If you work with information and ideas, then writing plays a central role in your professional life.
You might be a programmer, writing software documentation.
You might be a scientist, writing a grant proposal.
You might be a lawyer, writing a brief for court.
When we think of
But as professional writers, we do more than write. We edit, we format, we print, we generate PDFs, we make web pages. More than ever, we’re responsible for delivering the written word to our readers. So we’re not just writers—we’re publishers.
Typography is the visual component of the written word. Thus, being a publisher of the written word necessarily means being a typographer.
This book will make you a better typographer.
I’m not here to tell you that typography is more important than the substance of your writing. It’s not.
But typography can enhance your writing. Typography can create a better first impression. Typography can reinforce your key points. Typography can extend reader attention. When you ignore typography, you’re ignoring an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of your writing.
And isn’t that why you write at all? To have an effect on readers? To move them, to persuade them, to spur them to action?
If so, then you should want what typography has to offer. Best of all, it’s fast and it’s easy. Unlike, say, learning to be a better writer. (Skeptical? Have a look at typography in ten minutes.)
This book is based on three core principles:
Good typography is part of good writing.
As a professional writer, you should hold your documents to the same standards as professionally published material. Why? Because your documents are professionally published material. Moreover, there’s no technical barrier to achieving the same results.
Any writer can master the essentials of good typography.
Still, what many writers consider good typography is an accumulation of bad habits and urban legends (and nonsense justifications thereof). This book will help you set these aside in favor of professional typographic practices.
The first chapter of this book, why typography matters, explains what typography is and why you should care.
The next two chapters cover typographic rules. Type composition covers the symbols and characters available on the keyboard. Text formatting covers the appearance of characters and text.
Next, font recommendations introduces you to the secret weapon of the world’s best typographers—professional fonts.
After these foundational topics, Page layout covers the broader issues that surface when putting documents together.
The last chapter, sample documents, brings everything together by working through before-and-after examples of common document types.
There’s more than one right way to use this book. Some will want to learn everything in type composition before moving on to text formatting. Others will want to master the simpler, early rules in each chapter before trying the later, more advanced rules. Others will want to refer to the book only when a specific typographic question arises.
Regardless of the path you choose, don’t just read the rules. Practice. Find typographic problems and solve them. That’s the easiest way to get better at typography.
The typographic rules in this book aren’t limited to particular software. You can apply them in any modern page-layout program, word processor, or web browser.
I’ve included specific tips for Microsoft Word 2010, 2013, and 2016 (for Windows); Microsoft Word 2016 (for Mac OS); Apple Pages 7 (for Mac OS); and HTML/CSS. Tips for Word apply to all versions unless specified.
But the focus of this book is typography. It’s not intended to replace your software manual or other technical resources. I’ve skipped instructions for topics that are especially basic (e.g., how to apply bold or italic formatting) or especially complicated (e.g., how to implement paragraph and character styles).
Written documents lie along a continuum from more typographically flexible (e.g., letterhead, research papers ) to less (e.g., résumés ). Not every recommendation in this book will suit every document. Use your judgment.
What qualifies me to write about typography? I have a visual-arts degree from Harvard, where I learned traditional letterpress printing and digital font design. After college, I worked as a font designer for the Font Bureau and Matthew Carter. I then started a website-design studio in San Francisco called Atomic Vision, which eventually became part of Red Hat, an open-source technology company. Later, I went to law school at UCLA. Along the way, I’ve written frequently about text, typography, and related topics (including the paperback
For over 25 years, typography has been a source of enjoyment for me. I hope that you also find it rewarding, and that it adds satisfaction—and maybe even some fun—to your writing.
New in the second edition: emoticons and emoji, metrics vs. optical spacing, free fonts, Century Schoolbook alternatives, grids, screen-reading considerations, responsive web design, how to work with a designer, the copyright status of fonts, how this book was made, and typographic humor.