20 Typography Rules Every Designer Needs to Know

Good typography is the foundation of great design. When the fonts and text look polished, your project flows better—but mastering all those tiny typographic details? It can feel like a daunting task, even for seasoned designers.

Luckily, you don't need a PhD to uplevel your typography game. Following these 20 essential typography rules, your designs look slicer than an expertly kerned ampersand. Let's dive in!

Rule #1: Use a Maximum of 3 Fonts

Do you see the disordered appearance of fighting fonts? Avoid that. Stick to three font families per design to keep it neat.

Commonly, use:

• One for headers.
• One for body text.
• One for accents or pull quotes.

If you use too many fonts, your message gets lost. However, three typefaces that work well together will allow you to establish a clear hierarchy and add visual interest– this is the typography sweet spot!

Rule #2: Optimise for Readability

Your text needs to be easily readable. That's the whole point, right? Some essential tips for mastering readability:

• Keep body text left-aligned. Centred and justified text with uneven spacing is harsh on the eyes.
• Give your text room to breathe. Cramped leading (line spacing) is a strain. Aim for around 1.5x the font size.
• Watch your measure. Measure is the width of a text column. Keep it around 45-90 characters/spaces per line for easy reading flow.

With thoughtful formatting, you ensure your brilliant words aren't undercut by poor readability because even Pulitzer-level prose is useless if no one can decipher it!

Contrasting Fonts and Readability

Speaking of readability, font pairings are key. You want a clear contrast between the heading and body fonts so the difference is evident.

A classic pairing:

• Heading: A bold, condensed serif font like Rockwell
• Body: A clean, unfussy sans-serif like Calibri

The high-contrast pairing instantly conveys hierarchy. Plus, the chunky heading font packs punch, while the slender body fonts keep paragraphs flowing smoothly.

When to Prioritise Personality Over Readability

Sometimes, you want to sacrifice some readability for maximum personality and style. Album covers, vintage logos, and display headers are prime places to flex fonts with more flare and quirk.

Just make sure you're being intentional about it. Don't decorate willy-nilly with super ornate fonts that obscure your message. Use expressive, offbeat typography only when readability is less crucial. After all, there's a time and place for everything – including going typographically bonkers.

Rule #3: Mind Your Spacing

Text spacing impacts the overall texture and rhythm. Space it right, and your words look balanced and airy. Space it carelessly, and you've got a jumbled, awkward mess.

Here are the critical spacing elements to tweak:

• Tracking: The overall spacing between all characters. Tighten it up for headers, loosen it for body text.
• Kerning: The spacing between specific letter pairs (e.g. “Wa” has different kerning than “Po”). Nail this for flawless word texture.
• Leading: As mentioned, the spacing between lines of text. Keep it open and breathing, around 1.5x the font size.

While seemingly small, proper spacing elevates typography from okay to exquisite. It's the secret sauce that gives text just the right visual kick.

Rule #4: Consider Context and Purpose

Not all text is created equal. A stuffy legal document has very different needs than a playful social media caption. To choose fonts wisely, consider the following:

• Industry/Topic: A tech startup has different typographic needs than a luxury skincare brand.
• Medium/Format: Print demands different spacing and type than digital. Interactive button fonts have unique requirements, too.
• Voice/Personality: Is the tone friendly and fun or more formal and conservative? Different fonts set different moods.

Context. Is. Key. Someone reading a banking website expects no-nonsense clarity and trustworthiness. In contrast, an edgy magazine logo should catch the eye with punchy typography choices.

When your font aligns with the context, it reinforces the intended voice and brand traits. Get it wrong, and your text feels jarring or outright inappropriate. So, analyse the purpose before picking fonts.

Rule #5: Follow the Rules…Sometimes

Okay, I've drilled a lot of hard-and-fast rules so far. But in reality, much of typography is an art, and there's plenty of room to get a bit rule-bendy.

Established guidelines exist for a reason. They represent centuries of collective wisdom and make text effortlessly readable. But rules are meant to be only sometimes followed. Sometimes, you intentionally want to defy conventions.

Some contexts demand an avant-garde, disruptive, or expressive approach. As long as your unorthodox choices reinforce the concept, it's okay to bend (but don't fully break) the rules occasionally. Just make sure you have a solid reason beyond unthinkingly chasing trendiness.

Half the fun of typography is playing with that balance between clear communication and creative expression. So, learn the fundamentals, then use your best judgment to know when to uphold and when to twist the rules.

Rule #6: Design With Hierarchy in Mind

Text hierarchy is the prioritising system that tells readers what to look at first, second, third, etc. Without it, your text just looks like one chaotic jumble.

