Reading Typography—Writing Typography

Reading TypographyWriting Typography?

Typography: The writing of shapes?

Typography: The shape of writing?

Before the Law

“Before the law sits a gatekeeper. To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment.”—Franz Kafka

As a philosophy student I thought that “The Law” is the law of the text, in other words: “Rhetoric.”

15 years later...

I believe that “Rhetoric” is to speaking what“Typography” is to writing.

Inside The Law...

“Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing.”—Emil Ruder, 1969

The form in in-formation made conscious (and consciously made) in order to convince.

Typography

Writing

Information

Reading

Typography is visualizing information. Webdesign is...

5 rules for 95% of Web Design

1. Relative font size

2. Active white space

3. Screen friendly line height

4. Clear color contrast

5. Discern text and images

What about the other 5%?

Web design is 95% typography and

a little bit of interface design

Text

Eye

Hand

Read Think

Navigate

Information Design

Interaction Design

Information Architecture

Interface Design

Typography

Chess

Philosophy

“Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing.”—Emil Ruder, 1969

How much reading is in writing?

Text

Eye

Hand

Read Think

WriteNavigate

Same Rules...

1. Relative font size

2. Active white space

3. Screen friendly line height

4. Clear color contrast

5. Discern text and images

What’s different?

6. Monospaced (light) font

Why monospaced?

Why light?

7. Soup Nazi

The Soup Nazi Rules

Yes?

A. No Navigation!

B. No Settings!

C. No Noise!

D. No Mouse!

E. No Fumbling With Type!

F. No Bread for You!

Next!

(Thank you)