Typography

I’m simply not good with typography. Kind of bums me out. I have no problem designing everything else, but I just simply don’t know anything about how fonts work together and what not, and it doesn’t come naturally.

Can anyone point me towards a solid resource or – better yet – a book that can help me out in that area?

A few interesting sites:

http://www.inspirationbit.com/ http://jontangerine.com/ http://www.webtypography.net/ http://ilovetypography.com/2008/02/28/a-guide-to-web-typography/

There’s a ton of stuff on typography and web typography, but the best way is often to learn by example. Just copy people’s styles or layouts. I don’t think anybody will accuse you of stealing their idea just because you used the same three column layout or 18pt header.

pt in web-design ?

Make your typography in percentages. ie H1: 180%, H2: 155% H6: 50%.

Never set in pixels really, always have them in percentages.

Why not set it in pixels ? Most new browsers can resize text set in pixel, and it’s much easier to work with. As a matter of fact, the text you are reading right now is set in pixels

I actually prefer to set my fonts in ems. Ems are just as easy to use as % and use fewer characters. I usually set the base font style at 75 or 85% which is of 16px by default, then the rest of the css is ems.

Hm. Well thanks, Koroshiya.

I usually set my font sizes in ems, but you can use percentages too. In modern browsers you can’t really see the consequences of setting font sizes in pixels, but try resizing text in older browsers and you’ll see what I mean when I say that it’s best to use ems or percentages.

For a really great introduction to typography in general and typography on the web in particular have a look at the Typography section in Mark Boulton’s book “A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web”. It just came out a couple of days ago, and I would really recommend it to everybody.

http://www.fivesimplesteps.co.uk/

The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst

It’s not directed at web typography, but this is agreed upon as the typographer’s “Bible.” Also see The Triumvirate on typophile.com