To achieve visual hierarchy:

• Utilise font weights and sizes. Headings should grab attention with heavier, more extensive text. The body copy is lighter and smaller.
• Apply font colours strategically. High-contrast colours make the specific text pop. But use it judiciously so it doesn't overwhelm.
• Vary alignments and spacing. Centred, tight text looks like a primary heading. Looser flushed left text implies body copy.

Hierarchy creates a clear path for the reader to follow through your content. Nail it; they'll get maximum value from your brilliantly designed text!

Combining Typographic Hierarchy with Images

Another factor impacting visual hierarchy? Images and graphics. Headings plus vivid imagery automatically attract attention more than plain paragraphs. Use this to your advantage.

Study where the eye lands first on your layouts. If strategically placed images are unintentionally outranking your headings, rebalance the scale and contrast. The most vital information should grab that initial focus through size, colour or positioning. Then, guide the reader's eye journey from there.

Rule #7: Focus on Consistency and Balance

Remember that super well-dressed person you know who always looks effortlessly chic? Their secret is as simple as having a consistent personal style.

Similarly, consistent typography throughout a project lends a polished, pulled-together appeal. Heading, body, and accent fonts all sport the same family vibe through repeated elements, creating pleasant visual unity.

The flip side? Mixing completely mismatched, disjointed fonts destroys any sense of cohesion or flow. You want contrasts and pops of interest, sure. But maintain underlying balance through repeated shapes, stylings or themes.

Rule #8: Build Typography Systems

Speaking of consistency, brilliant designers don't freestyle typography willy-nilly. They create scalable typography systems or style guidelines to nail down:

• Acceptable fonts and font pairings
• Sizing scales and families for different content types
• Line spacing and measure conventions
• Colour and weight treatments

Then, you apply those presets systematically across large-scale projects with numerous text elements. It creates cohesive branding while accelerating your workflow. Style guides are a designer's best friend.

While it takes some upfront planning, a typography system:

1. It saves you endless redesigning time
2. Protects brand consistency at scale
3. Provides a versatile kit for new pages and layouts

It helps you design text-heavy content the smart way instead of piecemealing it. Consistency FTW!

Rule #9: Understand Font Psychology

Pay attention to the unspoken signals fonts send through their letterforms and styling. Specific fonts just feel intrinsically different, conveying subtle cues about personality.

For example, bold sans-serif fonts with tight letterspacing often read as modern, playful, and youthful. Think of fonts like Helvetica or Futura – clean, crisp, with a vibrant geometric flair.

In contrast, stately serif fonts with old-style numerals emanate more traditional, authoritative vibes. Palatino or Garamond serif variants position your text as timeless and respectable thanks to their classic letterforms.

Then you have handwritten script fonts and chunky display serifs that can appear romantic, elegant or quirky, depending on the execution.

The point is fonts have underlying emotional resonances. So pick typefaces that authentically align with the personality you want to convey, whether it's:

• Sporty and high-energy
• Luxurious and sophisticated
• Vintage and nostalgic
• Friendly and approachable

Nail the font psychology, and your text instantly reinforces desired brand qualities. Misjudge it, and you risk confusing or alienating your audience.

Rule #10: Create Purposeful Tension and Contrast

Speaking of emotional cues, great typography is about more than just legibility. It's about crafting purposeful creative tension through contrasting fonts and styling.

You could pair an ultra-bold geometric header with a wispy script body font. The stark juxtaposition creates an intriguing visual push-and-pull that commands attention.

Or set one phrase in all caps against a lowercase paragraph for sporadic pops of emphasis. The contrasting letter shapes are like mini-compositions within your text arrangement.

You can introduce tension through font colours, like a brilliant crimson logotype atop muted background text. The strong accent loudly announces importance.

All these little areas of calculated contrast add energy, rhythm, and delight to typography that could otherwise feel flat. But balance is essential – make sure contrasts are applied for maximum impact.

Rule #11: Leverage White Space Intentionally

Think of white space as the ambient silence between musical notes. Without rests and pauses, everything blends into an overwhelming wall of noise.

Those restful silent pauses in typography are the negative spaces surrounding your text. And using white space strategically does wonders for creating:

• Hierarchy and flow between elements
• Straightforward, digestible content “chunks.”
• Visual breathing room for the eyes to reset

Ample white space prevents your precious text from feeling cramped or claustrophobic. It delivers a light, clean, uncluttered reading experience. So don't fear those hushed white spaces – they're essential for polished typography!

