Conventions and good practices for text typography

1. Detail text typography
Keith Tam
1 Orthography
2 Numerals
3 Detailing
4 Alignment
5 Hyphenation & justification (H&J)

2. 1 Orthography
Standardised rules that govern the use of a particular script
(eg the Latin script) to write a language (eg English). This
includes spelling, use of punctuation, captalisation, word
breaks, how words are emphasised, etc.

3. ABCDEFG
HIJKLMNO
PQRSTUV
WXY&Z
abcdefghij
klmnopqr
stuvwxyz
Capitals (uppercase) and small letters (lowercase)
Inherent in the language, not simply stylistic variants
Capital and small letters have specific uses in the English
language. Other languages might have other orthographic
conventions for the use of capital and small letters.

4. The Medium is the Message
The Medium Is The Message
The medium is the message
the medium is the message
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE
Different capitalisation methods for a book title
this is a stylistic choice, not
an orthographic convention
preferred for clarity,
but not common
only important words
need capitalisation
most common
incorrect

5. The medium is the message
The medium is the message
The medium is the message
the medium is the message
Stylistic variants denoting a ‘title of work’ using sentence case
used in manuscripts
but not typesetting
denotes a title by
convention
does not commonly
denote a title
does not commonly
denote a title

6. Everything in it’s place
Its a beautiful day
Rock ‘n’ roll
DVD’s
The 1980’s
Common errors

7. Everything in its place belong to ‘it’
It’s a beautiful day = it is
Rock ’n’ roll use an apostrophe for what’s missing
DVDs no apostrophe for plurals
The 1980s no apostrophe for decades: it is plural
Common errors

8. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy -- like anything
that lends its grace to language -- typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused.
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy-like anything
that lends its grace to language-typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused.
What’s wrong with the examples below?

9. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy -- like anything
that lends its grace to language -- typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused.
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy-like anything
that lends its grace to language-typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused.
Hyphens are different from dashes

10. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like anything
that lends its grace to language – typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused.
word space + en dash + word space (more common in Europe)
Hyphens are different from dashes
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy — like anything
that lends its grace to language — typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused.
thin space + em dash + thin space (more common in North America)

11. 8:30 – 11:30 am
Monday – Friday
Use en dashes in place of the word ‘to’
Also use en dashes for compounds
En dashes
Vancouver–Seattle
Kowloon–Canton Railway
Human–computer interaction

12. The shop windows are full of elaborately boxed and be -
ribboned who - knows - what. In one window is a bank
of TV sets - on the great majority of the screens is the
face of Mr Helpmann - the Deputy Minister of Informa-
tion. He is being interviewed. No - one bothers to listen
to Helpmann.
Hyphens or dashes?

13. The shop windows are full of elaborately boxed and
be-ribboned who-knows-what. In one window is a bank
of TV sets – on the great majority of the screens is the
face of Mr Helpmann – the Deputy Minister of Informa-
tion. He is being interviewed. No-one bothers to listen to
Helpmann.
(highlights = hyphenated words)

14. The shop windows are full of elaborately boxed and
be-ribboned who-knows-what. In one window is a bank
of TV sets – on the great majority of the screens is the
face of Mr Helpmann – the Deputy Minister of Informa-
tion. He is being interviewed. No-one bothers to listen to
Helpmann.
(highlights = dashes)
ice–cream
ice-cream
Do not use en dashes in hyphenated words

15. Quotation marks : single or double
Sam says:‘A “personnel” transporter?
They’ve got it wrong. I had a personal
transporter.’
Sam says:“A ‘personnel’ transporter?
They’ve got it wrong. I had a personal
transporter.”
Single first, then double for quote within quote
Double first, then single for quote within quote
Both styles are correct, as long as it is consistent
Top example preferred for stylistic simplicity

16. Abbreviations and contractions
Mister = Mr
Missus = Mrs
Miss = Ms
Doctor = Dr
Saint = St
Street = St
Road = Rd
Limited = Ltd
Assistant = Asst
Professor = Prof.
Reverend = Rev.
Company = Co.
Avenue = Ave.
Contractions, first and last letter Abbreviations with missing letters

17. Acroynms
LASER L.A.S.E.R. laser
NATO N.A.T.O. Nato
UNESCO U.N.E.S.C.O. Unesco
IBM I.B.M. Ibm
WHO W.H.O. Who
USA U.S.A. Usa
C Y Leung C.Y. Leung —
Can be pronouncedArchaic format withWithout full points

18. Acroynms
LASER L.A.S.E.R. laser
NATO N.A.T.O. Nato
UNESCO U.N.E.S.C.O. Unesco
IBM I.B.M. Ibm
WHO W.H.O. Who
USA U.S.A. Usa
C Y Leung C.Y. Leung —
Can be pronouncedArchaic format with
full points
Without full points

19. Should all caps or small caps be used for acroynms?
Washington D.C., USA
Washington D.C., USA
IBM announced today that . . .
IBM announced today that . . .
The chair of the WHO committee of . . .
The chair of the WHO committee of . . .

