Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Good font use on a web site

…Still a "work in progress," the site applies Bringhurst's typographic principles to the Internet in practical ways... worth a read for those wishing to raise the bar for online typography.

Topics covered:

2 Rhythm & Proportion

2.1 Horizontal Motion
2.1.1
Define the word space to suit the size and natural letterfit of the font
2.1.2
Choose a comfortable measure
2.1.3
Set ragged if ragged setting suits the text and page
2.1.4
Use a single word space between sentences
2.1.5
Add little or no space within strings of initials
2.1.6
Letterspace all strings of capitals and small caps, and all long strings of digits
2.1.7
Don't letterspace the lower case without a reason
2.1.8
Kern consistently and modestly or not at all
2.1.9
Don't alter the widths or shapes or letters without cause
2.1.10
Don't stretch the space until it breaks

2.2 Vertical Motion
2.2.1
Choose a basic leading that suits the typeface, text and measure
2.2.2
Add and delete vertical space in measured intervals

2.3 Blocks & Paragraphs
2.3.1
Set opening paragraphs flush left
2.3.2
In continuous text mark all paragraphs after the first with an indent of at least one en
2.3.3
Add extra lead before and after block quotations
2.3.4
Indent or center verse quotations

2.4 Etiquette of Hypenation & Pagination
2.4.1
At hyphenated line-ends, leave at least two characters behind and take at least three forward
2.4.3
Avoid more than three consecutive hyphenated lines
2.4.5
Hyphenate according to the conventions of the language
2.4.6
Line short numerical and mathematical expressions with hard spaces
2.4.8
Never begin a page with the last line of a multi-line paragraph

3 Harmony & Counterpoint

3.1 Size
3.1.1
Don't compose without a scale

3.2 Numerals, Capitals & Small Caps
3.2.1
Use titling figures with full caps, and text figures in all other circumstances
3.2.1 Use titling figures with full caps, and text figures in all other circumstances

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