Why is typography important in web design?
Typography makes the words of text come alive, with shape, style, size and colours of the font. Hence it’s logical to add that a web designer should build the discipline of shaping written form, in other words: Typography.
Typography usage in website design
If there was one medium that could communicate on your behalf for your business effectively, I would pin it down to a website. And what makes or breaks your website, is the right communication and messaging. 95% of the impact that a website has is dependent on the written form.
Typography, indeed, plays a pivotal role in the effectiveness of design. Its influence extends far beyond mere aesthetics, significantly impacting readability, user experience, and the communicative value of the design. The assertion that mastery of typography can elevate a designer's work is well-founded. In this context, the six highlighted typography skills — font pairing, hierarchy, contrast, consistency, alignment, and spacing — are essential areas of focus. Mastery in these areas not only enhances the visual appeal of a design but also its functionality and effectiveness in communication. Let's delve into each skill to understand its importance and how to improve in these areas:
1. Font Pairing
Font pairing involves selecting two or more fonts that complement each other to enhance the readability and aesthetic appeal of the design. Effective font pairing balances similarity and contrast; too much similarity can be monotonous, while too much contrast can be jarring. To excel in font pairing:
- Understand Font Personalities: Fonts carry intrinsic moods and personalities — for instance, serif fonts often convey tradition and reliability, while sans-serif fonts tend to appear modern and clean. Pairing should consider these characteristics to ensure they align with the design’s message.
- Contrast Through Weight and Style: Use variations in weight (light, regular, bold) and style (italic, uppercase) to create visual interest and guide the viewer’s attention.
- Limit the Number of Fonts: Generally, using two to three fonts is advisable to maintain a coherent look.
2. Hierarchy
Typographic hierarchy uses font size, weight, and placement to establish an order of importance within the text, guiding the reader's eye through the content. To develop a strong hierarchy:
- Vary Font Sizes: Larger fonts attract more attention and are typically used for headlines or important information, while smaller fonts are suited for body text or less critical details.
- Utilize Weight and Color: Bold or colored text can highlight important elements without altering the font size.
- Spatial Arrangement: Spacing and placement can also indicate hierarchy, with more important elements often positioned at the top or in prominent positions.
3. Contrast
Contrast in typography can be achieved through variations in font size, weight, color, and typeface choices. It's crucial for making specific elements stand out and for creating a dynamic and engaging layout. To effectively use contrast:
- Combine Different Typefaces: Use a distinct typeface for headings and another for body text to create visual separation and interest.
- Experiment with Color: Utilize color contrast to draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the design.
4. Consistency
Consistency in typography ensures a cohesive and harmonious design. It involves the repeated use of stylistic elements across a design to unify the piece. Consistency helps in:
- Building Brand Recognition: Consistent use of typography strengthens brand identity.
- Enhancing Readability: A uniform typographic approach aids in creating a predictable and easy-to-follow layout.
5. Alignment
Alignment refers to the arrangement of text in relation to the layout's edges or other design elements. Proper alignment improves readability and creates a tidy, organized appearance. There are four main types of text alignment: left-aligned, right-aligned, centered, and justified. Each has its use depending on the design context. To master alignment:
- Understand the Context: Left alignment is often preferred for body text due to its natural readability in Western cultures, while centered text might be used for titles or headings.
- Avoid Justifying Text on Web: Justified text can lead to uneven spacing between words in web design, making it harder to read.
6. Spacing
Spacing, including letter-spacing (tracking), line-spacing (leading), and the space between paragraphs, greatly affects readability and aesthetic appeal. Effective spacing:
- Improves Readability: Adequate spacing prevents text from appearing cluttered, making it easier to read.
- Enhances Aesthetics: Well-spaced text elements contribute to a design’s overall visual balance.
Improving your skills in these areas requires practice, analysis of effective designs, and continuous learning. Reviewing well-designed materials and experimenting with your projects, while keeping these principles in mind, will greatly enhance your typographic proficiency. Additionally, leveraging typography tools and software can provide practical insights into implementing these concepts effectively in your designs.
Shaping the written form with typography
Typography makes the words of text come alive, with shape, style, size and colours of the font.
Hence it’s logical to add that a web designer should build the discipline of shaping written form, in other words: Typography. Typography can make the act of reading seamless or a big turn off.
So one of the primary tasks in website design is to organise a mass of information into palatable chunks, which a user can sift through to find exactly what he or she needs.
Some things to keep in mind while building the typography language of a website are - the changing behaviour of users with very short attention spans, ability to skim keeping in mind not everybody is seeking everything and lastly the varying devices that the users will use for accessing information.