20. Stylistic variant : italics
Foreign words
His raison d’être is to enjoy life to the fullest.
She went to a cha chaan teng for breakfast.
Ship name
The Titanic was an ocean linear built in Liverpool.
Movie, play or TV show title
I like Brazil very much – it is an excellent movie.
Book title
The image of the city is a classic text on urban design.
Song title
Whitney Houston’s Greatest love of all was a hit.

21. Stylistic variants for emphasis
Italic (gentle emphasis)
What on earth are you doing?
Small caps (gentle emphasis)
What on earth are you doing?
Bold, same or different typeface (stronger emphasis)
What the hell are you doing?
Underline (use sparaingly, or better yet, avoid)
What the hell are you doing?
Capital letters (use sparaingly, or better yet, avoid)
What the HELL are you doing?

22. Dates
20 October 2016 no punctuation necessary,the clearest
20th October 2016 no punctuation necessary,ordinal number
October 20,2016 cardinal number (twenty),comma needed
October 20th,2016 ordinal number (twentieth),comma needed
20/10/2016 date,moth,year (British format)
10/20/2016 month,date,year (US format,confusing in the UK)
2016.10.20 year,month date

23. 2 Numerals

24. Mr Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row,
Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan
died in 1814. He was one of the most noticeable
members of the Reform Club, though he seemed
Mr Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row,
Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan
died in 1814. He was one of the most noticeable
members of the Reform Club, though he seemed
Minion Pro with default lining numerals
Minion Pro with oldstyle numerals – reads better and more refined
Oldstyle (text) figures work well in continuous text

25. Mr Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville
Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which
Sheridan died in 1814. He was one of the most
noticeable members of the Reform Club, though
Mr Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at no. 7, Saville
Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which
Sheridan died in 1814. He was one of the most
noticeable members of the Reform Club, though
Helvetica Neue with default lining numerals
Scala Sans with oldstyle figures
Typefaces do not always come with oldstyle figures

26. 132847513946
211738942813
574841212481
Tabular lining figures (usually the default)
Monospaced and line up
neatly in columns. Work
well with uppercase text
and where absolute clarity
is required for factual
information, financial figures
and office documents.
(Typeface: Minion Pro)
Apple 58
Banana 1200
Lychee 314
Starfruit 20312
SD1206
250 kcal
20 February
500 ml

27. Proportional oldstyle figures (text figures)
They look out of place
alongside uppercase
letters but work well with
small capitals.
Founded in 1929 in Reading
sd1206
SD1206
Proportional oldstyle figures
work harmoniously with
lowercase text as they have
ascenders and descenders,
but they don’t line up in
columns of figures.
(Typeface: Minion Pro)
574841212481
381247349120
384712948113

28. Proportional lining figures and tablular oldstyle figures
381247349120
384712948113
Proportional lining figures
are cap-height but do not
line up neatly in columns
(monospaced).
Tabular oldstyle figures have
ascenders and descenders
but line up neatly in columns.
132811475
211738119

29. Use real fraction characters
1-1/2 cup freshly chopp
this is typing, not
professional typesetting

30. Use real fraction characters
11/2cup freshly chopped
1234567890/1234567890
specially designed fraction character
denominators
numerators
any fractions could be typset in Minon Pro

31. 8’ x 10”
8’ x 10”
What’s wrong with these?

