4 essential reads to help improve your typography skills
Some of my personal favourites for gaining a better understanding of Typography
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Typography is such a key component in how your site (or app) and the information inside of it is presented and understood.
A greater understanding of typography can make the difference between a great design and a mediocre one.
There are plenty of excellent learning materials out there, and one of those is the regular ol’ book. Yes. Real physical books.
Here I share a few of my personal favourites to better understand Typography…
The Elements of Typographic Style
by Robert Bringhurst
In Art & Design college, this was one of those books thrust upon you. The web was not even a whisper then. It was all Design for Print at that time, and this was the guide (even before it was referred to as the ‘Typographers Bible’) that you were expected to reference consistently.
Now. To someone just venturing into the world of typography, The Elements of Typographic Style can seem like a bit of a slog. It’s a bible, a tome, something that cannot be skimmed through with just one coffee and a Danish pastry. It’s a deep, deep read, and one that I’ve always felt is more suitable for dipping in and out of for reference of the absolute minutiae of typography.
It does focus more on print design, but it gives you a better understanding of the basics of typography, and there’s enough information here that can be readily applied to Type on the Web.
Could you skip over this book and jump into something more easily digestible? You could, for sure, having a surface knowledge of type can get you by, but you’d be skipping the rich history of type and have a little less appreciation for it.
Get The Elements of Typographic Style
