Typography: basics

In short: Typography deals with the design of lettering and significantly influences how easily and pleasantly a text can be read. Good typography is often unobtrusive, while poor typography stands out negatively right away.

In more detail: The choice of font, size, and spacing directly affects readability and perception.

In detail

• Serif and sans-serif fonts: Serif fonts are often considered more readable for printed text, while sans-serif fonts look more modern and work well on screens.
• Line spacing: Too little line spacing significantly hinders reading longer texts, while too much spacing breaks up the text’s cohesion.
• Font size and line length: An appropriate line length of about 50 to 75 characters is considered optimal for readability.
• Contrast: Sufficient contrast between text and background is crucial for both readability and accessibility.
• Hierarchy: Different font sizes and weights help clearly distinguish headings, subheadings, and body text.
• Font pairing: Generally no more than two to three different fonts are combined in a single document to avoid visual clutter.
• Kerning and letter spacing: Adjusting the spacing between individual letters can significantly improve the appearance of headings (farbenlehre-grundlagen, bildkomposition-goldener-schnitt).