’’
’ ’ ’ ’’
’’’’ ’’’
’ ’’
SPACE
’
the pilotis of typography
’
S CE
PA the pilotis of typography
COPYRIGHT Designer Aurora Steen Printer Epson Stylus Photo 2880 Paper Epson Premium Presentation Paper MATTE Double-sided Typeface Helvetica Neue LT Std Quotes 25/31, 15 pt tracking Body copy 7/9.5, 20 pt tracking Binding Cardoza-James binding
[
TABLE OF CONTENT Section 1 Quotation /006-015 Quotation marks Apostrophes Hanging punctuation Colophon /042
Section 2 Hyphenation /008-010 Dashes Hyphen En dash Em dash
Section 3 Alignment /011-030 Ragged right Ragged left Justified Centered
SPACE the pilotis of typography
006
Section 1 /006-015
Quotation
007
Q UO TA TI O N
SPACE the pilotis of typography
008
Section 1 /006-015
foot marks (´). Fortunately, the Mac provides us with the real quotation marks. Unfortunately, they are tucked away on one of those invisible keyboards that you can only see with the Key Cap utility. It takes an extra second or two to access true quotes, but you get used to it.
The added professionalism that they give to your work is very well worth the effort. Most of the software applications will convert the typewriter quotes to the real quotes for you automatically. It is necessary to know how to set them yourself, sometimes the software application do it wrong.
QUOTATION MARKS Use real quotation marks—never those grotesque generic marks that actually symbolize the ditto marks: use “and”—not ˝and˝. When you wanted the quotation marks on your typewriter, the quote marks where the ones that otherwise one would think are ditto marks or inch marks (˝) and
Quotation
009
A TI O N
QUOTATION MARKS
SPACE the pilotis of typography
010
Section 1 /006-015
Quotation
011
APOSTROPHES
in the phrase the boy’s camp, to know where to place the apostrophe say to yourself, “the camp belongs to the boys.” The apostrophe also replaces the missing letter. For example: you’re always means you are; the apostrophe is replacing the a from are. In a phrase such
as Rock’n’Roll, there should be an apostrophe before and after the n, because a and d are both left out. In a date when part of a year is left out, an apostrophe needs to indicate the missing year. In the ’80s would mean the decade; “19” is left out. The 80s would mean the temperature.
APOSTROPHES Use real apostrophes, not the foot marks: ’ not ´. Many people are often confused about where the apostrophe belongs. There are several rules that work very well: For possessives, turn the phrase around. The apostrophe will be placed after the word you end up with. For example,
SPACE the pilotis of typography
012
Section 1 /006-015
flush alignment and notice where the alignment is broken with punctuation. Look at the hyphens, periods, commas, single, double quotation marks, bullets—anything that creates the slightest break in the visual continuity. Then you hang it. Different software applications
let you do this in different ways, but in many word processing programs it is just not possible. In some cases, like a quote that is set by itself, you can use an outdent to hang the punctuation. In shorter blocks of text, you should hang the punctuation by inserting a non-breaking space.
HANGING PUNCTUATION Hanging the punctuation is particularly important when you are working with large sizes of text, such as headlines, or in quoted material, no matter what its size is. Hanging the period off of the right edge preserves the strength of the alignment. Squint at any text that has a strong
Quotation
013
HANGING PUNCTUATION
SPACE the pilotis of typography
014
Section 1 /006-015
Quotation
015
APOSTROPHES
HANG THE PUNCTUATION OFF TO THE ALIGNED EDGE TO ELIMINATE ANY VISUAL INTERRUPTION.
SPACE the pilotis of typography
016
Section 2 /016-029
Hyphenation
017
HY PHE NA TI O N
SPACE the pilotis of typography
018
Section 2 /016-029
line, of course. You might have been taught to use a double hyphen to indicate a dash, like so:--. It’s a typewriter convention because the typewriters didn’t have the real dash used in professional typesetting. On a Mac, no one needs to use the double hyphen—we have the
professional em dash, the long one, such as you see in this sentence. We also have an en dash, which is a little bit shorter than the em dash. Writers and clients often supply manuscripts that employ incorrect dashes. See the following pages for the details about the dashes rules.
DASHES Never use two hyphens instead of a dash. Use the hyphens, the en dashes, and em dashes appropriately. Everyone knows what a hyphen is—that tiny little dash that belongs in some of the words, like mother-in-law, or in phone numbers. It’s also used to break a word at the end of a
Hyphenation
019
DASHES
SPACE the pilotis of typography
020
Section 2 /016-029
Hyphenation
021
DASHES
SPACE the pilotis of typography
022
Section 2 /016-029
up. A line break is simply that where the heading or sentence breaks off at the end of a line. This is more often critical in headings or in short blocks of text than in long manuscripts, although even in lengthy text you can find the classic cases, hyphenating the word therapist
so it becomes the-rapist. Just as bad as dumb hyphenations are too many hyphenations. Sometimes you just can’t avoid hyphenating, it’s never necessary to hyphenate three times in a row. It is recommended to not have more than one hyphenation per paragraph, when possible.
HYPHEN The hyphen is used strictly for hyphenating words or line break. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of confusion about when to use the hyphen, especially since your computer automatically inserts them at the ends of lines when necessary. However, it’s amazing how often silly line breaks show
Hyphenation
023
HYPHEN
MN N M SPACE the pilotis of typography
024
Section 2 /016-029
Hyphenation
025
HYPHEN
use the word “to.” Manuscripts rarely employ en dashes, so the designer needs to supply them. In a page layout application, the en dash can be used with a thin space on either side of it if you want a little room, but don't use a full space. (Check your manual for how to set a thin space.) The
en dash is also used when you have a compound adjective and one of the elements are made of two words or a hyphenated word, such as the pre–Gulf War period and the high-stress–high energy lifestyle. To type an en dash hold the Option key down, then tap down the hyphen key.