32. 8’ x 10”
8’ x 10”
Use dimensions mark & primes
close double quotation markapostrophe
this is a lowercase ‘x’, not
a multiplication sign

33. 8' × 10"
8' × 10"
Use dimensions mark & primes
inchesfeet
multiply
(dimensions mark)

34. The exact origin of the slab-serif letterforms is unknown,
but it is likely that they came from signwriting.4
According to James Mosley however, no reliably dated
examples of a ‘true slab-serif letter’ exist before the début
of the first egyptian printing type by Figgins.5
4 McLean:‘An examination of egyptians’ p.39
5 Mosley defines the ‘true slab-serif letter’ as a ‘monoline, geometrical
construction, with square, unbracketed serifs’. Mosley, The Nymph and
the Grot p.50
Footnotes : use true superior figures in the text full
size ones in the notes

35. 3 Detailing

36. 'prime' prime
‘quote’ “quote”
Prime marks should not be used as quotation marks

37. Ligatures : two or more characters designed as one
et
first first
floor floor
difficult difficult

38. Th ft fj
st ct sp ſh ſi archaic ligatures
æ œ ß language-specific ligatures : aesc, ethel, eszett
curriculum vitæ æsthetics œuvre
More ligatures

39. He was one of the most noticeable members
of the Reform Club, though he seemed always
to avoid attracting attention; an ENIGMATICAL
personage, about whom little was known, except
that he was a polished man of the world.
He was one of the most noticeable members of the
Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid
attracting attention; an enigmatical personage,
about whom little was known, except that he was a
polished man of the world.
True small caps and fake small caps

40. He was one of the most noticeable members
of the Reform Club, though he seemed always
to avoid attracting attention; an ENIGMATICAL
personage, about whom little was known, except
that he was a polished man of the world.
He was one of the most noticeable members of the
Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid
attracting attention; an enigmatical personage,
about whom little was known, except that he was a
polished man of the world.
True small caps and fake small caps

41. DEPARTMENT OF TYPOGRAPHY
DEPARTMENT OF TYPOGRAPHY
Department of Typography
Department of Typography
Minion Pro all caps no tracking (top) and +75 units of tracking (bottom)
Minion Pro small caps no tracking (top) and +75 units of tracking (bottom)
All-caps and smallcaps benefit from expanded tracking

42. Minion Pro Caption for 6–8 point type
Minion Pro Regular for 9–14 point type
Minion Pro Subhead for 14–24 point type
Minion Pro Display for 24 point or larger type
Optical sizes

43. problem was to make the type as big and as
boldaspossible.MichaelTwymanwrites,‘[…]
the need for bold type related to what might
be described as the growth of non-linearity in
graphic design’. During the first few decades
of the nineteenth century, three main variet-
ies of display typefaces emerged. They were,
in order of appearance the fat faces, sanser-
ifs (more generally known as grotesques or
antiques) and slab-serifs (widely known as
egyptians or antiques).
The exact origin of the slab-serif letterforms
Orphan : when paragraphs begin on the last line
at the bottom of a page or column – avoid!

44. however,no reliably dated examples of a‘true
slab-serif letter’ exist before the début of the
firstegyptianprintingtypebyFiggins.Thefirst
slab-serif typeface called ‘antique’ appeared
in a supplement to a 1815 type specimen pub-
lished by Vincent Figgins in 1817. It only had
capitals, with serifs that were as thick as the
main strokes. Its blackness exceeded that of
the fat faces which was unprecedented.
The origin of slab-serif letterforms
Orphaned subhead: when a subhead appears at the bottom
of a page, separated from the paragraph that follows it

45. known as egyptians or antiques).
The exact origin of the slab-serif letterforms
is unknown, but it is likely that they came
from signwriting.According to James Mosley
however,no reliably dated examples of a‘true
slab-serif letter’ exist before the début of the
firstegyptianprintingtypebyFiggins.Thefirst
slab-serif typeface called ‘antique’ appeared
in a supplement to a 1815 type specimen pub-
lished by Vincent Figgins in 1817. It only had
capitals, with serifs that were as thick as the
Widow: when paragraphs end on the top of a new
page or column – avoid

46. The exact origin of the slab-serif letterforms
is unknown, but it is likely that they came
from signwriting.The first slab-serif typeface
called ‘antique’ appeared in a supplement to
a 1815 type specimen published by Vincent
Figgins It only had capitals, with serifs that
were as thick as the main strokes. Its black-
ness exceeded that of the fat faces which was
unprecedented.
Single words on the last line of a paragraph:
as long as it is not hyphenated and not too
short, it is not a problem; can edit text to avoid
(some call this a widow)

47. ‘Keep options’ can be used to automatically avoid or-
phans and widows and keep lines together
to have at least how
many lines in a paragraph at
the start and end of
the paragraph
keep headings with how many
lines of text in the
next paragraph

