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Great typographical layout can make the dullest of designs look clean and professional. This section focuses on the use of lettering and typography as design elements. This means using type for accents and titles and in graphics, rather than as basic body text (for tradeoffs between graphics-based text and HTML text.

Good typography relies on the ability of the type to create a visual contrast between fonts as well as across the page as a whole (e.g., body text or headlines). There are a few simple ideas that can help you to make the presentation of type communicate effectively.

Match the Typeface to the Content
Match the style of typeface you choose to the style of site you want to produce. For example, if your client is looking for a highly professional but somewhat modern look you’ll want to use a typeface that supports that feel. Thus, you wouldn’t use old gothic type, but rather something more elegant and formal, such as Optima.

Get To Know Your Typeface
It’s difficult to know the quirks of a given typeface until you’ve seen it in action. Select a typeface and use it for everything you do for a few weeks. Use it on letterhead, memos, in word-processing documents. Make it large, make it small, make it wide, and make it tall. After a few weeks of this, you’ll know how the typeface works best. Is it a good font for large titles? Is it better and more suitable for long text passages at smaller font sizes?

Don’t Go Overboard
A mistake that beginners often make when discovering the world of typography is to go overboard in their use of different typefaces. Very subtle changes in font size or weight can contribute to large perceptual cues, particularly if the vast majority of your page is similar in scale, weight, and structure. On the other hand, make sure that if you intend for something to be distinguished, it has sufficient contrast to eliminate any ambiguity.

Using Variations on a Single Typeface
When creating subdued, formal, and highly structured text, it is often useful to stick with the same typeface throughout the design space. For instance, a form design can often benefit from using the same typeface throughout. This allows you to easily draw attention where you need to and also to direct the flow of a user’s eye across the page with deliberate control (there are methods for defining areas of emphasis; see sidebar “The Squint Test”).

Using Contrasting Typefaces
Contrasting typefaces can create a very strong visual impact. However, too many contrasting typefaces produces a cluttered page. A confusing hodgepodge of graphical intensity can lead users to despair rather than to your information!

Changing the Typeface on a Single Dimension to Emphasize Structure
By varying one dimension of a typeface, you can effectively structure the visual space, reinforcing the uniformity of most elements on your page and giving clarity to the single distinction that you want to make.

For example, increasing a single typeface in point size can effectively create a focal point in the page and help relate key elements in the display. Changing the weight of the stroke has a similar effect. Type can be varied on any of a number of dimensions, but it’s easiest to retain control over the structure of the page by varying only one dimension. Type can be varied along these dimensions: width of the stroke, size of the font, and color of the font.

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