Typography in Presentations

! Typography is derived from the Greek words typos

form and graphein to write

! WELCOME to this class!

! Welcome to THIS class!

The art of typography is all about choice and disposition of

type in relation to the nature and substance of the message.
Time-tested rules provide a context for typographic
exploration. These rules must first be understood before any
attempt to break them.

! Good typography is measured by how well it

REINFORCES THE MEANING of the text, not by some
abstract scale of merit.
! Typographic choices that work for one text wont
necessarily work for another.

! There are MANY TYPOGRAPHIC SOLUTIONS that would

be equally good for a given text. Typography is not a
math problem with one correct answer.

! Your ability to produce good typography depends on

how well YOU UNDERSTAND THE GOALS of your text,
NOT ON TASTE OR VISUAL TRAINING.

! Typography is PRIMARILY UTILITARIAN

! Typography that is aesthetically pleasant, but that
doesnt reinforce the meaning of the text, is a failure.

Rules of Typography

! Type choice
! Setting
! Styling

Type Choice

! When in doubt, pair a serif for body text and sans

serif for the headings

Type Choice

! AVOID using two very similar typefaces. With very little

contrast, the small differences will cause a visual clash.

Type Choice

! Limit the number of typefaces in a single document

to two three typefaces.

Type Choice

using mono spaced typefaces for

body text. They draw too much attention
to the individual letters thereby
distracting the readers from the message.

! AVOID

Type Choice

! Use boldface text sparingly, when used within

normal text, it provides too much emphasis.

Type Choice

! Sans serif typefaces are often less readable in print

than serif typefaces. In presentations when having
multiple lines of text a serif typeface is more pleasing
to the eye.
! Single words
! Captions

Type Choice

! For optimum readability use time - tested classical

typefaces.
!

SERIF

Baskerville, Bodoni, Caslon, Gerogia, Goudy,

Garamond, Sabon, Perpetua, Times New Roman, Bembo,

Centaur, Palatino, Minion
!

SANS SERIF

Univers, Din, Helvetica, Meta, Futura, Gill

Sans, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger

Type Choice

! TEXT SET IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS RETARDS

READING

Type Choice

! AVOID

using

too many point sizes and weights in

the same passage

Type Choice

! For standard usage, stick to regular or book weights.

AVOID using extreme weights like condensed bold and
extra light.
!
!
!
!

Helvetica Regular
Helvetica Medium!
Helvetica Black Condensed
Helvetica Ultra Light

Type Choice

! For standard usage use normal typefaces of normal

width. AVOID using too condensed or too expanded
faces.

Type Setting

setting type in lines of more than sixty-five

characters. Longer lines cause the reader to read the
same line twice.

! AVOID

setting type in lines of less than thirty-two

characters (captions and key words are exceptions).

! AVOID

Type Setting

! Be mindful of line spacing (LEADING) to facilitate

easy eye movement from line to line

Type Setting

! Use consistent l e t t e r a n d word spacing to produce

an even and uninterrupted texture

Type Setting

! Left aligned text in presentations is most suited for

optimum readability

Type Setting

! Maintain integrity of type and avoid distortion

Type Styling

! Use only single spaces after all punctuation

Type Styling

! AVOID
!

orphans and widows

- A paragraph-ending line that falls at the
beginning of the following page/column, thus
separated from the rest of thetext.
ORPHAN - A word or part of a word that appears by
itself at the end of a paragraph. Orphans result in too
much white space between paragraphs or at the bottom
of apage.
WIDOW

lorem.

Type Styling

! Emphasize elements in text WITHOUT DISTURBING the

flow of reading

Type Styling

! Avoid using underlined text. Use italics instead

! Bend or break any rule for good reason!