48. 4 Alignment

49. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy, like anything
that lends its grace to language, typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused. It is a craft by which
the meanings of a text (or its absence of meaning)
can be clarified, honoured and shared, or knowingly
disguised. In a world rife with unsolicited messages,
typography must often draw attention to itself
before it will be read.Yet in order to be read, it must
relinquish the attention it has drawn. Typography
with anything to say therefore aspires to a kind of
statuesque transparency.
Centered setting (auto text wrap)

50. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy,
like anything that lends its grace to language,
typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused.
It is a craft by which the meanings of a text
(or its absence of meaning)
can be clarified, honoured and shared,
or knowingly disguised.
Lines broken for sense with generous leading (manual line breaks)

51. Flush left, ragged right setting without hyphenation (hard rag)
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like
anything that lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can be deliberately misused.
It is a craft by which the meanings of a text (or its
absence of meaning) can be clarified, honoured and
shared, or knowingly disguised. In a world rife with
unsolicited messages, typography must often draw
attention to itself before it will be read.Yet in order
to be read, it must relinquish the attention it has
drawn. Typography with anything to say therefore
aspires to a kind of statuesque transparency.

52. Flush left, ragged right setting without hyphenation (hard rag)
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like
anything that lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can be deliberately misused.
It is a craft by which the meanings of a text (or its
absence of meaning) can be clarified, honoured and
shared, or knowingly disguised. In a world rife with
unsolicited messages, typography must often draw
attention to itself before it will be read.Yet in order
to be read, it must relinquish the attention it has
drawn. Typography with anything to say therefore
aspires to a kind of statuesque transparency.
rag
The rag here is said to be quite
‘wild’, meaning very rough.

53. Flush left, ragged right setting with hyphenation (soft rag)
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like any-
thing that lends its grace to language – typography
is an art that can be deliberately misused. It is a craft
by which the meanings of a text (or its absence of
meaning) can be clarified, honoured and shared, or
knowingly disguised. In a world rife with unsolicited
messages, typography must often draw attention to
itself before it will be read. Yet in order to be read, it
must relinquish the attention it has drawn. Typogra-
phy with anything to say therefore aspires to a kind
of statuesque transparency.
Hyphenation makes the rag softer.
Hyphenation does not affect readability
too much if not excessive.

54. Justified: word and/or letter spaces are expanded or contracted
to fill the width of the column (without hyphenation)
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like anything
that lends its grace to language – typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused. It is a craft by which the
meanings of a text (or its absence of meaning) can be
clarified, honoured and shared, or knowingly disguised.
In a world rife with unsolicited messages, typography
must often draw attention to itself before it will be read.
Yet in order to be read, it must relinquish the attention
it has drawn. Typography with anything to say therefore
aspires to a kind of statuesque transparency.
Word spaces could vary too much
if hyphenation is not turned on in
justified setting. The texture could
become quite uneven.

55. Justified text with hyphenation
Hyphenation and justification settings are called ‘HJ’ for short
Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like anything
that lends its grace to language – typography is an art
that can be deliberately misused. It is a craft by which
the meanings of a text (or its absence of meaning) can
be clarified, honoured and shared, or knowingly dis-
guised. In a world rife with unsolicited messages, ty-
pography must often draw attention to itself before it
will be read.Yet in order to be read, it must relinquish
the attention it has drawn. Typography with anything
to say therefore aspires to a kind of statuesque trans-
parency.
Spacing is more even with
hyphenation turned on.

56. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language – typography is an art that can be
deliberately misused. It is a craft by which the meanings of a
text (or its absence of meaning) can be clarified, honoured and
shared, or knowingly disguised. In a world rife with unsolicited
messages, typography must often draw attention to itself
before it will be read.Yet in order to be read, it must relinquish
the attention it has drawn. Typography with anything to say
therefore aspires to a kind of statuesque transparency.
Flush right, ragged left setting
Not suitable for long texts, and certainly not
for body texts. Use sparingly, and break lines
for sense (manual line breaks).

57. The
Vancouver
Symphony
Orchestra
Without optical margin alignment
The left edge of the text block doesn’t
seem to be aligned, as the shapes of the
letters vary.

58. The
Vancouver
Symphony
Orchestra
With optical margin alignment turned on
The left edge is aligned optically
instead of mathematically. This tends
to work better with smaller text sizes.
enter size of the type here

59. The obvious solution to this commu-
nication problem was to make the
type as big and as bold as possible.
Michael Twyman writes,‘the need for
bold type related to what might be
described as the growth of non-lin-
earity in graphic design’.
Without optical margin alignment

60. Optical margin alignment (hanging punctuation)
The obvious solution to this commu-
nication problem was to make the
type as big and as bold as possible.
Michael Twyman writes,‘the need for
bold type related to what might be
described as the growth of non-lin-
earity in graphic design’.