Contrarily, insufficient white space results in dense chunks that merge visually. The lack of pauses makes it harder for readers to navigate the hierarchy. It all just looks noisy and abrasive.

Know when to let the text breathe with blank space borders. And when to tighten kerning or condense line spacing for more intense, compact text textures. White space is your invisible rhythm-keeper. Use it wisely.

Rule #12: Go Subtle With Widows and Orphans

What the heck is a widow or orphan in typography?! They sound like characters from a Dickens novel, right?

Well, a widow is just a single dangling word on its line at the end of a paragraph. An orphan is a lone word abandoned on a new line because the whole sentence didn't fit.

These little stragglers can disrupt the cohesive paragraph texture and simply look awkward. So do a final orphan/widow check on your text layouts and tweak spacing to realign.

While not a major sin, cleaning up these minor hiccups adds extra polish. After all, professional typography leaves no ragged edge unfinished! A few extra seconds optimising paragraph regs goes a long way.

Rule #13: Decide on Text Alignments Thoughtfully

Nothing is inherently wrong with centred, justified or flush proper text alignments. But careless application of mixed alignments looks sloppy and distracting. So, think through your axis choices.

In general:

• Left-aligned text is ideal for body copy paragraphs since it preserves clean regs along the left margin (helps with readability).
• Centred alignments work for short headers or when you want to create axial symmetry. It is too long, and it becomes hard to track.
• The right-aligned text feels less stable but can function as short accent treatments.
• Justified text distributes words evenly between margins. Less relaxed than left-aligned but can appear overly stretched.

The pro move is establishing one predominant paragraph alignment. Then, use strategic pops of contrasting alignments as accent elements – like centred titles above left-aligned body text. Purposefully mixed alignments add rhythm.

Rule #14: Optimise for Digital Viewing

Much of our content consumption happens on screens rather than printed pages. And that changes some core rules for legible digital typography:

Use Larger Font Sizes

Tiny text that looks decent in print often appears illegibly small on laptops, tablets and smartphones. Generally, bump up body font sizes by 2-4 pts minimum for optimal digital reading. Around 16-18px is a solid online body copy baseline.

Choose Clean, Simplified Fonts

While decorative serifs can seem classy in print, their thin strokes tend to render poorly on lower-res digital displays. Clean, unfussy sans-serifs and simple serif styles ensure text stays crisp at various screen sizes.

Mind Line Lengths

Measures optimised for printed pages often end up too long for comfortable online reading. Try aiming for a 45-60-character line max on desktop screens. Any longer risks exhausting line trackers. Mobile? Condense that even further.

Utilise Font Format Stacks

Remember those terrible days when websites reverted to ugly system fonts if you didn't have suitable custom typefaces loaded? Yeah, let's avoid that. Font format stacks of ordered fallback options like:

font-family: "Operator Mono", Consolas, "Andale Mono", monospace;

…help guarantee fonts display consistently for all viewers. Don't leave that to chance!

While printed pages remain important, most designers must frequently optimise digital typography. So bake these web and screen best practices into your workflow!

Rule #15: Limit Stylistic Alternates (Most of the Time)

Throwing in some stylistic alternate letterforms is an easy way to add panache. Just a few discretional swaps create delightful textural delight!

Examples:

• Swapping the standard “a” for a tail-hanging “a” in a logo wordmark
• Using old-style numerals for a quick vintage flair
• Sprinkling in a few bouncy swash letters or ornaments to headers

But here's the caveat: only a few alternates get super busy fast. The essence gets lost in all the decorative visual noise and frenetic texture.

So, explore injecting some extra flair with judicious stylistic alternates. But use restraint and lean on them primarily for:

• Short headlines and callouts
• Small doses like pull quotes
• Isolated bursts of expressive flavour

Sprinkling ornaments anywhere and everywhere defeats their intended impact. Your goal should be eye-catching texture highlights, not complete randomised chaos. Mix in stylistic alternates strategically, not haphazardly.

Rule #16: Condense Fonts for Digital and Print Clarity

Why do many digital companies use “squished” condensed fonts like Arial Narrow, Proxima Condensed or Roboto Condensed?

It's because condensed fonts work better for screens and print in our modern multi-device era.

Slimmer, space-optimized letterforms minimise digital rendering issues by avoiding thin strokes that can appear blurry or broken. The sturdy letterforms translate clearly at various scales and pixel densities.

In print, condensed typography lends a compact, economical feel while still hitting crisp kerning. That space efficiency is ideal for multi-page documents, presentations or any image-heavy layout.

Of course, you'll still use wider fonts situationally for attention-grabbing statements or accent formatting. But nudge toward condensed type families for most body and supporting text applications. It's cleaner in our pixel-perfect world.

