Unboxing the role of Typography in Graphic Design
Why do we see this same font(the font used in the picture) in mostly all the memes available on social media?
You will find the answer to all such questions after going through this blog!
What is Typography?
Typography is basically the art of arranging type. It is the medium through which a designer communicates with the viewer. We all make use of typography in our daily lives, knowingly or unknowingly. The kind of typography used determines the difference between a good and a bad design.
Understanding Good Typography
It is rightly said about good typography that
Good typography is something that goes unnoticed by the reader.
We never notice good typography while going through an artwork. The best typography is invisible. Actually, it is the bad typography that we notice the most as it is the one creating problems in understanding the design or content. Good typography is something really plain and simple and is able to reinforce the meaning of the text.
Let us go through a few examples here :
The Road Sign Confusion:
Which of the two road signs is easier to read ? Which one of them looks more like a wedding card than a road sign ?
After going through the images, you may well have come to a conclusion. The first road sign is a classic example of bad typography ruining things. A road sign can serve it’s purpose only when it is clearly visible from a distance and easily readable. In the first sign, a stylish font is used which is a bit noisy and difficult to read. You may have to stop your car by the sign in order to read it. Now, take a look at the second sign. It is written in a plain and simple font, is less noisy and you can easily read it from a distance at all angles. Thus, the second sign is more graphically balanced than the first sign. This is why good typography is important in graphic design. Bad typography in this situation may even lead to an accident !
Bad typography ruining the OSCARS :
At the 2017 Academy Awards, the biggest flub in the OSCARS history took place, all thanks to bad typography ! During the announcement for the best picture, the announcers Warren and Faye were accidentally handed the cards for the best actress (the one on the left) instead of best picture. After opening the envelope Warren paused, seeming to realize that something was amiss before handing the envelope card to Faye , who then announced La La Land as the winner. However, after sometime the producer of La La Land intervened and told everyone that it was an error and the Academy Award for best picture has been awarded to Moonlight. And this happened after the crew & cast of La La Land had given their acceptance speeches.
Let us see how this error could have been avoided by using better typography !
In the left, we have the original card for Best Actress at the Oscars. You can clearly see that “Best Actress” is written at the bottom of the card in very light weight font giving it very less importance. Now it is quite obvious why didn’t Warren and Faye read “Best Actress” first , before giving the award (which could have easily prevented the error). Instead, they got confused after reading “EMMA STONE” above “LA LA LAND” as cards for best picture often don’t contain the name of the cast members. However, after no one interfered, they finally read the name of the movie and BOOM! DISASTER ! In the right, we have an alternative card designed by Benjamin Bannister. In this card, the OSCARS logo, which is of little importance here, is at the bottom. The thing of most importance- “Best Actress” is at the top in a larger font size. Below which, the name of the actress, “Emma Stone” is written in a larger font size as compared to “La La Land”, which is quite reasonable as it is the award for the best actress and not the best picture. If Warren and Faye would have got the card in the right, they surely would have realized that the card they have got is for the “Best Actress” and that could have prevented the blunder.
This is how good typography could have prevented the biggest flub in OSCARS history.
Elements of Good Typography
What actually makes a good typography?
Choice of Font: The font you choose in your design plays an important role in determining the typography. Different fonts are used based on the nature of the content and design. Fonts often convey a feeling and the correct font used with correct weight and color is an important element of good typography.
For instance, let us answer the question asked in the starting of the blog. So, why do most of the memes on social media use a very special font- IMPACT ?
It is because IMPACT is the most legible font over images. It is very easy to read over images with a classic black outline. It’s thick letters stand out from the image. However, it also took a little bit of history to make IMPACT a meme font, about which you can read here-
Hierarchy: Hierarchy also plays a key role in typography. It defines organization and gives direction to the content. For example, in the OSCAR card, the better way to present was to position “Best Actress” at the top followed by “Emma Stone” with a larger font size and more weight and then finally writing the name of the movie with a smaller font size.
Contrast: The font color and the background color should have a high contrast, thus making the text easily readable. For example, Black on White is an easily readable combination.
Choice of Color: The font color should be chosen carefully according to the situation. It will not be graphically correct if we use green color on road signs saying “DANGER AHEAD” as green is not the color for danger. Instead, red is the color for danger and that is why such signs use black font on red background.
Conclusion
Let us think of a man, who has a very good personality on the outside. He is well built, tall and handsome. Everyone has a good first impression of him. But let us say he lacks proper speaking skills and is horrible at communication. Whenever he opens his mouth, he ruins the first impression people had of him. The same is the case with typography and design. Typography is the way a designer communicates with the viewers. Bad typography can ruin even the greatest of designs. The viewer needs to understand the message delivered by the designer and good typography can certainly help the viewer in doing so.
See ya in next blog!