61. 5 Hyphenation justification
(HJ)

62. Like oratory, music, dance,
calligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can
be deliberately misused. It is a
craft by which the meanings of a
text (or its absence of meaning)
can be clarified, honoured and
shared, or knowingly disguised.
In a world rife with unsolicited
messages, typography must
often draw attention to itself
before it will be read.Yet in order
to be read, it must relinquish
Like oratory, music, dance, cal-
ligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can
be deliberately misused. It is a
craft by which the meanings of
a text (or its absence of mean-
ing) can be clarified, honoured
and shared, or knowingly dis-
guised. In a world rife with un-
solicited messages, typography
must often draw attention to it-
self before it will be read. Yet in
order to be read, it must relin-
Default settings with no hyphenation,
with a rather narrow column width
With hyphenation: slightly better but
still not good enough

63. Minimum Desired Maximum
Word spacing 80% 100% 133%
Letter spacing 0% 0% 0%
Glyph scaling 100% 100% 100%
Default justification values

64. Minimum Desired Maximum
Word spacing 80% 100% 133%
Letter spacing 0% 0% 0%
Glyph scaling 100% 100% 100%
Default justification values
Desired =
normal word spacing
what we really want

65. Minimum Desired Maximum
Word spacing 80% 100% 133%
Letter spacing 0% 0% 0%
Glyph scaling 100% 100% 100%
Default justification values
Maximum =
how much you allow to
expand until it would
not look good

66. Minimum Desired Maximum
Word spacing 80% 100% 133%
Letter spacing 0% 0% 0%
Glyph scaling 100% 100% 100%
Default justification values
Minimum =
how much you allow to
contract until it would
not look good

67. Minimum Desired Maximum
Word spacing 80% 100% 133%
Letter spacing 0% 0% 0%
Glyph scaling 100% 100% 100%
Default justification values
Word spacing = spaces between words
Thissampleshowswordspacingreducedto60%
This sample shows word spacing expanded to 180%

68. Minimum Desired Maximum
Word spacing 80% 100% 133%
Letter spacing 0% 0% 0%
Glyph scaling 100% 100% 100%
Default justification values
Letter spacing = spaces between letters
This sample shows letter spacing reduced to –5%
This sample shows letter spacing expanded to +10%

69. Minimum Desired Maximum
Word spacing 80% 100% 133%
Letter spacing 0% 0% 0%
Glyph scaling 100% 100% 100%
Default justification values
Glyph scaling = digitally condensing and expanding the type
(use with extreme caution or not at all!)
This sample shows a glyph scaling of 90%
This sample shows a glyph scaling of 110%

70. Like oratory, music, dance,
calligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can be
deliberately misused. It is a craft
by which the meanings of a text
(or its absence of meaning) can be
clarified, honoured and shared, or
knowingly disguised. In a world
rife with unsolicited messages,
typography must often draw
attention to itself before it will
be read. Yet in order to be read, it
must relinquish the attention it has
drawn. Typography with anything
Like oratory, music, dance, callig-
raphy – like anything that lends
its grace to language – typography
is an art that can be deliberately
misused. It is a craft by which the
meanings of a text (or its absence
of meaning) can be clarified, hon-
oured and shared, or knowingly
disguised. In a world rife with un-
solicited messages, typography
must often draw attention to itself
before it will be read. Yet in order
to be read, it must relinquish the
attentionithasdrawn.Typography
with anything to say therefore as-
Default settings with no hyphenation,
with a rather narrow column width
With hyphenation: slightly better but
still not good enough

71. Like oratory, music, dance,
calligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can be
deliberately misused. It is a craft
by which the meanings of a text
(or its absence of meaning) can be
clarified, honoured and shared, or
knowingly disguised. In a world
rife with unsolicited messages,
typography must often draw
attention to itself before it will
be read. Yet in order to be read, it
must relinquish the attention it has
drawn. Typography with anything
Like oratory, music, dance, callig-
raphy – like anything that lends
its grace to language – typography
is an art that can be deliberately
misused. It is a craft by which the
meanings of a text (or its absence
of meaning) can be clarified, hon-
oured and shared, or knowingly
disguised. In a world rife with un-
solicited messages, typography
must often draw attention to itself
before it will be read. Yet in order
to be read, it must relinquish the
attentionithasdrawn.Typography
with anything to say therefore as-
Default settings with no hyphenation,
with a rather narrow column width
With hyphenation: slightly better but
still not good enough

