Almost everywhere we look around us, we see text. But why do some of those words stick with us more than others? Why do some of them invoke an emotional response? This is where typography comes into play. We will discuss its importance, its elements, and its impact on a website.

What is Typography?

Typography is the art of writing text in such a way that the words look bold, clear, legible, and are visually appealing to the reader. Typography utilizes a typical font style and structure to make readers elicit certain emotions while also getting a message across. It helps bring life to your written text by giving it a style as well as conveying a particular tone.

Typography dates as far back as the 11th century. Before the digital era, it was commonly used in magazines, books, and public works. It was first used in the Gutenberg Bible, but now, in the modern digital era, it is used in both the print and digital world.  

Importance of Typography

Typography has a lot of importance as it is the powerhouse of most designs. Nowadays, there is a trend of bigger and bolder fonts. However, typography is not all about selecting beautiful fonts. It helps us to communicate. It helps in providing visual equity to the websites. When clients visit your site, they don’t just care about the illustrations and images, but also about the textual content.

Typography is important for many reasons.

• Grabs the Reader’s Attention

The essential step of typography is to draw the reader’s attention towards the text by selecting the best font for a brand. The fonts are the key to making content look beautiful and aesthetically appealing.

• Choice of Using Typeface

The type of font you choose is dependent on the content you are writing. If the content is supposed to be more light-hearted and fun, then you can add playful designs to the content. If it is about a more serious subject, then you should use some plain, professional, and mature fonts.

• Builds Recognition

If you add some gripping content to your website, it will improve brand recognition and readers will recognize the font used in the text.

What Are the Elements of Typography?

There are eight essential elements of typography. They are: 

• Color Variation

It is imperative to choose the right color contrasts to make your typography look appealing. Only choosing two types of different colors won’t provide an excellent contrast to the text if both of them have the same value.  

• Spaces Between Texts

The space left between two lines of text is called leading. Without leaving space between the edges of the text, it makes it less visually appealing and harder for the viewers to read.

• Aligning the Text

Aligning the text on the website makes it look more professional as alignment helps in creating an equal space, size, and distance between the elements to draw the reader’s attention towards the text.

• Developing Hierarchy

In typography, hierarchy creates a clear difference between the pieces of text. The size of the primary heading should always be bigger and bolder than the sub-headings and regular body text.  

• Negative Space

White space, or negative space, in graphics or text, is often disregarded by the reader. Adding proper white space makes the text more readable and engaging.

• Typefaces and Fonts

A typeface consists of different sizes and weights of characters, whereas a font is the visual representation of the text. There are three types of typeface: decorative, sans-serif and serif. Decorative typefaces should not be used in the body of the text. Serif is great to use when trying to write readable content. Sans Serif is mostly reserved for headers and is rarely used in the body of a text. A professional designer never uses more than three typefaces and fonts in a text.

Can Typography Make Or Break Your Website?

Yes, typography can make or break your website as the appeal of your website depends on the images, design, and content. Your website design will not be complete if you ignore the importance of typography. Consider the following points before you select the right fonts to make your website look eye-catching.

Reflection of Your Tone

When you are planning to express your website’s message, you must know how to choose a font that reflects the tone of your message. For example, if your website is all about serious topics, then avoid using any decorative or fancy fonts. Choose a simpler font that prevents users from getting distracted about the subject matter. 

Think About the User Personality

Before you plan on building a website, you must know what your website is all about. Knowing your target market is extremely important as your website should be designed in a way that is appealing to them. It should be designed in such a way that it attracts them on the first look. It all depends on the personalities of your target audience. 

Trial and Testing

While choosing the typeface for your design, you must know which fonts work well for your website. Try out some of these fonts while also asking for feedback from your users.

The Big and Bold Typography Trend

Typography is an essential part of making your website more user-friendly. To become a marvelous UI designer, you need to master the art of typography. If you find yourself struggling with what typefaces and fonts to use for your website, visit your favorite websites and take some notes on what their text looks like. Or, contact us! Check out our web design packages and find out how we can help you improve your web experience.

Typography is all about being intentional with the tone, and it is a means of communicating your message. The latest web trends show that bold fonts are becoming more popular as they are more appealing to the reader’s eyes. Expect to see more websites using more prominent and bolder fonts soon.