Rule #17: Test in the Final Intended Format

It is time for a frank reality check: text rendering differs substantially based on output medium and surface type. And I do not see how type displays in the intended format until the 11th hour is a recipe for disastrous surprises.

Just because fonts look clean in an Adobe editor or printing PDF does not guarantee expected results when:

• Published digitally on various devices and browsers
• Printed on uncoated stock in spot colors
• Cut from vinyl and applied to rigid surfaces
• Engraved, embossed or embroidered onto products

Each output method has unique appearance implications around spacing, sharpness, colour rendering, etc. Especially when using thinner or decorative fonts.

So embrace testing as an essential part of the type design process before signing off! Otherwise, you risk arduous last-minute overhauls when the final piece falls flat.

Don't just mock it up – see how it looks in situ. Scrutinise the rendering fidelity and make needed tweaks. It's the only way to deliver 100% polished typography every time.

Rule #18: Let Numbers Reinforce Branding

We tend to think about typographic personalities solely in terms of letterforms. But numerals carry their distinct energy, too! Deliberately styling numbers opens up branding opportunities.

Lean into vintage-inspired old-style numerals for heritage luxury brands. Their charming irregularity adds character and uniqueness.

Or opt for clean lining numerals with uniform heights for minimalist, precise numerical data display in charts and infographics.

Tech-forward companies might leverage numerical super/subscript styling and symbols to underscore performance and innovation traits.

Even small decisions like defaulting to uppercase vs lowercase numerals signal different vibes. Those chunky all-caps digits innately feel bolder and more modern than mixed cases.

Numerals rarely get the same consideration as alphabet letters despite being utterly ubiquitous in things like:

• Pricing and financials
• Version numbers
• Product Specs
• Data visualisations
• Pattern headers

Yet such details impact the overall branded voice massively. Take your numerical typography opportunities to align with the intended persona!

Rule #19: Consider Global Legibility and Localisation

If your designs are destined for worldwide distribution, typography will need extra scrutiny for diverse legibility and localisation requirements.

For example, languages with complex alphabets, right-to-left scripts or double-byte character sets often need more spacing and measure adjustments for fluid reading experiences.

There may be cultural nuances, too, around preferred typeface personalities for specific regions or demographics. A font deemed perfectly appropriate for one locale could carry unwanted connotations elsewhere.

Then, technical aspects like font file sizes impact load times across varied connection speeds. Glyph subsetting for web fonts frequently optimises performance in specific instances.

For global audiences, your job is finding that harmonious balance of:

1. Efficient data transfer
2. Typographic expression for tone/brand voice
3. Uncompromised legibility for localised viewers
4. Cultural relevance worldwide

Pay attention to these international legibility factors until the last second. They require diligent planning to bridge the gap between brand and user experience gracefully.

Rule #20: Use Typographic Details to Stand Out

Last but not least, don't forget the little niceties that elevate typography from acceptable to genuinely spectacular:

• Discretionary ligatures are those fancy flourished pairs like st, ct, and fi that eliminate awkward letter collisions. A subtle yet sophisticated touch!
• Hanging punctuation prevents quotes and apostrophes from hanging awkwardly into paragraph indents. It keeps text boxes looking tidy.
• Small caps for acronym styling, abbreviations or headers add polish versus defaulting to total uppercase letters.
• Baseline grids and alignments ensure heights stay crisp across mixed text sections. Those micro-adjusted layout alignments smooth out awkward vertical bumpiness.

Of course, these micro-typographic details only matter for high-end display work. Most everyday projects understandably skip such intricacy.

But applying these refined principles separates good typography from jaw-droppingly gorgeous typography. If you want people saying “WOW” instead of “Okay, cool,” master these final pro-level techniques! True typographic excellence lies in sweating every last detail.

Conclusion

Well, there are 20 essential rules for levelling up your typography game! Following these guidelines will ensure your text looks polished, purposeful and on-brand.

But ultimately, typography boils down to one core mission: clearly and beautifully communicating your intended message. Every typographic decision should revolve around that goal of artful clarity above all else.

So get creative! Combine these fundamentals in fresh ways to craft something that delights your audience. Because while the “rules” are essential, they're just a starter kit. The true magic happens when you apply them authentically to produce visual narratives infused with personality and prowess.

Own your typographic voice! But now, armed with these expert tips, you'll be unstoppably skilled at translating your wildest visions into pixel and ink perfection.

FAQs on Typography Rules

The post 20 Typography Rules Every Designer Needs to Know is by Stuart Crawford and appeared first on Inkbot Design.