The Role of Typography in Graphic Design

Typography refers to the technique and art of typeface organization. To achieve the highest degree of readability and leave an artistic statement, application of typography is of the essence. In communication, the quality of design impacts the readers’ perception of the given work. Literary, typography involves combining the size of the font, its spacing and the application of color. Typography can be applied but not limited to book materials, electronic materials such as web development designs, printed materials design, and graphics from the computers (Byrne 2004, p.4).

            When businesses create a visual picture without the use of decorative fonts is typography. The core business of typography in any work is to bring out a brand and services offered by the company without necessarily making use of an image (Byrne 2004, p.5).

            Typography, therefore, brings out the aesthetic value of both web and graphic design in a bid to catch the readers’ attention and providing guidance while making use of text.  The vital elements of typographic include the following;

            The collection of fonts sharing the same attributes is known as the typeface. The traits shared among the fonts comprises of emblems, numeric digit, and letters.

            The font is resizing of a typeface into a given size, quantity and style. For example, Arial black at 14 points is a font. Many people confuse typeface with fonts.

Length of the line is the gap between two text blocks.

            The spacing line conventionally referred to as the leading is the imaginary line in the form of a space which a text occupies.

The spacing that individual characters occupy is known as kerning (Byrne 2004, p.7).

The above elements are core when discussing the importance of typography as stated below regarding their usage;

The Importance of Typography in Books, Blogs, and Letters

It brings out a certain feeling

            Depending on the typeface chosen, the message in a given piece can be understood differently. For instance, font size and type in a given of work can bring out either aspects of power, significance and seriousness or lack of importance and fun (Wehr and Wippich, 2004, pp.140)

Entice people to read

            A readers’ focus on the content is directly affected by choice of typography used in the text other than the formatting. This good typography without saying makes sense regarding catching the readers’ attention. Clarity and simplicity are key to any piece of work. Consistency in the choice of typefaces, formatting, and leading is vital in that it brings out the professional outlook making the reader concentrate on the content other than the formatting. In keeping the reader glued to the content of the piece, the hierarchy in the order in which text presented is key. The role that hierarchy plays is providing guidance through which the reader gets through the content. Using a book as an example, the title of the book comes first followed by the author’s name through the chapters. Unity of a given piece is achieved by the alignment applied. For example, the eyes of the reader to keep up with the material depends on the sides of the arrangement. Thus, in comparison, left or right flush alignment brings out an enhanced view compared to their centered alignment counterpart (Josephson 2008, p.69).

            Graphic design is an essential representation of the visual aspects of a business brand in a more interactive manner. Typography is a significant element in the graphic design that needs much seriousness (McCarthy and Mothersbaugh 2002, p.664).  Typography in graphic design is meant to bring some liveliness to your brand through complementing both science and art in solidifying the image. The following are some of its functions in graphic design;

Communicates to the viewer

            The goodness of the typography measures its ability to enhance one’s realistic plan in a bid to trigger the right emotions. The audience of a given piece of work is influencing the typography chosen. Good typography directly speaks to the viewer as inhibited by its legibility. It encourages innovation and creativity on the side of the viewer (McCarthy and Mothersbaugh 2002, p.681). 

Minimizes Visual Fatigue

            The outcome of particular graphic design work is to leave a lasting impression on the eyes of the viewer. Typography plays a crucial role in ensuring that the viewer is impressed. Good choice of font and proficiencies brings out the legibility of the material. The following typographical elements are of great significance in achieving the readability of a piece; the length of the line, size of the font and the characters used. Application of best practices in typography helps in minimizing visual strain and fatigue. It thus entices the reader to be detailed oriented sparking more of his/her reading routine (Childers and Jass 2002, p.102).

Value Addition to the Design

            Excellent design work gets more fan base as compared to poorly designed work. Research finding on typography shows that the demand for designs with good typographies is increasing lately. Good typography impressively brings some aspects of uniqueness thus providing value addition to the piece of work (Henderson et al. 2004, p.69).

Conveys the message with clarity

            For any design work, the first impression is vital to achieving credibility and trust from the viewer's end. Signal lose as a result of obscure enhancements is a traumatizing experience for graphics business design. Application of typography best practices and standards protects one from finding oneself on the losing end.  Typography helps to communicate ideas in a clear and concise manner in that emphasizes on the merits hiding out the demerits. Also, its used as a tool for decision making in selling designs in a bid to earn more profits (Melewar et al. 2005, p.389).

Typography with Losses

            Bad typography is a catalyst towards incurring losses. Mix up regarding the choice of font and brand images is a cause for alarm in that it brings confusion towards the viewer’s end. The spacing and alignment of letters within the piece of work can either positively or negatively the user. Good typography is a plus in as far as design is concerned while lousy typography is a nuisance to them to any graphic design work. In design, people tend to combine all the elements of design to aid in making the final decision. As minute as the usage of typography such as a misplaced comma might look, the effects on the piece of work are adverse. Thus, it’s of more significance to be detail oriented in designs one is designing (Wehr and Wippich 2004, p.143).

Typography brings out the expressive power of design.

            Peoples’ perception of information and messages as influenced by the words used in a given literary work. The typography used in the design portrays the thoughts and message relayed more efficiently. The use of specific typefaces brings out the news in such a way that curiosity is in the mind of the user (Donev 2015, p.54). In advertising, the chosen style and alignment of the typography determines the success of the advertisement gaining more publicity (Donev 2015, p.55). Often, in advertising people reciprocate to the message conveyed depends on cultural background. Personalities, previous experiences and mood swings and thus getting buy-in on the advert is a little bit hectic. Best practice and standards of typography help one in overcoming this challenge in that the advert will speak for itself (Donev 2015, p.57). Typography brings out the significant meaning of the words in the advert just as the words from a spoken word leaves an influencing power or effect to the brain.

References

Byrne, C., 2004. An introduction to typography for students of graphic design. The education of    a typographer, pp.2-7.

Childers, T.L. and Jass, J., 2002. All dressed up with something to say: Effects of typeface          semantic associations on brand perceptions and consumer memory. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(2), pp.93-106.

Donev, A., 2015. Typography in Advertising, pp54-58

Henderson, P.W., Giese, J.L. and Cote, J.A., 2004. Impression management using typeface          design. Journal of marketing, 68(4), pp.60-72.

Josephson, S., 2008. Keeping your readers' eyes on the screen: An eye-tracking study comparing       sans serif and serif typefaces. Visual communication quarterly, 15(1-2), pp.67-79.

McCarthy, M.S. and Mothersbaugh, D.L., 2002. Effects of typographic factors in advertising‐    based persuasion: A general model and initial empirical tests. Psychology & Marketing,       19(7‐8), pp.663-691.

Melewar, T., Hussey, G. and Srivoravilai, N., 2005. Corporate visual identity: The re-branding of     France Télécom. Journal of Brand Management, 12(5), pp.379-394.

Wehr, T. and Wippich, W., 2004. Typography and color: Effects of salience and fluency on       conscious recollective experience. Psychological research, 69(1-2), pp.138-146.