EN DASH En dashes serve primarily to connect numbers (1-10). The en dash is called en dash because it’s approximately the width of a capital letter N in that particular font and size. It is used between words that indicate a duration, such as time or months or years. Use it where you might otherwise
SPACE the pilotis of typography
026
Section 2 /016-029
Hyphenation
027
EM DASH
DON’T EVER USE TWO HYPENS INSTEAD OF A DASH. USE HYPHENS, EN DASHES, AND EM DASHES APPROPRIATELY
SPACE the pilotis of typography
028
Section 2 /016-029
Hyphenation
029
EM DASH
DON’T EVER USE TWO HYPENS INSTEAD OF A DASH. USE HYPHENS, EN DASHES, AND EM DASHES APPROPRIATELY
EM DASH The em dash is twice as long as the en dash—it’s about the size of a capital letter M in whatever size and typeface you’re using at the moment. The em dash is often used in place of a colon or parentheses, it might indicate an abrupt change in thought, or used in a spot where a period
is too strong and comma is too weak (check your punctuation style manual for the exact use of the dash). Our equivalent on the typewriter was double hyphen, but now we have a real em dash. Using two hyphens where there should be em dash, makes your work look very unprofessional.
Since you were properly taught, of course, you know that the double hyphen is not supposed to have a space on either side of it—neither is the em dash, as you can see right here in this sentence. To type an em dash hold the Shift and Option keys down, then tap the hyphen key.
SPACE the pilotis of typography
030
Section 3 /030-041
Alignment
031
A LIG NM E N T
SPACE the pilotis of typography
032
Section 3 /030-041
the twentieth century, respects the flow of language rather than submitting it to the law of the box. Despite its advantages, the flush left format is fraught with danger. The designer must work hard to control the appearance of the rag that is shaped along the right edge. A good rag looks
pleasantly uneven, with no lines that are excessively long or short, and with hyphenation kept to a minimum. Bad rags can ruine the appearance of the flush left column. The rag is bad when it looks too even, or when it begins to form familiar shapes like the wedges, moon, or diving boards.
RAGGED RIGHT Flush left/ragged right text, the left edge is hard and the right edge soft. Ragged text respects the organic flow of language. Word spaces does not fluctuate, so there are never any big holes inside of the lines of text. This format, which was primarily used for setting poetry before
Alignment
033
I M T
RAGGED RIGHT
SPACE the pilotis of typography
034
Section 3 /030-041
This could be true, or it could be an urban legend. That being said, the flush right setting is rarely employed for long bodies of text. Used in smaller blocks, however, flush right text forms effective marginal notes, sidebar, pull quotes, or other passages that comment on a main body or
image. A flush or ragged edge can suggest attraction between chunks of information. Give care to the selection of the interline spacing, for it will influence the legibility and appearance. Spatial consistency and rhythmic line breaks are the result of taking careful typographical decisions.
RAGGED LEFT In flush right/ragged left text, the right edge is hard and the left edge soft. This is a variant of the more familiar flush left setting. It is common wisdom among the typographers that flush right text is hard to read, because it forces the reader’s eye to find a new position at the start of each line.
Alignment
035
RAGGED LEFT
SPACE the pilotis of typography
036
Section 3 /030-041
Alignment
037
RAGGED ALIGNMENT
A GOOD RAG LOOKS PLEASANTLY UNEVEN, WITH NO LINES THAT ARE TOO LONG OR SHORT, AND WITH HYPHENATION KEPT TO A MINIMUM.
SPACE the pilotis of typography
038
Section 3 /030-041
Alignment
039
JUSTIFIED
must realize you are choosing that look and sacrificing the most effective word spacing. Here is a general guideline to determine if your line length is long enough to satisfactory justify the text: the line length in picas should be about twice the point size of the type; that is, if the type you are
using is 12 point, the line length should be at least 24 picas. 24 picas is 4 inches—you simply divide the number of picas by 6, as there are 6 picas per inch. Thus 9 point type should be on an 18 pica line, and 18 be 36. The rules in most programs can be changed to picas if you like.
JUSTIFIED Justified text was the style used for many years—we grew up on it. But there has been a great deal of research on readability and it shows that the disruptive, inconsistent gaps between the words inhibits the flow of reading. Besides, they look dumb. When you choose to justify type, you
SPACE the pilotis of typography
040
Section 3 /030-041
up to emphasize a key phrase (such as the name of the bride or the date of her wedding) or to allow a new thought to begin on its own line. Breaking lines in this manner is called breaking for sense. Centered text is formal and classical. It invites the designer to break a text for
sense and create elegant shape. Centered is often the simplest and most intuitive way to place a typographic element. Used without care, the centered text can look both staid and mournful. The centered text should be broken into natural phrases with a variety of long and short lines.
CENTERED Centered text is set symmetrical, like the facade of the classical building. Lines of uneven length on a central axis. Centered type often appears on invitations, title pages, certificates, and tomb stones. The edges are very often dramatically uneven. The lines of centered text should be broken
Alignment
041
CENTERED
SPACE the pilotis of typography
Body copy is taken from The Mac is Not a typewriter by Robin Williams and Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton. I want to dedicate the book to my mother, my biggest influence. She gave me the gift of thinking creatively.
042
Colophon /42
Colophon
043
’’’ ’ ’’ ’’’’’ ’ ’’’ ’ The typographic language is not just the shapes of the letterforms alone, combined into words, sentences and paragraphs. It’s also the shapes that occur around the letterforms, also called the negative space, that gives them their identity. One element can’t function without the other, this is why space the pilotis of typography.
$45.00 US £30.00 UK $49.99 CAN kr 270 NOK