Typography is the nature of the print on the page.  Though the term originated in the printing industry, its principles are adaptable to onscreen techniques, as well.

ty·pog·ra·phy (tī päg′rə fē) may be defined as follows:    

noun

1. the art or process of printing from type
2. the art or process of setting and arranging type for printing
3. the arrangement, style, or general appearance of printed matter

There are differences between the terms “typeface” and “font.”

Typeface is the description of the shape of the letters.  Names such a Arial, Times Roman, Georgia, and Verdana are the names of some typefaces.

Font was the printing term for the size of the letters.  Of course, these names, typeface and font, have been misused in the computer age.  “Font” is  most often used to refer to the typeface and the actual font size is simply a number appended to the typeface name.  This is usually written like this: Arial 10 or Times Roman 14.

It is important to know the proper terminology because the entire print industry uses typeface to refer to the name of the type being used and the font (letter size) is expressed in a number of points or picas.

Serifed typefaces, such as Times New Roman, are more readable than san-serif typefaces, such as Arial or Verdana, except in the 12 points and smaller on the computer screen.

The serifs (little feet on the letters) aid in the brain (psychological) process of “decoding” a line of printing.  When we see a line of printing, we do not decode or read it a character at a time as does the computer.  Certainly we do read some of the letters, but we also use the shape of the words and other cues of the print characters (typeface), such as the”feet” on the bottoms of serifed letters, the ascenders–tops of “ls,” “ts,” and “fs”–and descenders–the bottoms of “js,” “gs,” and “ps.”

Of course, this all occurs very quickly, AND it occurs more quickly with greater reliability with serifed typefaces, such as Times Roman, than with san-serifed typefaces, such as Arial, and Verdana.  With the lower resolution of the computer screens, fonts of about 12 points and certainly smaller than that, the serifs become more confusing.  This varies with the browser and whether you are using a PC, Mac, or Unix computer.  I suggest you use at least 14 point print on the computer screen for something you wish to be read quickly and thoroughly.

San-serifed typefaces are particularly valuable for headlines and subheadlines.

The Times Roman and Times New Roman have high “pica values” containing more characters per inch than most other typefaces, yet they are very readable.

The “pica value” is a printing term that describes the average number of characters per inch of printing on the page at a given font value.  A high pica value is better, since it allows you to get more easily readable characters per inch.

This produces a higher reading efficiency.  The higher reader efficiency means more of your message gets “lodged” in your readers’ brains.  Therefore, the readers’ understanding of your message is improved.

The newspaper industry designed Times Roman because of its easy readability.

These are seemingly unimportant elements, though ignoring them will degrade the value your readers get from your information.  Remember, it may be very “artistically” cute or interesting, yet be very difficult to read.  Remember, too, that if it’s difficult to read, it won’t be … read.

Use what works well to improve your sales or the response you want rather than what “looks” good if it doesn’t produce equal or better results.  You will know by testing.

To your business success!

Paul Elliott

Marketing With Unbelievable Guarantees!™
http://www.MarketingSuccessBlueprint.com/blog

© 2008, Paul Elliott, All rights reserved world wide.