72. Like oratory, music, dance,
calligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can be
deliberately misused. It is a craft
by which the meanings of a text
(or its absence of meaning) can be
clarified, honoured and shared, or
knowingly disguised. In a world
rife with unsolicited messages,
typography must often draw
attention to itself before it will
be read. Yet in order to be read, it
must relinquish the attention it has
drawn. Typography with anything
Like oratory, music, dance, callig-
raphy – like anything that lends its
gracetolanguage–typographyisan
art that can be deliberately misused.
It is a craft by which the meanings
of a text (or its absence of mean-
ing) can be clarified,honoured and
shared, or knowingly disguised. In
a world rife with unsolicited mes-
sages,typography must often draw
attention to itself before it will be
read.Yet in order to be read,it must
relinquish the attention it has drawn.
Typography with anything to say
therefore aspires to a kind of stat-
Default settings with no hyphenation,
with a rather narrow column width
With hyphenation justification settings
adjusted, and optical margin alignment
turned on

73. Like oratory, music, dance,
calligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language –
typography is an art that can
be deliberately misused. It is a
craft by which the meanings of a
text (or its absence of meaning)
can be clarified, honoured and
shared, or knowingly disguised.
In a world rife with unsolicited
messages, typography must
often draw attention to itself
before it will be read.Yet in order
to be read, it must relinquish
the attention it has drawn.
Like oratory,music,dance,callig-
raphy – like anything that lends
itsgracetolanguage–typography
is an art that can be deliberately
misused.It is a craft by which the
meanings of a text (or its absence
of meaning) can be clarified,hon-
oured and shared, or knowingly
disguised.In a world rife with un-
solicited messages, typography
must often draw attention to itself
before it will be read.Yet in order
to be read,it must relinquish the
attention it has drawn. Typogra-
phywithanythingtosaytherefore
Default settings with no hyphenation,
with a rather narrow column width
With hyphenation justification
settings adjusted, and optical margin
alignment turned on

74. This block of
text is far too
narrow for
justified set-
ting. The
e n o r m o u s
word spaces
make reading
very difficult
and not to
mention ugly.
Good justification is impossible with
columns that are too narrow – avoid
Justified alignment is good for immersive
reading material that are meant to be read
largely in a linear fashion, eg novels, with
symmetrical layouts.
Flush left, ragged right setting is generally
preferred for more structured texts and non-
linear reading, eg coffee table books, textbooks,
non-fiction, etc. with asymmetrical layouts.

75. thatilendsiitsigraceitoilanguag
Word spacing = 100%
said to be about the width of the lowercase i

76. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like anything that
lends its grace to language – typography is an art that can be
deliberately misused. It is a craft by which the meanings of
a text (or its absence of meaning) can be clarified, honoured
and shared, or knowingly disguised. In a world rife with
unsolicited messages, typography must often draw attention
to itself before it will be read.Yet in order to be read, it must
relinquish the attention it has drawn. Typography with
anything to say therefore aspires to a kind of statuesque
transparency.
Normal word spacing at 100% (optimal)

77. Likeoratory,music,dance,calligraphy–likeanythingthat
lendsitsgracetolanguage–typographyisanartthatcanbe
deliberatelymisused.Itisacraftbywhichthemeaningsof a
text(oritsabsenceof meaning)canbeclarified,honouredand
shared,orknowinglydisguised.Inaworldrifewithunsolicited
messages,typographymustoftendrawattentiontoitself
beforeitwillberead.Yetinordertoberead,itmustrelinquish
theattentionithasdrawn.Typographywithanythingtosay
thereforeaspirestoakindof statuesquetransparency.
Word spacing = 60%, words harder to be differentiated

78. Like oratory, music, dance, calligraphy – like anything
that lends its grace to language – typography is an
art that can be deliberately misused. It is a craft
by which the meanings of a text (or its absence of
meaning) can be clarified, honoured and shared, or
knowingly disguised. In a world rife with unsolicited
messages, typography must often draw attention to itself
before it will be read. Yet in order to be read, it must
relinquish the attention it has drawn. Typography with
anything to say therefore aspires to a kind of statuesque
transparency.
Word spacing = 180%, lines no longer cohere together

79. Headlines often
need word spacing
adjustments
Headlines often
need word spacing
adjustments
Headings often need word spacing adjustments
Normal word
spacing at
100%
Word spacing
adjusted to 80%