.

The traditions of printing, developed over centuries, help us present text in the clearest and most attractive form. It doesn't matter if it's print or screen typography. The only thing we have to take into account is just the word “Internet”. The task of the typographer and his tool - the font - is to design the text in such a way that the result remains attractive regardless of operating system, browser, font size, window, computer graphics hardware, or anything else. Fortunately, there are many ways to achieve this goal.

There is a certain standard for 100% readable websites, the ABC of any typographer. However, unlike a children's book, everyone knows the alphabet, but the simplest and most natural laws of typography are constantly and systematically violated. I think there is no need to cite specific resources as examples - any Internet user will find them without difficulty.

Typography came from print to the web - no wonder what it tries to do with the pages of a book

If the word “typography” is primarily associated with the verb “to read,” then almost all a typographer should strive for is increasing the readability of the text and website. At the same time, there are things that the user should never be forced to do, since there is a high probability that he simply will not finish reading the text, and even more likely that he will never return to your resource. So:

Don't force user to change the font size. The reader does not want to constantly change the font size settings in the browser every time they visit a new site.

No need trying to convince the user that scrolling is bad. In this case, ninety percent of all pages on the Internet are bad. There is absolutely nothing negative about scrolling, just as there is absolutely nothing negative about turning the pages of a book.

Don't try tell the user that the text on the site is not important. Ninety-five percent of what a web designer does is typography.

By following these apparently simple constraints, we arrive at a few rules that are simple enough to be easy to follow.

Lebedev did one huge favor to all Runet designers - he set a bar that no one could reach.

In addition to the instructions, which to some will seem quite natural, and others will see for the first time, I promised myself to answer one question: “ Why Is screen typography so popular in Russia now?” In order to answer this question, you need to understand some trends on the Runet. Firstly, I didn’t come up with it and I’m not the one who claims that “our Internet” lags behind “their Internet” by a certain number of years. This is normal, we are used to it and are pushing the Runet our way.

The situation with the Web of Europe and the USA in comparison with the Runet is very much reminiscent of the interaction between the Sun and the Earth. The sun's rays that we see and feel left the surface of the star eight minutes ago, having covered a gigantic distance during this time. But this does not matter - after all, we see these rays here and now, at this particular moment. So the sun came out. Only the Sun managed to release a million more such rays, and we are content with catching two or three. This is all exaggerated, but I hope that the essence is clear: Runet is still quite far from the Internet of Europe and the USA, and the people who create trends there are head and shoulders above our successful entrepreneurs and businessmen from the Internet. That is, in other words, typography has become so popular and necessary in Russia for one reason - The West has already learned this.

For the vast majority of people in Russia associated with design, development and the Internet, typography began with reading the immortal § 62 of “Kovodstvo” by Lebedev Studio, published on December 17, 2000. Until this point, most designers either had not heard about typography, or had heard but did not know what to do with it, or did not want to listen. Now the moment is coming when it is no longer possible to ignore this trend - there are large (and small) studios that set the pace in the quality and quantity of their work. A lot of what a designer has to deal with when creating a web page is typography. The most important thing is not its absence.

Typography– the process and art of developing communication architecture; modeling, graphic design of material through typing and layout, based on certain rules specific to a given language.

Typography is the art of providing textual information, transforming text into graphic design, the basis of graphic design.

Typography term comes from the Greek τύπος - imprint + γράφω - I write) - the art of designing printed text.

Typography is, on the one hand, a set of rules that determine the use of fonts and design tools, on the other hand, the art of graphic design.

Purpose of the printing house– simplify communication with the audience, improve the perception of transmitted information.

Typography tasks, the most creative stage of text design, suggest:

• determination of parameters for subsequent processes of typing, layout and pre-press preparation;
• facilitating the transfer of emotions, moods, attitudes intended by the author, involvement in reading and studying;
• modeling the type and form of contact between the audience and the object of the author’s and designer’s creativity;
• make the text as optimal and clear as possible, maximizing the readability of the text;
• make the text interesting in the reader’s perception, spectacular, harmonious in the overall structure of communication.

Typography in Marketing– a tool and means that provides better communication with the target audience. Typography determines the overall format of the final marketing material:

• proportions, dial format, margin layout;
• font parameters: size, spacing between words and lines;
• sizes, location and measure of visual “heaviness” of illustrations.

Printer– a specialist engaged in topographical activities: artistic and technical editor, graphic designer and artist, calligrapher and type designer, graphic designer - all those who in one way or another encounter typography. A typographer in marketing is an intermediary between the owner, manufacturer of a product, the developer of its advertising communications and the target audience.

History of typography begins in the middle of the 15th century, when the first foundations of typography were formed: the readable “Antiqua” was used; The principle of uniform leading and alphabetical indentation is introduced. In the 16th century, the concept of “italics” was introduced into typography. In the 17th century, typography changed its tasks in order to create books for a wide range of readers - the format of books was reduced, fonts were modified, a special role belonged to J. Baskerville, who abandoned the use of ornament in favor of typography, exclusively based on type design.