Dive Into Typography
Kerem Suer
Lesson 2
In this lesson, we'll dive right in and learn a few quick – but really important – rules about typography. Before we start the course, let's define typography quickly. Typography can simply be described as the art of type. It's everything you can think of – like fonts, sizes, and readability.
Next time while reading your favorite blog or newspaper, observe the fonts, line heights (the distance between each line), line lengths (how many letters per line), and font weights (bold, normal, light). CSS3 has enabled unprecedented control over fonts and text, so an understanding of the basic rules of typography will come in really handy in your work.
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Typography Essentials – A Getting Started Guide
Typography is all about observing the details of type. Next time you step outside, observe traffic signs, public transit signs, banners, logos, etc. and remember – each and every single one of them was designed by someone.
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KernType: The Kerning Game
Seeing type as a designer is all about observation. Play the Kerning Game and score at least 70/100.
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Better Web Typography In a Few Simple Steps
Line breaks, correct quotes, dashes, and HTML entities. This is a great article to learn how to make web typography better in a few simple steps. Author Yves Peters points out very simple tips to make web typography more beautiful.
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Helvetica - A Documentary About The Most Ubiquitous Typeface In The World
Try to learn why this iconic typeface is so prevalent in our world, and how it grew to ubiquity. What does it represent, and why do designers love (or hate) to use it?
FULL MOVIE: The film is available anywhere in the world for $5.99 from the Helvetica website. You can also find it from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and iTunes. -
Shape Type: Letter Shaping Game
This game is not as easy as the first one, so try to have fun and relax. If you score more than 60/100, high five!
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Bonus Material: "Thinking With Type"
I wish they made us read this book when I was in school. This lovely short book by Ellen Lupton is such an insightful resource that talks about typography on print, and on screen. It's not a new book, but it's still one of my favorites.
Kerem Suer
Designer, Operator
I'm a designer of digital products in my late 20’s who is little too into simplicity and pixel-perfection. I studied interactive visual imaging and photography in Missouri, and somehow ended up in foggy San Francisco designing things with unbelievably talented teams such as Fitbit, Pinterest, Zendesk, and One Kings Lane.
