| JS Graphics, Inc. - Strategic Design for Smart Business
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Creative License...
Take All You Want!
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WHADAYA KNOW...?
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- "Helvetica" is a short documentary tracing the history and impact of possibly the world's most recognizable and ubiquitous font. Designed to be a contemporary and legible typeface, once you see this movie you'll be so much more aware of where it is being used every day!
- The first person to email me with the name of the font designer of Helvetica and the year it debuted will receive public accolades in my next newsletter and a token of appreciation designed just for them!
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- If your taste runs more to comedy than documentaries, check out this video, "Font Convention."
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- Jas Gil, Worcester Oral Surgery, was the first to email me with the correct answer to last month's question. Lincoln Logs were designed by John Kenneth Lloyd Wright, son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and they were promoted on the 1953 children's show Pioneer Playhouse.
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| Hi,
Once upon a time most people were oblivious to fonts. They may have recognized Courier and Elite used on IBM Selectric typewriter balls, but few besides designers, typesetters and printers knew or cared about the nuances of different fonts and their proper usage. The advent of personal computers and "desktop publishing" changed all that by suddenly putting thousands of fonts from Arial to Wingdings literally at anyone's fingertips.
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Dressing for Font Success
 What are the typographic and composition guidelines that determine the successful use of type for print or on-line? Stephen Coles, editor of the online typography journal Typographica, notes in HOW magazine that typefaces are the "clothes that words wear." And just like clothes, there are classic fonts, contemporary fonts, fun fonts...and care should be taken to dress our words as appropriately as we would to dress for a formal affair-or a game at Fenway!
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The Art of Typography
 Font designers focus on the characteristics and aesthetics of a typeface. Letter shapes and proportions, ascender and descender heights...are all carefully crafted for maximum clarity and beauty for the font's intended purpose. For example, typefaces that look great as headlines make poor choices for body copy because they were not designed for that use. Also, arbitrarily squeezing, stretching or bold-facing fonts changes the intended proportions and the type will lose its impact and legibility. Most fonts come in a variety of weights and styles that will work without alteration.
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 The Art of Text Layout
- Text composition uses techniques that ensure the appearance of copy is appropriate and that it enhances the overall page layout. In addition to choosing a suitable font, it also involves placement, style, spacing and fine-tuning.
- Placement. There's a lot more to putting words on a page than meets the eye! How wide should the columns be for the font size selected? Should alignment be ragged left or justified? What about white space?
- Style. When should bold, italic or all caps be used? What point size is the best for the line lengths used? Lines of type that are too long or too short slow down reading and comprehension. So will choosing an inappropriate font for the job. All these options will affect the readability as well as the attractiveness of the page layout.
- Spacing. Leading, kerning, widows and orphans...rivers in your copy?! These terms refer to considerations that will determine the heaviness or lightness of the appearance as well as the legibility of a page.
- Fine-tuning. Bulleted or numbered lists? What about initial caps? Indents? And don't forget about hanging punctuation! Small tweaks here will yield big results in the overall visual effect of the page.
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| Fonts are one of the most essential elements a designer has in her toolbox...and copy is an important part of most projects. A designer who is well-versed in the proper use of fonts and composition, and who keeps up-to-date with new typefaces being introduced, will be able to make the best decisions regarding how that copy is presented. If you don't know your Arial from your Zapf Dingbats or just don't feel confident in applying all the guidelines for successful font usage, contact JS Graphics for your next project. We'll dress your words for success!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year,
Jody
Jody Shyllberg
JS Graphics, Inc.
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