Once this premise is clear, following are some thumb rules that help optimise typography which leads to better readability and an overall better graphic language and a better user experience.
- Pair it right -
The task of pairing the right typefaces can be daunting. Ensuring the right font pairing requires that the font families complement each other based on their character width and weights. It's essential to limit yourself to 1-2 fonts per website, unless it's an intentional mismatch. This has to be consistently carried across all pages, in order to build familiarity and ease. Typically in a website design process, it’s essential to set a stylesheet that defines the fonts in detail, along with leading, tracking, weight and other defining elements of the font families that are part of your design language.
Eg . Sora which is the display font of www.ximkart.com cues low resolution aesthetics and early screen typography, with every decision considered towards the crisp digital environment of today, keeping in mind clarity and effectiveness at any size. This is paired with Manrope, a simple and modern open source sans serif font which contains variable weights and plays a complementary role.
- Choose fonts wisely -
Anchoring the reader and drawing attention to the content is the main purpose of your design. Hence it’s important to evaluate how the typeface is bringing the content alive in combination with the graphic language. Web design is not about picking great typefaces, it is how we use them, in balance with other elements of design. Hence choose fonts that match the personality of your messaging and truly bring the content alive.
Eg . Soliel and IBM plex are juxtaposed to create interest and build curiosity. When used in isolation, both these fonts evoke a very generic feeling. However when used together, they bring a sense of delight.
- Build Hierarchy -
Building hierarchy in your type styles, helps segregate content in order of importance. Typographic hierarchy shows the reader which information to focus on—which is most important and which is simply supporting the main points. Hierarchy can be defined using several parameters, size being the first thing new designers turn to when trying to create typographic hierarchy. Making a typeface bolder or thinner is another easily recognisable way to create hierarchy that’s easily identifiable even by non-designers. Using lighter and darker shades of colour can be also a very effective way of creating distinctiveness. Contrast, case portion and alignment are other elements that significantly impact the reading sequence and hence the overall hierarchy of the message.
Eg . This is a typical example of a basic stylesheet. Stylesheets help you define hierarchies and create a consistent system that can be replicated across different pages of the same design language.
- Content, longer or shorter?
Finding the optimal length of your paragraph is essential to make it compelling to read, especially when it involves large chunks of information. We humans are quite choosy when it comes to reading as we favour lines of text that fall between 40 and 80 characters, typically on a desktop website. Anything less forces our eyes to move to the next line too frequently, which distracts us. On the other end, any line length greater creates boredom and discomfort among readers, hence dissuading them to consume the content. 30 -40 characters is the sweet spot on the mobile.
Eg . The ideal paragraph length is 60 characters or so on desktop, beyond that the reader feels overwhelmed and can eventually lose interest to read further.
- Space and type -
There are some fundamentals in type details that will change the whole viewing experience. Spacing between two lines of text is leading (or line height) happens to be one of them. By increasing the leading, you increase the vertical white space between lines of text, generally improving readability in exchange for screen real estate. As a rule, leading should be about 30% more than the character height for good readability. This enables better comprehension of the written word, improving the overall reading experience. The other element of space within typography is the tracking, the space between characters/ letter spacing. The tracking can be increased or decreased depending on the nature of the font to further enhance the readability. Fonts need optimum breathing room, to make them easy to read. Next in line is white space, often known as ‘negative space,’ is the space around text or graphics. Optimum white space ensures that the interface is neat and visible making the design clean and well organised, while drawing attention to the content.
Eg . The simple use of white space in this website BOTIM creates calmness, stripping it of all clutter and creating less work for the eyes and the mind, so that you can focus on the messaging here.
Conclusion
Basically typography is the foundation of your website design. Good typography can help the user navigate through a website with ease and discover what is of interest to him. Typography plays an important role in establishing brand identity, framing the site’s overall personality. By using unique and consistent typography users will come to associate a particular typeface with your brand.
Hence in web design it's a mandate to divide, organise and interpret content, in such a way that the reader seamlessly sifts through the website, discovering areas that interest him/her. Good typography along with strong messaging can make the users website experience more memorable and will drive them to take the desired action.
Additional Resources
https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/choosing_type/a_checklist_for_choosing_type
https://webflow.com/blog/fonts-for-web-design
https://www.toptal.com/designers/typography/web-typography-infographic
Ekta Manchanda
Ekta, a design evangelist, has shaped many brands with her creative vision in retail, hospitality, and B2B spaces.