October 26, 2011 Some people find it rather difficult to get excited about typography. I am one of those people. “Excited” is a step too far for me. I do however recognize the importance of typography, both in terms of ease of use and aesthetics.
Ooo...
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Above are two examples of how typography can lend itself to beautiful design. You like? The sky is the limit when it comes to creating beautiful blogs almost exclusively with typography. Check out 60 Breathtaking Examples Of Beautiful Typography and 30 Blog Designs with Killer Typography for further inspiration.
The Power Of Fonts
There are more ways to present your online musings than you can shake a stick at.
Do not underestimate the impact your font choices can have on the design of your blog. You could have the most beautiful design in the world, but if your typography isn’t up to scratch, your blog will end up looking like a pig wearing lipstick.
Unfortunately, the web safe fonts that were once the humble web designer’s staple are rather limiting. Not very inspiring, as I am sure you will agree.
Fortunately, there are now plenty of options for the virtual calligrapher. Sarah already did the hard work for me and picked out 12 Ways to Get Beautiful Typography for WordPress - check it out.
Clean Typography = Happy Visitors
This dog is running with glee towards its favorite font. This is the kind of effect that typography can have, people!
We’ve already talked about clean design (so your visitors can get around easily) and clean code (so your site loads quickly and Google loves you). Now we’re onto the topic of clean typography – so your visitors can actually read your content.
Because let’s not forget – unless you are designing a portfolio blog or something similar, everything you do in your design should be geared towards your content.
There are a few key pointers when it comes to typography that you should bear in mind:
- Font size – haven’t you heard? 16px is the new 14px. Make your text big, fat and readable.
- Speaking of fat, don’t be afraid to bold and italicize elements of your content as appropriate. Web users tend to ‘scan’ text if they are not fully engaged – make this easier for them by highlighting important points (see what I did there?).
- Only use dark-colored fonts on light backgrounds. Anything else will make your content harder to read.
- White space - use it in abundance. Nothing makes your eyes ache more than tightly grouped clumps of text. Make reading a pleasure for your visitors – give their eyes room to breathe.
- Don’t go too fancy – whilst that art-deco font may have really caught your eye, how easy is it to read? If you want to express your artistic flair in your typography, keep it to short sharp bursts. Pick an easy to read font for the bulk of your text, and then go all out with smaller elements, such as headers and block quotes.
The Cold Hard Truth Of Dirty Typography
Here is a shocking truth that you must accept – even if you have kick ass content, you will frustrate and turn off a lot of your visitors if your content is difficult to digest.
So pay a little attention to your typography. Make it clean and easy to read, and if you feel inclined to, find some really awesome fonts to spice up your design.
Over To You
What do you think about typography? Is it something that you value when it comes to your blog? Or is it the last thing on your mind? Let us know in the comments section!
Creative commons images courtesy of Brenda Clarke and K Johansson
Tom Ewer on Google+
Thank you! This is the post I’ve been searching for! Precise. To the point. Perfect. I also appreciate your links that go into more detail. Seriously, well done!
-Lindsay
Hi Lindsay,
You are more than welcome! I’m glad it was useful for you :-)
Cheers,
Tom