Type is important because it conveys information. But good type choices can also add a powerful boost to the information, making it more visible and easily accessible. The primary goal of good type is to visually communicate its message. I want to show you a couple of examples that prove how the power of type can even be a matter of life and death. Two of my favorite examples are Highway Signage and Prescription Labels. The first example involves very large letterforms that have to be easy to read at 60 miles an hour and from a sufficient distance so that you can read it in time to make a quick decision.
Now imagine that you are driving at 60 miles an hour at night in a rainstorm, the type still has to do its job. The critical information on the highway signage must be legible to the driver, even under the worst conditions. My second example of the power of type involves really tiny type, on the humble little prescription bottle. Its instructions and identifying information can often be hard to read, especially by an older person whose eyesight is impaired.
A designer named Deborah Adler was inspired to redesign prescription packages when a household medication mix up made her grandmother seriously ill. She redesigned the type on the prescription bottle by changing the typographic hierarchy, adding color, enlarging the most important type and using a more legible typestyle. Target was so impressed by her redesign that the new packaging was rolled out at all Target stores and is now being implemented by other companies as well.
So you can see, in some cases, good type can even mean a difference between life and death. Good type usage isn't just a matter of aesthetics, it is a matter of strong, legible communication.
Author
Released
2/1/2013- What is typography?
- Differentiating type characteristics
- Using ornamental and decorative type
- Combining typefaces
- Using contrast and scale
- Kerning and kerning pairs
- Choosing the optimum line length
- Aligning and spacing characters, words, and paragraphs
- Understanding factors affecting legibility
- Working with three-dimensional type
- Putting type in motion
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 54s
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Why good typography matters1m 55s
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The power of type1m 53s
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1. Typographic Differentiation
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Serif vs. sans serif3m 27s
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Display type vs. text type3m 39s
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Type history2m 48s
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Type classification4m 8s
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Other type categories3m 24s
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Using cases2m 34s
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2. The Language of Type
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3. Spacing and Alignment
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Kerning and kerning pairs3m 33s
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Tracking and leading3m 49s
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4. Touching on Type Design
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5. Legibility and Readability
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Hierarchy and functionality4m 29s
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Systematized hierarchy3m 52s
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Typographic abominations2m 43s
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6. Typographic Composition
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Contrast and scale4m 54s
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7. Thinking with Type
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Typographic expressiveness3m 22s
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The emotional impact of type2m 47s
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Three-dimensional type3m 32s
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8. Specialized Uses
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Working with numbers2m 10s
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Final Thoughts
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Breaking the rules1m 41s
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What's next1m 48s
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Video: The power of type